Race walking looks funny, but works

by Ralph ChatoianIndependent Journal reporter (1992)

Jack Bray doesn't mind if someone laughs as he struts by in his race-walkinggait. He just smiles back.

Bray, a gerontologist at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco and aGreenbrae resident, teaches race walking classes at the College of Marin andalso offers semi-private and private lessons for the beginner.

The 59-year-old certainly has the qualifications for teaching his sport. He'sranked No. 1 in the world among race walkers in his age group (55-59).

While some people giggle when race walkers strut by, arms pumping and hipswiggling, Bray, who used to be a runner, says it's the only way to go.

"I was always an exceptional runner," said Bray, "but I used to wake up in themorning with lower back pains and sore knees. I could hardly get out of bed. Iknew there must be an alternative."

That was just four years ago. In the short time since, Bray has developed into anexpert race walker. And part of it involves ancient Chinese healing arts. Bray is

a student and teacher of chi Kung, a Taoist healing art which, he says, "movesvital energy through the organs, systems and tissues of the entire body. It makesyou more energized with more vitality."

In his younger days, Bray was quite a basketball player and received ascholarship offer from John Wooden at UCLA but was drafted into the Navybefore he had a chance to become a Bruin.

Danced with Ginger

After his time in the armed service Bray received another scholarship offer, butthis time it was to the American School of Dance. He became a professionaldancer in the 1960s and appeared with Betty Grable, Ginger Rogers and LisaKirk and was in more than 20 Broadway shows, including "My Fair Lady" and"West Side Story," the New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.

When he started his race walking career, Bray obtained some videos of some ofthe best race walkers in the world and studied them. Among those was MarcoEvoniuk of San Francisco who is in Barcelona as a member of the U.S. racewalking team. Both Evoniuk and Bray are coached by Frank Alongi of Dearborn,Mich., who comes west each year to head a race-walking workshop for Bray atCollege of Marin.

Bray teaches to all ages, his students ranging in age from 8-year-old JaredStoots of Tiburon to 92-year-old Daudee Douglas of San Francisco.

"I teach race walking to all people," said Bray, "You start when you are youngand carry it through your life. I have families taking the classes, and motherswho will teach their children."

Bray likes to call race walking "the dance of life," and teaches his students towalk with "a smile on their face," said Bray. "That's part of the Taoist practice.The inner smile. You smile from your eyes to your lips, down to your heart, to youliver, and to your kidneys. It move the energy through the body."

Rules to walk by

There are rules in race walking, and in competition a person can be disqualifiedfor not following them. The walker must have one foot on the ground at all times,and the 'passing leg' must be straight at the knee. It is the improvement of thistechnique that increases the speed. And it is this technique, which requires thehips to move to and fro, that give the walk its peculiar look.

"It is the challenge of maintaining a legal technique as well as the drive toimprove one's speed," said Bray. "It makes it a sport of the mind as well as thebody."

Many of Bray's students take the classes for the sport's aerobic benefits ratherthat to develop themselves for competition.

"Fitness writer John Poppy refers to race walking as the Rolls Royce of aerobics,burning more fuel, or calories, than running at a comparable speed for the samelength of time." Said Bray.

"It is a superb sport of the over 60 crowd, helping participants maintain a goodrange of motion in the shoulders and hips. A special benefit to senior women isthe gentle impact on hip and shoulders which signals the body to restore calciumto those joints and help prevent osteoporosis."

Bray said race walking is wonderful for the heart and lungs and it builds strengthand endurance without adding bulk. "Because you glide instead of bounce, thereis no stress to the knees, kidneys or lower back."

And, he said, it is good for women of all ages. "It is the only sport that we knowof that diminishes cellulite in the thighs and hips."

A great exercise

Bray, a board member of the Marin County Heart Association, points out that thesport also is good as a cardiovascular exercise.

"It is an excellent way to get the heart rate up," said Dr. Mark P Wexman, pastpresident of the Marin chapter of the American Heart Association and cardiologistat Marin General Hospital. "It is especially good for older people and offersexercise without the orthopedic trauma on joints and muscles and bones thatjogging causes."

Wexman, who is also an assistant professor of clinical medicine at University ofCalifornia San Francisco, said, "I appreciate what Jack has done. He is aninspiration and a model of practicing what he preaches."

The lean Bray who appears much younger than a man approaching his sixthdecade, stands 6-foot- 2 ½ and his normal weight is 162 pounds. Because ofextensive training in preparation for a national meet, his weight is down to 155.

