National Masters Athletics 2017

The 37th National Masters Athletics Championship 2017, conducted by India Masters Athletics, was held at Meenatai Thakre Krida Sankul, Nashik from 24th to 26th March 2017. There were about 1300 veterans, from age 30 years to the 90s, from all over India, who participated. (This meet is not to be confused with a parallel masters’ meet held by Masters Athletics Federation of India in Hyderabad in February.)

The stadium is still a work in progress, so one can find rubble here and there. Nonetheless, the overall facilities provided by the organisers, Nashik District Veterans Athletic Association, were very good. Accommodation (especially the women’s dorms) and food were excellent. The newly laid synthetic track was a pleasure to run on and provided the base for three scorching days of competition. One did miss the trees of Sports Authority Mumbai.

For me, it was a personally fulfilling event. In the Women 45+ age group I won 5 medals – gold in 80m hurdles, 400m and 4x100m relay, silver in 100m and 200m.

Here are some other glimpses of the event.

Pictures taken by miscellaneous people and shared.

Living to run!

It was a warm afternoon on the first day (10th March 2016) of the 36th National Masters Athletic Championship, at the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College Ground in Lucknow. For those unaware about ‘Masters’, it’s another word for ‘veterans’, with veteran defined as over the age of 30. At this championship,track and field events were held for men and women in 5-year age-groups (30+, 35+, 40+… 85+).

Post-lunch, the track was scheduled to see the 100m run for men and women for some of the age-group categories. Many of us who had no event just hung around at the ground to see the fastest oldies in action.

As the 85+ men dashed off, someone in the crowd mentioned that a 118-year old man was in the line up. He had taken part in some marathons as well. Seriously!? I was aware that Holocaust survivor Yisrael Kristal was supposed to be the oldest living man at 112. Anyhow, 118 or whatever, sprinting in one’s old age is phenomenal. I ran to the finish line to check out the old man. He was the lanky one with the turban… the one in a 6-feet something wiry body frame that served as a perfect hanger for his yellow T-shirt.