The 2022 USATF East Region Masters Championship meet was held June 11-12 in Hightstown, NJ. Last year I took age group wins in the 800 and 1500. I only had a month of training before the 2021 meet and only managed 2:10 and 4:35 for the 800 and 1500. I was hoping for much better times in 2022.

Training: I snuck in some mile-pace training at the end of the road racing season and then got track focused for 3 weeks after the Capitol Hill Classic 3K in May. A key workout was 4x 400,100 in 90+ degree weather. That wiped me out but I hit 67s for the 400s and 15s for the 100s on 100m jog recovery. During an 8x200 workout, I hit two 25s (first and last reps) and kept everything else in the 27-28 range. Biggest tune up event was a club time trial at 1600m. A 4:35 result was a nice confidence booster and suggested that a 4:teens 1500 was possible. A comfortable 57 second 400 a few days before the meet indicated that the speed was there for a decent 800 time as well.

Results: 2nd overall and 1st in age group for both races. Times were 4:19, and 2:02, both big improvements over 2021. 4:19 was a little disappointing but a steady downpour had the track soaked and made warming up a challenge. The weather cleared up for the 800 and a little headwind on the home stretch wasn’t too much of a problem.

The 1500 had two competitors I needed to watch. I was third at the 300m mark in a 48 which was a little quick, but I was smart not to fight for second place too early. I made a smooth pass for second into the second turn and maintained the gap to the leader (a HS runner tuning up for New Balance Nationals) through to the finish. Legs felt a little flat and there was no real kick.

There was about 75 minutes of break before the 800. I hung my jersey to dry and stuffed my spikes with newspaper. My warm up was much better with more drills and harder 125m strides at faster than race pace. I ran a steady race (second the whole time) and hit a nice 2:02. Someone was on my heels for the first lap but the footsteps got quiet after the bell. I surged with 250 to go to maintain a little contact with the leader and that helped set up a better kick than in the 1500.

Final thoughts: The meet organizers did a great job in terrible weather. Big picture, USATF needs to promote Masters track with some more energy and resources. Finding the meet online was challenging enough for someone dedicated to the sport. Social media, email newsletters, and advertising during televised pro meets all need to be ramped up. Masters results should be automatically sent to mastersrankings.com for inclusion in the world rankings. A unified schedule needs to be assembled to avoid conflicts. There was a Potomac Valley Association championship meet the same day as the East Region Championships. That should never happen if a Region championship is supposed to mean something.

With some more dedicated mile training, I hope to be around 4:14 and 1:59 by the time Nationals come around at the end of July.

-Sam Sharp