Stephen Chantry is the top Washington Running Report Ranked Runner in the 50-54 division. In the photo below, by Brightroom.com, he approaches the finish of the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K in Richmond.

It was great getting invited to run in the Men's 50 Elite field of the Hartshorne Mile at Cornell University in upstate New York again. It is well organized and the M50 competition is always guaranteed to be exceptional. Here is a description of the event as it unfolds.

Entering the field house you are greeted by race director Rick Hoebeke and others and provided race materials, numbers, etc. Various introductions are made and there are brief interviews with media. They make you feel like a celebrity among celebrities. One member of the press thanked me so much for accepting the invitation to run and was so glad that someone of "Your credentials, 3 National championships!" was here. They run a number of non-elite sections first and then at 12:15 pm the M50 elite milers are lined up. There were 15 of us and all very fast. An official in a black Tux gives us all directions. We are lined up about 5 yards behind the line and one by one from the outside in, the announcer calls our names for introductions and we jog forward as per the directions from the official and wave to the crowd. As he moves closer to the inside, the introductions get more elaborate with statements such as "and in lane 5, the 2005 10K National Club Cross-country Champion, 2006 National 5K Cross-country champion andwinner of the Millenium mile from . . . in lane 4, two time M40 national champion and the 2006 bronze medalist in the 800M" and so on. I was seeded number two and heard my credentials called out, giving me a sudden twinge of nerves again.

We had a rabbit (pace setter) and as the gun went off we jumped in behind him. I knew that I was ready to go fast but at this time of the year, not many races had yet been run and I did not know the fitness level of my competition. I planned to go out as conservatively as possible but still remain in contact. We came through 800M in a leisurely 2:27 with me in second place behind Jim Robinson (previous national mile champion and numerous national titles) and Tom Ryan (national 5K champion and bronze medalist in the 2006 national indoor 3000M) following closely behind me.

It felt real easy and I realized that this was playing into the hands of the speedster, Jim Robinson, so I decided to accelerate on the back stretch and test the field. I went by Jim and caught up to the rabbit coming into the turn. I felt real smooth and kept it up and went by the pace setter in the turn. He dropped out of the race at that point and I eased back down. The field had now strung out and there were four of us.

Jim came back alongside of me and I let him go knowing we had picked up the pace and hoping that I had begun to take the sting out of his fierce kick. I followed for another lap, still feeling in complete control. My legs were light and I could feel that my leg speed was there any time that I wanted it.

With about 300 meters to go, I made another surge and found that I had lots of speed ready to go. I went by Jim very quickly and just kept accelerating down the homestretch coming across the start/finish line and hearing the bell signaling the last lap. I stepped on the gas again and felt great. I pushed hard through the final lap not knowing exactly where the others were--the crowd noise, the race announcer, and the soft surface made it impossible to hear whether anyone was close. I did hear Pete Taylor (he is the announcer for all National Masters Track competitions) say something like "Chantry accelerating down the back stretch, its Chantry; Chantry then Robinson; Chantry, Robinson, Ryan . . ." I knew Robinson's great kick speed was back there somewhere but I was flying and felt like no one was going to catch me.

Marji Robinson, the wife of Steve's buddy Jim Robinson took this picture at the finals of the 800M last summer, August 5, 2006 in the USATF National Championships in Charlotte, NC. The picture shows Stephen Chantry taking the lead after the first lap with Jorge Ortiz, the 800m World Champion at San Sebastian, Spain in red just behind him, followed by Jim Robinson, and then slightly obscured and in yellow is Joe Burno.

Joe Burno is the President of the Maryland Masters Track Club. He has posted the fastest 50-54 mile for this year in our region. Burno reminds us that there is the Sportsplex Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships on Sunday, February 18 in Landover, MD, which is in danger of being canceled. Masters runners should register now to ensure survival of the event.