The meet he's training for is the TAC National Masters Track and FieldChampionship in Spokane Wash. Aug. 13-16. He will be competing in the 5-kilometer (3.1 miles) and 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) events in a meet that isexpected to attract more than 1,000 athletes. And around the corneris the WorldVeteran Games in November 1993 in Miyazaki, Japan, where Bray will becompeting along with 8,000 seniors around the world.

Pace is rapid

The pace for expert race walker is very rapid, with some Europeans beingclocked in five-minute miles. Olympians can cover 50 kilometers (31 miles) in 3½ hours and the world record in the 20-kilometer (12.4 miles) race is 1 hour and18 minutes.

Bray said race walking dates back to the end of the 18th century in England.According to his research on the subject, thirsty English gentlemen who weregathered at a race or other outing would send their coachmen on foot to fetch ajug of ale from the nearest tavern, perhaps a mile or two away. They would thenlay bets on whose coachman would return first. Of course the men could not run,for fear of spilling the ale, and so they developed the curious strutting gait whichhas progressed to modern-day race walking.

Bray's early teacher in race walking was Bill Ranney, San Rafael High Schoolteacher and coach who died unexpectedly in 1986 after exercising on a rowingmachine"He was my mentor," Bray said about Ranney, who was headed for the1980 Olympics before the United States pulled out. "He told me I would be doing7 minute miles sometime down the road, and now I am. I miss him very much."He was 51.

“Fast Surpassing others as the aerobic exercise of choice”by Joan Price

from an article in thePacific Sun Health and Fitness

Week of May 21, 1993

You've seen them speeding along tracks and trails, in parks and shopping malls.Their feet skim the ground, their arms pump, sometimes their hips have thatfunny roll, and usually they're smiling. They are exercise walkers, and they'vefound a workout that's easy on the joints and adaptable to every fitness level.

Clearly, walking is good for health. It improves circulation, burns calories,decreases stress, revs up both physical and mental energy, and makes you feelgood. But can you really get an aerobic workout just by putting one foot in frontof the other and admiring the scenery?

You bet. Just pick up the pace. As Harry Truman said, "Walk as if you havesomeplace to go." Walk fast enough to drive your heart rate into target zone -about four miles per hour for most of us, five miles per hour for hard-coreathletes. Add some attention to body alignment and technique, and you'll findyourself working all the major muscle groups, including those that runningignores. You get the same cardiovascular benefits as with running, but with onlyone-third the impact. Not bad for a sport that's easy on the joints, light on thewallet, and requires no equipment except shoes.

Racewalking is walking in its most advanced form requiring technique andtraining. Racewalking has been an Olympic event for men since 1905; 1993 isthe first year for women. Racewalkers approach the speed of runners (and theylook like they approach the speed of light) with a five-minute 18-second mile forshort sprints and seven-minute mile average pace for 31 miles (50k). The racewalkers burn more calories than runners at the same pace though, becausewalkers must keep one foot on the ground at all times, using more steps andmore muscle action.

World-class racewalker Jack Bray is 60 years young. (He doesn't use the o-l-dword.) You'd guess his age at 40-something form his unlined face; vibranthealth; lean, muscled frame- and his seven-minute mile racewalking speed.Bray's body is relaxed, his smile serene as his feet seem to fly just above theground like a cartoon character making a getaway. He points out that his hipsdon't have the "dorky duck walk" we often see with Racewalkers.

Just voted "Most Inspirational Racewalker" byWalking magazine, Bray teachesracewalking at the College of Marin and privately, and directs the MarinRacewalkers which he founded. His racewalkers are aged eight to 83, andseveral have had heart surgery. Bray's mission: to spread the joy and health of

racewalking, which he calls "the dance of life," to competitive athletes andordinary health seekers alike.

Bray started racewalking after years of marathon running. After his lastmarathon, at age 55, he couldn't get out of bed. A month later, he was still inpain. Now pain free, he's not only a champion racewalker, but his running time isbetter than ever.

"If you pass a runner, say hello!" he instructs as they hit the trail.

"Walking takes people who are out of shape and puts them into shape," saysHerman Arrow, president of Mended Hearts, a heart surgery support group thatvisits patients in the hospital and later helps to reeducate them about healthylifestyle changes. Many Mended Hearts members now racewalk.

https://westsidetrackclub.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/finish-line-vol-29-no-3.pdfJack Bray doesn’t mind if someone laughs as he struts by in his race-walking gait. He justsmiles back.

