2019 USATF Masters Indoor Championships

IN THEIR WORDS

Antwun Baker

This past weekend was a success in Winston-Salem, NC, at the USATF Masters Indoor Track & Field championships. I returned to the track after my 2018 Outdoor Men’s 30-34 200m championship last summer in Washington state.   I was happy to win 2 titles, one in the 200m and one in the 4x200 relay (with an All-Colorado team!). I also saw all the hard training from this fall come to fruition, especially my explosiveness. This was my first experience running the 200m indoors on a flat track at this level of competition. Although my time in the 200m was slower than I anticipated, I was still happy with the win. I was able to run with good people and meet good people; it’s all part of the experience.  As I transition to the outdoor season, I will continue to add more days to work on running mechanics. I also need to increase my running base as I didn’t really utilize the track as much as I needed this fall season. There is always room for improvement to come back even better!  Running USATF Masters Track & Field is a great experience – I encourage anyone to train and come out! You won’t regret it!

Antoine Echols

It was an honor being able to race this weekend with a great group of individuals and to represent Colorado. I went into this weekend with a huge target on my back leading my age group (35-39) in both the 60m and 200m dashes. I felt great going into the weekend and it showed in the 60 meter dash, which the time was very close to my PR for the year. Clocking a 6.88 with the level of competition I had was awesome for the masters level. I felt that I left a lot on the track and wasn’t pleased but others would take that time and run with it. It was my goal to give it a 110% in my next race which was the 200 meter dash rounds. Unfortunately I forgot to declare for the race and wasn’t given the opportunity to race. My competitors where happy but also sad that I wasn’t racing. Some stated that they really wanted to race against me and was hoping they could come away with a PR. However I told the field to take it as an early Birthday/Christmas  present from me and that there is an available medal out there for grabs. Overall the weekend was awesome but what really topped it was the two relays teams Colorado put together to come away with the fastest times of the meet in both the 4x200 and 4x400 relay. Our times where faster than any of the club team times and we put that team together over the weekend. The 4x200 was ran by myself, Autwun Baker, Thai Woods, and Kyle Wimmer. The 4x400 consisted of myself, Kyle, Roman Marenin, and an athlete from Arizona. Well I could go on forever about this past weekend but overall we as athletes from Colorado had a blast and are looking to link up again this summer for more races. 

Roman Marenin

I’ve been very fortunate to still be able to compete at a high level so far removed from my younger days and it was great to attend the Masters Indoor National Championship in Winston-Salem this last weekend.  This was my first ever season of indoor track and field and the shorter track has taken some getting used to, but it’s been great to meet so many encouraging people not only in Colorado but from across the country.  After an injury ended my outdoor season, I spent a lot of time trying to get back in to the shape I was in during the summer.  I was able to run age group leading times in the 400m and 60m hurdles and had high hopes for the weekend.  The hard work paid off as I was successful in the 400m in what was ultimately not the best race strategy (I was told I ran negative splits for my 200s) but in a time that I think I can improve upon at the Masters World Championships in Torun, Poland at the end of the month, and hopefully secure a medal for team USA.  While I didn’t run as well as I would have liked in the 60m hurdles, I was only .07 seconds off my PR so that was also encouraging.  I ended my individual events in a stacked 200m race where I qualified for the finals finishing 4th, but was unfortunately disqualified for lane line violations.  I was also able to run on a 4x200 relay with some pentathletes I had competed against during the outdoor season as well as a meet leading 4x400 team with Kyle Wimmer and Antoine Echols who are also from Colorado.  The best parts of competitions like this is meeting people from all across the country and forging friendships with people who are just as passionate and motivated as you are.  The camaraderie at the masters level has been fantastic and I look forward to running again with the local Colorado folks and meeting more people as time goes on.

Mary Smith

After four surgeries and multiple stress fractures in both feet, I finally am back running.  The hard work of these last few months culminated on March 1 in Winston-Salem at the USATF Masters National Indoor Championship. My first race on the National scene since Baton Rouge in 2017. I had a great run and am so thankful for my coach, Debra Korthals Brown. She gave me killer workouts that were tough yet paid off in the end - I earned 1st place! And I’m so glad it’s over so I won’t be outside running in the freezing cold with the wind piercing whatever I wore to stay warm, leaving me a shivering sprinter.   Running this 400 meter dash was the most fun I have ever had in a National event as not only did I not expire before the finish I was able to push a little sprint the last 30 meters. The Mondo track surface was wonderful to run on! 

Colorado Results Scoreboard