800M Results

PL      # Name               AGE Hometown               Time 
  1   912 Ortiz, Jorge       M52 New York, NY           2:07.32
  2  1005 Reyes, Julio       M50 San Antonio, TX        2:08.31
  3   208 Chantry, Stephen   M51 Williamsburg, VA       2:09.31
  4  1029 Robinson, James    M52 Rochester, NY          2:09.65
  5   159 Burno, Joseph      M52 Mitchellville, MD      2:10.03
  6   515 Hartshorne, Thomas M52 Ithaca, NY             2:11.78
  7    10 Albo, David        M50 Boulder, CO            2:13.22
  8  1022 Robbins, Frederick M51 Unattached             2:21.67

Last summer we were side-by-side coming off the last turn in the 800M in the outdoor USATF Masters Nationals in Charlotte, NC and I held off his kick then. I was confident I had him. I sprinted down the final straight and broke the ribbon with him a half second behind and Tom Ryan 3 seconds behind Jim (my second 800M was a much faster 2:20). I staggered slightly at the end feeling as though the light ribbon caught in my legs was causing me to stumble and realizing the effort of the race was hitting me. Jim fell into me and grabbed me to hold himself up and I said, "Great race, good job." What a run! Our changing of leads made it a fan favorite.

I felt like I was toying with the pace and in complete control but everyone observing thought it was a back-and-forth battle. The press did their interview and pictures were taken and all was good. With our guard now down we took a jog and started disclosing our pre-race strategies. I found that Jim had run a 2:07 800M the weekend before.

That is about 93%+ age graded. And I found out that Tom Ryan had planned to "stick to my back like a postage stamp." He said, "But you had a whole other gear and I couldn't hang with you." The weekend was truly memorable. It was the 40th running of the oldest continual Masters Mile event in the country and probably the world. This 40th year made it even more special with the publication of the results dating back to the first event in 1968. At the awards banquet, speakers who had run races in many years past spoke of the significance of the event in the history of Masters running.

When I was presented with my award (a basketball-sized sterling silver bowl engraved with about 5 lines of honors and commemorations as well the distinctive "M50-59 Mile Champion 2007") and asked to say a few words, I was overwhelmed by the history and significant track racers who had run in this event. I ran the 5th fastest time (4:47.27) by a 50 year old in the 40 years of its running. Dr. George Sheehan actually set the M50 Mile World record of 4:51 at Hartshorne many years ago. I will have to go back again next year now that I know that the fastest ever run by a 50 year old at Hartshorne is 4:43 and some change. I was just cruising this past weekend and running for the win and feel confident that I can beat the 4:43 mark next year. As one veteran masters runner stated, "You can always run faster than last year. You may not be able to run faster than five years ago, but you can always run faster than last year."

Yeah, I'll be back.

Fantastic event. Great camaraderie. Great competition. I run the 3000M indoors at CNU with the college kids next weekend. It will be an interesting contrast.

Editor's Notes: A little history on the past few years at the prestigious race.
In 2003, Tim McMullen (52) of Churchville, NY finished first in an excellent 4:43:50 well ahead of 49-year-old Jim Robinson of Rochester, NY with 4:49.10. The following year Robinson assumed the mantel, winning the race in 4:50:06. Tom Hartshorne, now 50, was next in 5:00.19 with Joe Chimino (50) close behind in 5:03.63. DC's own Caleb "Spider" Rossiter made the trip as well, finishing in 5:28:74. Rossiter was famous in the '90s for holding on to his pledge for a 60-second quarter and a 5:00 mile every year.

In 2005, he returned along with Tom Carter. Carter was the rabbit in the famous Mobil Invitational masters mile in 1993 when Eamonn Coghlan was trucking for the first sub-4:00 masters mile. Spider was in the pack of us in which many of us got lapped as Coghlan ran 4:07:25. Charles McMullen, Tim's brother, was third in 4:18:06. Coghlan set the world record with 3:58.13 in 1994.

At the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile in 2005, another youngster, Jerry Kooymans (49) finished behind Robinson (51) 4:45.74 to 4:47.65. Carter was the second veteran in 4:53:02, followed by Hartshorne who just misses 5:00 again with 5:00.21. Rossiter improved to 5:17.45.

Many top times happen at this event, including Maureen de St. Croix's 50-54 world record in the mile at 5:10.87.

In 2006, the elite men's Veterans (ages 50 to 59) mile was won by Kooymans of Markham, Ontario, Canada. Kooymans was awarded the Charlie McMullen Memorial Award named in honor of the Hartshorne Masters Mile multi-champion who died in 2003, at the age of 52, of cancer. Robinson was next in 4:43.58 followed by Steve Chantry of Williamsburg, VA, another newbee, in 4:46.71. Tom Ryan had aged up as well, and Tom Hartshorne busted the 5:00 mile in 4:58:54.