Bray, a gerontologist at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco and a Greenbrae resident,teaches race walking classes at the College of Marin and also offers semi-private and privatelessons for the beginner.

The 59-year-old certainly has the qualifications for teaching his sport. He’s ranked No. 1 in theworld among race walkers in his age group (55-59).

While some people giggle when race walkers strut by, arms pumping and hips wiggling, Braywho used to be a runner, says it’s the only way to go.

“I was always an exceptional runner,” says Bray, “but I used to wake up in the morning withlower back pains and sore knees. I could hardly get out of bed. I knew there must be analternative.”

http://napavalleyregister.com/sports/mckay-qualifies-for-junior-olympics/article_a9a38a2e-840e-57ba-a78f-cc3d27f91dc1.html

McKay qualifies for JuniorOlympicsPrint Email

July 19, 2002 12:00 am • By MARTY JAMES(0) Comments

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Friday in the Napa Valley:

* Dawn McKay, a senior at New Technology High School, recently competed at the Region 14 USA

Track and Field Championship in Union City. McKay placed first in the 5,000-meter race walk event

with a time of 32 minutes, 25 seconds and qualified for the Junior Olympics in Omaha, Neb., next

week.

McKay has been a racewalker with the Napa Track Club and currently trains under Jack Bray of the

Marin Race Walkers.

* The Napa Summer Shootout for boys varsity basketball teams takes place Saturday and Sunday at

Messner Gym. The host Napa Indians will be joined by Vintage, Vallejo, Deer Valley-Antioch, Wood,

Redwood-Larkspur, Armijo and Santa Rosa.

On Saturday, Napa and Vintage meet at 9 a.m., followed by Vallejo and Deer Valley at 10:10 a.m.,

Wood and Redwood at 11:20 a.m., Armijo-Deer Valley at 12:30 p.m., Wood-Vintage at 1:40 p.m.,

Armijo-Redwood at 2:50 p.m., Santa Rosa-Napa at 4 p.m., and Santa Rosa-Vallejo at 5:10 p.m.

Sunday's games have the same starting times.

* Napa golfer J.J. Jakovac lost in the second round of match play to Chris Stroud of Groves, Texas, 1

up Thursday at the U.S. Amateur Public Links at Washington Township, Mich. Jakovac, a Vintage

High graduate who attends Chico State, qualified with a 138 total and won his first-round match in the

U.S. Golf Association-sanctioned tournament.

* Forty players in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades are participating in the Napa High Girls

basketball camp. The camp was established to serve the community and better develop girls

basketball, said Jose Solis, a NHS coach. The camp is run by Napa High coaches as well as players

from the Napa High girls basketball team.

"The camp's main focus is to teach all the girls the fundamentals of basketball, to have fun and to join

kids from all schools and grade levels to play and learn together," said Solis. Other coaches are Tim

Chrisco, Darci Lewis and Jennifer Gigle, and NHS players helping out are Alexandra Good, Katie

Keilig and Nicoletta Geyer.

* Napa, the host team, will open the 2002 Pacific Southwest Babe Ruth 13-year-old Regional

Tournament on July 26 at 8 p.m. against Guam at the John F. Kennedy Ballpark.

Nine teams are entered in the double-elimination tournament, which begins Thursday and runs

through July 31, with the winner qualifying for the 13's nationals in Abbeyville, La.

Playing in Napa will be the Northern California Nos. 1 and 2 teams, Hawaii, Nevada, Central and

Southern California, and Utah. Arizona has pulled out of the tournament, informing officials it was

unable to field a team.

Officials said a grass infield is in place, weeding and painting is in progress and extra bleachers and

concession stands will be moved into place as the local Napa Babe Ruth League prepares for one of

the biggest baseball tournaments to take place in the city.

* First-year head coach Bill Callahan will direct the Oakland Raiders in their first practice of two-a-

days at training camp July 26 at Redwood Middle School in Napa. The team — veterans and all

rookies under contract — arrives the day before and will stay at the Napa Valley Marriott.

"I know the responsibilities that come with the job," Callahan said Wednesday. "It is a challenge for

me. But I don't get blown away by it. I know it's a job and I know what my functions are.

