To all Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile volunteers, supporters, and competitors:
Whew, it’s a bit surreal that the 50th anniversary running of the Hartshorne Memorial Masters Mile is complete! The 2017 event was the largest on record, and it is hardly an exaggeration to say we saw some of the best, most exciting racing in five decades at the track on Saturday!
Results are available here on the Finger Lakes Runners Club web site. A searchable database of results and videos of all the races will be posted soon, so be sure to check back. We also have results with lap splits via Leone Timing.
Media coverage begins with a brief article by Ken Stone of Masterstrack.com, which includes profiles of elite 40s winners Sasha Scott and Peter Brady. There is also a nice write-up in the Ithaca Journal of race highlights and results from some local runners, and video footage of the men’s Section 6 heat.
This event simply could not happen without the support of the volunteers who cover all the posts—from registration to holding the finish line tape. The runners could run, but it would be only a workout and not an exciting, timed mile event with all the trappings of the bigger track meets at Madison Square Garden and The Armory in upper Manhattan. Putting on the masters races as the introduction to the collegiate track and field meet—which begins immediately after the Hartshorne Masters Mile—is one of the reasons why the masters mile has the energy and attention it deserves. Showing masters competition at its best to all of the college athletes in Barton Hall lets them see themselves 20 or 30 years down the road, and plants the concept of a life of aerobic exercise and competition well beyond their college years. Having support from the college track and field athletes cheering for the “old timers” gives a big boost to our runners out on the oval. So thank you to of all the collegiate track and field athletes from Cornell and the many competing schools for your applause and support of our masters milers!
We are enormously grateful to many people for helping to make the Hartshorne Masters Mile’s 50th year a success. Jim Miner and John Whitman were first on the scene at Barton Hall to staff the registration desk, even while Jim jumped in to race in Section 3. Bruce Roebal and Steve Shaum stood track-side to count laps and call lap times to the runners while Nancy Kleinrock and Aaron Proujansky guided runners in the elite heats through the finish line banner. Dan McKee was crucial at helping to manage a myriad of tasks at the starting line, while Carl Franck and Jim Bisogni expertly handled data entry of the results. Thanks you to Joel Cisne, Darian Muresan, Bert Bland, and Sean Nicholson for keeping order on the third turn and east entrance door.
We were happy to once again have Joe Simpson as course clerk, and Lennie Tucker and Dan Hurley as official starters. Lennie, the force behind Felder Track & Field in Syracuse, NY, started the women’s Section 2 while Dan pulled the trigger for the remaining heats, then continued as starter for the collegiate meet that followed!
Special thanks to our talented rabbits this year: Ben Rainero (ME4), Julie Quinn (WE4), Jay Hubisz (ME5), and Jullien Flynn (WE5). They all did a great job setting the pace for the elite section winners.
Thanks to Tim Bangs and the crew from Bangs Ambulance Service for providing EMS support throughout the day, Jorge Cuevas for his expert video coverage, sound support, and DJ talents at the post-race banquet, and Peter Taylor’s smooth, track-side announcing. (Watch for Peter’s article about this year’s race in National Masters News.) Many thanks to Steve Gallow for his keen eye behind the camera, and to Mary Swan for her great run and her gorgeous rendition of the national anthem that opened the event.
As always, we’re indebted to Cornell coaches Artie Smith, Zeb Lang, and Rich Bowman for their continued support of masters running. They graciously made room for ten heats of the Hartshorne Masters Mile this year, while in the midst of putting together the collegiate track and field meet that began at 12:30 p.m.
We thank Pat Leone, Rick Streeter, and the Leone Timing crew for their excellent timing services. We are deeply grateful to race sponsors Sean Nicholson, Joe Daley, Ken Zeserson, Bill Quinlisk, and Lennie Tucker.
Lastly—and most certainly not least—a tip of the hat to Rick Hoebeke, our 2017 Honorary Race Director. Rick directed the Hartshorne Masters Mile for 20 years after taking over from race founder Jim Hartshorne, before moving to Athens, GA, in 2011. Rick was the force behind the recruitment of national and international class masters runners, and in building the Hartshorne Masters Mile into the premier event it is today.
Thanks to all the fans, friends and families that come to cheer these master athletes.
Finally, and most important of all, thank you to all the athletes who came to run the 50th anniversary event. Your dedication to the sport is an inspiration to all of us!
Sincerely,
Tom and Charlie, race directors