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USA Track & Field
2009 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships
By Drew Woodrich
May/June 2009
The 2009 USA Masters Indoor Track & Field Championships were held Friday through Saturday, March 20-22, at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Center in Landover, MD. Potomac Valley Track Club hosted the meet, with support from USA Track & Field's Potomac Valley Association. It was a rare opportunity for local residents to match talent with some of the nation's best athletes. Individual events are scored in five-year age groups for men and women; relay competition occurs within ten-year age groups. National titles within age group competition levels the playing field for everyone. This year's USA Masters Indoor Championships was the largest ever, with nearly 1,000 athletes entered in the meet. Age is no barrier to living a healthy lifestyle, and producing astonishing results.
Alisa Harvey (43) of Manassas, VA (photo at left, bib 355) provided an outstanding set of performances by winning three titles. On Saturday, she won the Women's (40-44) Mile in 5:04.01, and the 400m in 59.05; on Sunday, Harvey won the 800m in 2:11.93. The 1986 NCAA Women's 1500m champion, Harvey is the world record-holder in the Women's (40-44) Indoor Mile (4:47.26), and has the American record in the Indoor 800m (2:05.75). Her focus during this meet was winning titles, not racing for times, since competing in three events within 36 hours is very demanding.
Alisa Harvey puts her family first on her list of priorities; she also works part-time at The Running Store in Gainesville, VA, offers coaching service via her Web site AlisaHarvey.com, and promotes youth running year round. Harvey is the #1 Washington Running Report ranked runner (Women 40-44 for 2008), and enjoys road racing; track competition feeds her desire to perform under pressure. Her training includes a long run, up to 90 minutes in length. Harvey shares her knowledge of the sport by writing an "On the Track" column for the Washington Running Report.
The local male with the best distance placing was Stephen 
Chantry (51) (photo at right, bib 133) of Williamsburg, VA, who finished third in the Men's (50-54) 800m with a time of 2:10.67. The Colonial Road Runners team member led the early laps of the Men's Mile before slipping to sixth place (4:51.02). Chantry ran a 400m leg on the winning Men's (50-59) 4x400m relay team. On the road in 2008, he achieved a #4 WRR ranking for Men 50-54. In the same age group, Mark Malander (51) of Oak Hill, VA (photo below, bib 539) is returning from an Achilles injury sustained in July 2008; he resumed training at full-speed in February. He competed in three events (800m, Mile, 3000m) with his best performance on Saturday, a fourth place in the Men's (50-54) 3000m with a time of 9:26.29. Malander was pleased with his even splits, but disappointed that he lacked a strong finish to challenge for the win.
The participation of the 1984 Women's Olympic Marathon gold medalist, Joan Benoit Samuelson (51) of Freeport, ME (photo below at right) sparked interest in the Women's 3000m race on Friday. Last year, Samuelson competed in her final marathon race, the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women's Marathon (2:49:08). She wants to continue racing shorter distances, and she would like to chase after a 5:00 mile in the coming seasons. Racing on an indoor track for the first time since 2003, Samuelson lowered the Women's 
(50-54) 3000m American record by 1.15 seconds to 10:22.69. Her 3000m heat included several women's age groups (50-74); WRR ranked runners Betty Blank (age 56, 12:30.66) and Tami Graf (72, 16:25.90) raced on the Landover oval in that heat.
The Athena Track Club set a new Indoor American record in the Women's 4x400m Relay (40-49) with a time of 4:14.70. That relay team included Joan Hunter (44) of Purcellville, VA, who also achieved an American record in the Women's (45-49) 400m (1:02.09). Potomac Valley Track Club entered a winning team in the Men's (70-79) 4x800m relay; Larry Dickerson (77), Rolland Elliott (73), Oliver Grant (73), and John McMahon (78) collaborated on a 14:06.49 effort. In the Women's sub-masters (30-34) category, Jacqueline Concaugh (34) of Clifton, VA returned to the track as a new mother with three quick races: 2:19.04 (800m), 5:00.13 (mile), and 9:59.58 (3000m). Concaugh continues to serve as a volunteer assistant coach for TC Williams High School in Alexandria, VA; she does some of her workouts with a group of fast women, including Alisa Harvey.
Indoor World record-holders Kathryn Martin (800m, mile, 3000m for Women 55-59) of Northport, NY (photo at left) and Nolan Shaheed (mile for Men 55-59) of Pasadena, CA (photo below at right) won national titles in those same events. The incredible Kathryn Martin (57) triple consisted of 2:40.02 (800m), 5:44.24 (mile), and 10:59.36 (3000m)! Nolan Shaheed (59) won his 
mile race in 4:49.03.
Potomac Valley Track Club hosts a summer weekend series of track meets open to all runners. See their Web site: www.pvtc.org.