"But I keep a perspective about where I'm at and what I'm doing."

http://www.sfsu.edu/~sfsumag/archive/fall_winter_03/alumni4.html

SFSU Magazine Online Fall/Winter 2003 Vol. 4 Number 1

Walking the WalkJack Bray (M.A., '89), a world champion racewalker, is on the phone from his homein Marin County, where he has just returned after setting a new American record forhis age group in the 5,000-meter road race at Kingsport, Tenn. At 71, Braycompetes among 70- to 74-year-olds. But if you were to see him, he insists, youwould not believe he is a septuagenarian. "I look like a chiseled body builder," hesays.

As if to dispel any doubts, Bray invited SFSU Magazine to meet him at the track atCollege of Marin, where he trains and teaches racewalking. Bray shows up wearing aturquoise warm-up suit over Spandex shorts and a tank top. If not quite CharlesAtlas, he is impressively tight and toned. At 6-foot-2 and 158 pounds, Bray has long,sinewy legs, a buff chest, and hardly an inch to pinch except for a slight waistlinebulge that he blames on a weakness for Ben & Jerry's.

Bray attributes his enviable physique and good health in large part to racewalking,the sport that has won him a drawer full of medals. A Broadway dancer andchoreographer before he came to San Francisco State to study gerontology, Bray isranked number one in his age group in the United States. In 1998, he set a worldrecord for the 3,000 meter indoor race in Boston, slicing 81 seconds off the oldrecord of 17:28.

Bray champions racewalking with evangelical zeal. He says it is the ideal sport forbaby boomers and beyond, providing all of the cardiovascular benefits of running butnone of the injuries. Bray was an avid marathoner until giving up distance running17 years ago because of the toll it took on his body. In 1992, Bray founded the MarinRace Walkers, which he says is the country's largest racewalking club.

Despite gaining in popularity, racewalking remains one of track's least appreciatedevents, eliciting snickers for the awkward way the hips rotate from front to back.Bray finds the butt-wiggle jokes tiresome. "If you're doing it properly, it's not funnyat all. It's smooth and beautiful," he says.

Bray proves his point by racewalking a few hundred yards, his wife of 14 years, Sue,watching from the sidelines. He is remarkably fast and fluid. Though racewalking'srules require that one foot be on the ground at all times, Bray's feet seem to hardlytouch the surface.

If anything, Bray is just getting warmed up. His sights are set on smashing anotherrecordat the world championships in San Sebastian, Spain, in 2005.-- Adrianne Bee

I was interviewed for the first issue of Walk! Magazine in 2005.

http://www.post-gazette.com/life/lifestyle/2005/05/29/Senior-Games-Jack-Bray-72-Marin-County-Calif/stories/200505290261

Senior Games: Jack Bray,72 Marin County, Calif.May 29, 2005 12:00 AM

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By Gary Rotstein Pittsburgh Post-GazetteNATIONAL SENIOR OLYMPIANS TEND

to be better educated than their peers among the older population, but they've had all

kinds of careers.

Martin E. Kilmek, Marin Independent JournalJack Bray, a world-record race walker and former dancer, works out at the College of Marin, Calif. track.Click photo for larger image.

Jack Bray, 72, looking to repeat as a race-walking gold medalist, put his feet on stage

instead of on track for 20 years as a dancer on Broadway and in touring companies. He

started as a boy in San Jose, Calif., by tap dancing with his older sister. Basketball

became a focus in high school, college and the Navy, but the 6-foot-3-inch Bray settled

into dance as a full-time calling in his 20s.

He worked alongside Frank Sinatra, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and many other stars

for years in New York and Hollywood and points in-between. The life of a "gypsy," as

cast members like him are known, required that he constantly stay fit, with an

emphasis on bodybuilding.

"I was doing something that I had a passion for," Bray said. "You worked matinees and

did six shows a week. The money was very good, and it gave one a chance to study and

continue along with your dream. You're constantly taking dance and acting and voice

lessons."

Race-walking became a passion in the late 1980s, when the onetime high school track

star wanted nothing more to do with grueling marathon races. Four-time race-walking

Olympian Marco Evoniuk introduced him to the sport, in which participants use a fast-

paced, odd-looking gait by following rules always to keep a foot on the ground and a

straight knee.

Bray can walk a mile that way in under eight minutes. His winning times at the 2003

national Senior Olympics were 7 minutes, 48.28 seconds in the 1,500 meters and

28.36 in the 5,000 meters. He was far ahead of his closest age 70-74 competitor in

both events -- no surprise, since he has been winning for years in national competition.

