The Heat And A Sisters' Support

Norma "Nonie" Hudnall had a secret weapon against the broiling heat in the USATF Masters Outdoors Championships this week.

By Ray Glier

HUNTSVILLE, Ala.____Nonie Hudnall, 75, did not clench her jaw, as if added intensity was going to tack on a layer of steel against the throttling heat here Thursday. Hudnall did not give herself a stern talking to in front of the mirror about hanging tough when faced with unkind playing conditions, like a smoking hot track surface.

Instead, Nonie (NO-nee) allowed her playful younger sister, Cathie Hudnall, to perform some old-fashioned artificial intelligence. Cathie drew an imaginary and mystical “heat shield” around Nonie’s face to protect her older sister from the 91-93 degree sauna on Milton Frank Track.

Slapstick? Unserious? Goofy?

Maybe, but when mystics combined with her obvious running skill, Nonie went out and won the Women’s 75-79 Pentathlon and anchored a world-record in the 4x800 for the Atlanta Track Club in W75-79 at the United States Track & Field Masters Outdoors Championships here Thursday.

“She (Cathie) told me to imagine that heat shield around me,” Hudnall said. “You learn to play little mental games like that in these conditions.”

It is not approaching the metaphorically wintry end for some Masters athletes here this weekend as the heat bears down on 70-year olds. Pun intended. They are drawing on decades of resources to be warriors against this oppressive heat, so much so it appears they will never stop, no matter how hot it gets.

Hudnall is part of that crowd that won’t stay home. Of course, she also did more practical things, like drinking seven bottles of water that day to stay hydrated.

Nonie had to be mentally fit, as well as physically fit. She was in third place entering the final event of the Pentathlon, which was the 800 meters, two laps around the steamy track. There was some nervousness working on her, she said.

Hudnall is not a strong jumper, but she performed particularly poorly in the high jump, she said, which set her back in the Pentathlon standings. She had to dominate the 800 to win the gold medal. 

Lining up for the 800, Nonie had her “heat shield” and an awareness she was the favorite. She won the race and claimed the Pentathlon gold medal with 1,417 points. 

There was no time to celebrate.

Her Atlanta Track Club 4x800 team was already lining up on the track. Hudnall was the anchor. And she had a distraction as she walked to her place for 4x800 relay. When Hudnall glanced at the Pentathlon standings she saw “0” for her points for the 80-meter hurdles. Was she disallowed and not the gold medal winner?

“I thought ‘I need to go file a protest’,” she said.

Nonie took her spot for the 4x800 and would worry about the Pentathlon later. A veteran move. (This is a lesson from Geezer Jocks. Don’t get overwrought.)

The relay went better than expected. When she got the baton for the fourth leg, Hudnall cruised 2 minutes 1 second in her first 200 meters. With a lot of juice left she stepped on the gas and went 1:58 the second 200.

“ I rarely get reverse splits,” Nonie said.

The ATC finished at 19:34.93, which trashed the old world record of 21:24.50. The Atlanta quartet was Joanie McMullen, Kathleen Allen, Andrea Mccarter, and Hudnall.

As for the scoring of "0" for the hurdles in the five-event pentathlon, it was a glitch in a meet that ran remarkably well considering stoppages for lightning bursts. Hudnall claimed the points and the gold.
 
Nonie is bent on getting her money’s worth in Masters track. Hudnall, who lives in Spartanburg, S.C., went to Clemson University, pre Title IX, so there were no sports for females.

“And so I've just kind of been making up for lost time, just enjoying it,” she said.

There was a lot to learn from Hudnall and older competitors. The meet draws athletes from 35 years old up, but many were particularly worried about the athletes over 65 because of the heat, which gets worse every year for these championships.

Nonie smiled and said, “I don't think there have been any casualties in relation to the heat. Maybe older people are just smarter about staying fully hydrated and not pushing.”

And maybe older people have some creativity, not just bromides about “doing your best.”

I mean, how many runners under 50 have a baby sister who draw “heat shields”?

(Geezer would love to hear creative ways athletes deal with adversity. Respond to this story, or send email to ray@geezerjocknews.com).