This set up the thrilling rematch in 2007. Instead of seven 50 and over runners under 5:00, there would be eight. Chantry was confidant in his win, yet his 4:47.27 was less than a half second ahead of Robinson's 4:47.70.

Nolan Shaheed has the world record with 4:26.75, set in 2001. He also set the 55-59 record at 4:42.89 in 2006.

Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 2007 - top grandmasters

PL  Name                AGE  Hometown            Time 
 1  Steve Chantry       52   Williamsburg, VA    4:47.27 
 2  Jim Robinson        53   Rochester, NY       4:47.70 
 3  Tom Ryan            51   Cape Elizabeth, ME  4:50.52 
 4  Kevin McMahon       50   Essex Junction, VT  4:54.00 
 5  Mark Rybinski       50   Manlius, NY         4:55.85 
 6  Tom Hartshorne      53   Ithaca, NY          4:56.56 
 7  Tom Carter          54   Binghamton, NY      4:58.00 
 8  Gary Radford        50   Cicero, NY          4:58.38 
 9  Joe Burno           50   Mitchellville, MD   5:01.97 
10  Bruce Roebal        50   Ithaca, NY          5:08.92 

Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 2006 - top grandmasters

PL  Name                Time        AGE  Hometown           
 1  Jerry Kooymans	4:43.32	    50	 Markham, ON
 2  Jim Robinson	4:43.58	    52	 Rochester, NY
 3  Steve Chantry	4:46.71	    50	 Williamsburg, VA
 4  Tom Ryan	        4:49.30	    50	 Cape Elizabeth, ME
 5  Alston Brown	4:49.86	    56	 Bronx, NY
 6  Mark Rybinski	4:56.87	    50	 Manlius, NY
 7  Tom Hartshorne	4:58.54	    52	 Ithaca, NY
 8  Tim McMullen	5:01.05	    52	 Churchville, NY
 9  Fred Robbins	5:16.61	    50	 Stouffville, ON
10  David Bowen	        5:24.41	    53	 Port Byron, NY	
11  Caleb Rossiter	5:26.85	    54	 Washington, DC	

Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 2005 - top grandmasters

PL      Name            AGE     Hometown            Time 
6  	Jim Robinson	51	Rochester, NY 	    04:45.74	
12  	Tom Carter	52	Johnson City, NY    04:53.02	
15  	Tom Hartshorne	50	Ithaca, NY	    05:00.21	
18  	Larry Krol	53	Williamsville, NY   05:06.86	
19  	Tony Plaster	53	Neptune, NJ	    05:10.53	
22  	Caleb Rossiter	53	Washington, DC	    05:17.45	
26  	Greg Grund	53	Elmira, NY	    05:29.51	
27  	Tim Payne	54	Orillia, ON	    05:30.89	
28  	Tom Homeyer	56	Tully, NY	    05:33.11	
29  	Herb Engman	59	Ithaca, NY	    05:38.74	

Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 2004 - top grandmasters

PL     Name              AGE        Time 
11     Jim Robinson      50	    4:50.06	
16     Tom Hartshorne    50	    5:00.19	
20     Joe Chimino 	 50	    5:03.63	
23     Bill Shaw 	 52	    5:06.17	
24     Harry Nolan 	 56	    5:06.52	
27     Ted Paget 	 52	    5:12.02	
29     Dave Bowen 	 51	    5:18.68	
30     Caleb Rossiter    52	    5:28.74	
31     Herb Engman 	 58	    5:30.78	
32     John Saylor 	 56	    5:30.94	

Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile 2003 - top grandmasters

PL      Name                 AGE  Hometown          Time 
5  	Tim McMullen 	     50	  Churchville, NY   4:43.50	
17  	Tim Payne 	     52	  Orillia, Ontario  5:14.06	
20  	Tom Homeyer 	     54	  Tully, NY	    5:18.52	
22  	Dave Bowen 	     50	  Port Byron, NY    5:24.40	
23  	Dennis Featherstone  62	  Ottawa, Ontario   5:26.32	
24  	Herb Engman 	     57	  Ithaca, NY	    5:28.43	
25  	Terry Habecker 	     55	  Ithaca, NY	    5:33.71	
26  	Bob Huddle 	     55	  Elmira, NY	    5:34.22	
28  	Ken Zeserson 	     55	  Lancaster, PA	    5:42.34