A race-walking teacher at three colleges in the Bay Area, Bray describes the sport as

one in which the body's muscle groups must be in perfect harmony. He is also a

proponent of an Eastern exercise program called qi-gong, which combines special

movement, meditation and breathing techniques. Between that and daily walking, he

feels much younger than 72.

"There's no such thing as slowing down if you're a master of wisdom," Bray explained.

http://www.marinij.com/general-news/20080903/jack-bray-the-original-marin-racewalker-moving-to-wisconsin

Jack Bray, the original MarinRaceWalker, moving to WisconsinBy Dave Albee

POSTED: 09/03/08, 12:01 AM PDT | UPDATED: ON 03/19/20150 COMMENTS

JACK BRAY and his wife, Sue Blochwitz, moved from Greenbrae to Wisconsin last week and

the joke is they walked all the way there.

Not true. They bought a Prius and drove to Pardeeville, Wisc., where the married couple of

20 years will live in her parent's retirement home, a solar-heated earth shelter on 80 acres of

land in Sue's native state. That gives Jack, 75, plenty of space to stretch out and continue to

do what he does best - racewalk.

"It's exciting to know that after a period of years when you're steady you're ready to meet

anything in life," he said.

Bray is to racewalking - the quirky Olympic sport that requires you to move forward while

keeping contact with the ground at all times - what Jerry Lewis is to telethons. He always

seems to meet his goal no matter how old he is or how long he's been doing it. Among

athletes in Marin, Bray may have owned more national and world records than anyone. In

June, he broke the American record in the 1,500-meter racewalk for the 75-79 age group and

last month he broke two American racewalking records in the 5-kilometer and 10K events at

the Outdoor Nationals in Spokane, Wash., and then clocked a time of 17 minutes, 39 seconds

in setting a national mark in the 3K at the USA Track and Field Pacific Association meet in

Reno, Nev.

All told, Bray figures he has broken at least 20 national and world age group records in

racewalking. And he's not done yet.

"He's going to keep going until he can't," Blochwitz said. "I don't think he'll give it up. It's too

much fun."

OK, it looks funny when Bray pumps his arms and wiggles his hips in his racewalking gait.

But Bray is a serious athlete. He was a star basketball player growing up in San Jose and was

good enough to be recruited by legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. Unfortunately, the

Navy drafted Bray before the Wizard of Westwood.

Bray snapped up the next scholarship offer that came his way. The American School of Dance

recruited him to Obviously, Bray was fast on his feet but racewalking didn't enter the picture

until Bray was too hurt to run in the 80s. Lower back and knee pain forced him to seek an

alternative. He started racewalking about the time he discovered Chi Kung, a Taoist healing

art that, Bray theorized, spreads energy throughout his body.

It wasn't easy at first. Bray remembers a grueling 50K race in Carmel Valley that began in the

morning frost in February and ended in the noon heat. Blochwitz was there for that.

"That was five hours of walking. I was volunteering to hand out bananas and after five hours

I felt like a monkey," she said. "What was I going to do? Sit and watch this race for five

hours? I thought it was crazy all the way around."

Not anymore. Bray has become a master at racewalking and Blochwitz has been his greatest

fan and supporter. They co-founded the Marin RaceWalkers. She understands and

appreciates her husband's desire to chase the records.

"He really loves to get them, but the world doesn't end if he doesn't make it," Blochwitz said.

"He likes the challenge. It's entertaining for his mind."

And Bray has a sharp mind. He's a retired gerontologist. He taught racewalking and exercise

classes at College of Marin and plans to lead a racewalking class at the University of

Wisconsin this fall. He gives instruction and life advice and draws energy from his students,

who also learn Bray's qi gong beliefs.

"So we don't look at it as checking out at 125 (years old)," Bray said. "I told my students,

'You're all going to be here in 2050. I don't want to be alone.'"

Don't worry. They're on his side.

"He's a very positive person," said 52-year-old Kevin Killingsworth, a credit card company

management consultant from Mill Valley who took Bray's class and learned to racewalk.

"He's kind of a Type A (personality). He's extremely competitive. He's got incredible mental

toughness. That's what makes him so good."

Bray taught Killingsworth well. But not well enough.

"I used to beat him," Bray said, smiling. "Now, in a 150-meter sprint, I still can take him."

Bray always seems to be in excellent mental and physical health. The only time he recalls

getting hurt racewalking was when he slipped off a speedbump on a wet course in Southern

California. Otherwise, Bray has been a stand-up guy, a model figure for his sport whose

passion and perseverance helped lure many world-class racewalkers to visit Marin.

Now Bray is off to Wisconsin. He and his wife will travel to Delray Beach, Fla., for three

months in the winter as "snow birds" so Bray can hook up in person with his coach, Dr.

Frank Alongi. Bray said he would call Alongi on the telephone three or four times a week

from Marin.

With more time to spend with his coach and more time to train in Wisconsin, Bray already is

looking forward to the world championships in Finland next year. There's no stopping him

now.

"He's got a lot of mileage on him," Blochwitz said.

Bray figures he racewalks an average of 30 miles a week and he's been doing it for 21 years.

That's roughly 300,000 miles walked in his racing career and that doesn't count the cool-

down walks he takes with his wife almost daily. Bray finds motivation in expectation.

"I can wake up in the morning and know that I have an expectation of a workout and training

for the next race," he said. "If you have expectations, you don't let your mind stall."

That's Bray simple outlook on life. It's more a racewalk than a cakewalk and he's ahead of the

game.

Read more Ross, Kentfield & Greenbrae stories at the IJ's Ross, Kentfield &Greenbrae section.

Contact Dave Albee by e-mail at dalbee@marinij.com

http://www.parksiderangers.com/news/2009/5/21/MTRK_0521090659.aspx

THREE WALKERS EARN NATIONALQUALIFYING MARKSMen's Cross Country | 5/21/2009 9:05:38 AMMiranda Melville, last year's USA Junior (U20) Race Walker of the Year, completed her firstever 20km Race Walk and earned the qualifying time for this year's championship that willbe held at the University of Oregon on June 27th. She will be joined by teammate Le'erinVoss, who also met the standard for the event. A third member of the UWP program, ErikaLamp, earned a mark in the Junior National Championship, held on the same day in Oregonwhen she met the standard in her first attempt at the 10 km distance.

Melville was the overall winner of the event, the UWP May Race Walks, that was held on thePetrifying Springs 2000m loop course on Sunday morning. The sophomore from Rush, NewYork walked a time was 1:47:01. Runner-up in the event went to UWP junior Le'erin Voss,the 3rd year athlete from Nashotah, Wis., walked a time of 1:49:10. Lamp is a freshmen fromWestosha Central High School, and covered the 10km distance in 58:43.

All three of the UWP women were able to complete their races with covering the second halfof the race faster than the first half. Melville earned a career best mark for 10km when shewalked the second half of the race in a time of 52:10. Last year, her best mark was 53:05, thatshe walked at the World Cup Junior Championships in Russia.

On the men's side of the event, UWP alums swept that Top 3 spots and earned qualifyingmarks for the USA Championships as well. Ben Shorey (1:28:47), Mike Tarantino (1:29:21),and Stephen Quirke (1:30:25) completed the sweep of the event.

Shorey and Quirke compete for the Parkside Athletic Club and Tarantino compete unattachedand is currently residing in San Diego, Cal. Quirke and Tarantino each walked career bestmarks by over 2 minutes.

In the Masters Division, UWP Coach Mike De Witt finished 2nd in the Over 50 division10km event with a time of 56:23. He placed 3rd overall in the Master's Age Grading with amark of 80.50% and the overall winner of the Age Grade was Jack Bray, 76 years old ofPardeville, wis., who scored at 85.47. Bray is a multiple World Record Holder in Master'sRace Walking.

UWP Coach Mike De Witt commented on the walkers performances on Sunday. "Theweather conditions were at optimum on the Petrifying Springs course. It was a great payofffor the hours of training that the women have put in for the past 6 months. It is a young

group, with Melville walking her first year at the senior distance and Voss in her second year.It was great to see them walk negative split races and look stronger as the event moved intothe later stages. It was nice to have the UWP men alums on the course as well. They did agood job of working together helping walk as well as they have ever done."

http://journaltimes.com/sports/parkside-s-melville-reaches-qualifying-mark/article_6342605b-5cd8-5270-9962-40181c180621.html

Parkside's Melville reachesqualifying markPrint Email

May 19, 2009 12:00 am • By Journal Times staff(0) Comments

Journal Times sports staff

UW-Parkside's Miranda Melville completed her first 20-kilometer race walk in impressive fashion

Sunday.

Melville was the overall winner of May Race Walks Sunday at Petrifying Springs. The sophomore

from Rush, N.Y., had a time of 1:47:01 and earned the qualifying time for this year's National

Championship at the University of Oregon June 27.

Melville will be joined at the national meet by junior teammate Le'erin Voss, who also met the

standard for the event with a time of 1:49:10.

A third Parkside walker, Erika Lamp, earned a qualifying mark in the 10-kilometer race at the Junior

National Championship in Oregon. Lamp, a freshmen from Westosha Central High School, finished in

58:43.

Melville earned a career-best mark for 10 kilometers when she walked the second half of the race in

52:10. Her best mark last year was 53:05, which she recorded at the World Cup Junior Championships

in Russia.

Meanwhile, Parkside alums swept the top three spots in the men's race and earned qualifying marks

for the USA Championships as well.

They were Ben Shorey (1:28:47), Mike Tarantino (1:29:21) and Stephen Quirke (1:30:25).

Shorey and Quirke compete for the Parkside Athletic Club and Tarantino competes unattached.

In the Masters Division, Parkside coach Mike De Witt finished second in the over-50 division. De

Witt covered the 10K course in 56:23. He placed third overall in the Master's Age Grading with a

mark of 80.50 percent.

The overall winner of the Age Grade was 76-year-old Jack Bray of Pardeville, who scored at 85.47.

Bray is a multiple World Record Holder in Masters Race Walking.

* Jessica Monson ran her first open 800-meter race of the year and was just .4 of a second off her

school record when she won the event at the North Central College Gregory Last Chance Open.

Monson was timed in 2:09.29, which met the NCAA II automatic qualifying standard. It was the third

event she has reached the time standard in this year.

Hope Christie placed eighth with a personal-best time of 17:48.33 in the 5,000-meter run, and

Whitney Olson won her section of the 1,500-meter run at 4:59.54, dropping under 5:00 for the first

time in her career.

* Carthage College has qualified three athletes for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field

Championship Thursday through Saturday at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.

On the men's side, junior Buzzy Brown qualified in the long jump and senior Jon Kochmit qualified in

the hammer throw.

Sophomore Heather Gilmore qualified in the 100-meter high hurdles in the women's division.

http://www.wiscnews.com/sports/running/article_2128072e-beae-5255-8a41-6d95ffc39415.html

PHOTO: Walking thewalk

Aug 10, 2009

Pardeeville's Jack Bray recently won five racewalking gold medals while competing inthe World Masters Athletics Championships July 28-Aug. 8 in Lahti, Finland. Brayplaced first individually in the 5K, 10K and 20K racewalks and won a pair of goldmedals as part of Team USA in the 10K and 20K racewalks. Over 5,000 athletescompeted at the WMA Championships, which are held every other year.

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SMALL TOWN NEWSAccomplishmentMike Wiggins Wins Gold Medal In Racewalk EventBy The Akron Hometowner staffThe Akron Hometowner of Akron, Iowa

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Michael Wiggins, president of Peoples Bank of Hawarden, recentlycompeted in the Master's Track and Field championships inHelsinki, Finland.

Wiggins came home with a gold medal. He teamed with RichCarlson of Colorado and Norm Frable of Utah and they won thegold in the 10K.

"This was my first time in the Masters. They have age categoriesfrom age 35 up every five years (age groups)," said Wiggins, whowas in the 60-65 age group.

Wiggins had a couple of unknowns to conquer, his first 20Kracewalk, jet lag, and recovering from an injury. He rehabbed atHawarden Community Hospital.

"Norm told me if I came, he wanted me on his team," Wiggins said.Wiggins' training, though, was limited by the injury. The highlightwas the gold in the 10K, followed by the silver in the 20K.

"It was great to hear our National Anthem in a foreign country.Most of the crowd was friends and family of the competitors andlocals," said Wiggins, who returned last week.

"It is the camaraderie," he added. "Someone approached me at the

end who could barely speak English, and said, 'nice job.' He wasfrom Iran."

Weather was nice for race-walking, from the low 50s to the 80s.

In race walking, technique and speed are both important, and onehas to be watchful of the judges.

Wiggins thanks Jack Bray of Wisconsin, who is racewalking at age75, for giving him some pointers.

Wiggins, who is nationally recognized as a leader in race-walking,hopes to return to competition at a race in Sacramento, CA. Untilthen, he will be training in and around Hawarden, at the WestSioux High track, and on trails.

ORIGINAL PUBLICATION DATE: AUGUST 19, 2009

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