Greetings, all: Rod Dixon is a member of the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame for his exploits on the track and roads, including a bronze medal in the Munich 1500 and a 1983 New York Marathon victory. But unlike most Hall of Famers, he hasn’t hung up his spikes. In 1995, Dixon waged a legendary battle with California’s Nolan Shaheed at the World Veterans Athletic Championships in Buffalo, N.Y., winning the 1500 in the M45 age group by a tiny margin -- 4:01.21 to Shaheed’s silver-medal mark of 4:01.67. Dixon also won the 5000 at Buffalo in 15:12.0 Six years later, Shaheed is in fabulous shape, manifest in a 4:06.36 for 1500 on May 5 at the Steve Scott Invitational in Irvine, California. But he’s not a lock for gold at the Brisbane world WAVA meet in July. Dixon is back. And ready to rumble. The man who ran 3:33.89 at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in Christchurch (Filbert Bayi’s world record race) and clocked his PR mile of 3:53.62 in Stockholm in 1975 says he is training for another go at WAVA gold. In an e-mail message May 8, Dixon wrote me: "I competed in Buffalo for the Champs in ‘95, ran the 45+ 1500 and 5000, had fun and thought well maybe go give it a crack this year at 50+. May only run the 1500 this time, however. I'll see how it goes." But he’s not running just for fun. "I feel I’m capable of running 4.05-4.10 for 1500 and 14.50-15.00 for 5," he writes from his rural home north of Auckland. "Have had some good runs lately in the Sky Tower Vertical Challenge (a 1,082-step climb in which Dixon finished in the top 10 overall) and a couple cross-country races over 8K and 5K. I am always in running shape, carry the same weight 155 as I did in 1972. "You know what they say: ‘Can't fatten a thoroughbred or you never see a fat Greyhound.’ Dixon, who turns 51 on July 13, appears to be enjoying life anew as a father, too. Already the parent of two grown daughters from a previous marriage, Dixon is the father of twin 3-year-olds, Hugo and Cecile, with the new love of his life, Kerry, 43, a former flight attendant. In a recent New Zealand magazine profile, the three-time Olympian said there is more to life than winning: "Personal achievement, personal pride and not being influenced by others. . . Participating and doing your best should count. If that means beating your previous best time . . . then that should count for something." Dixon signed off his note to me by saying he was off to the Great Wall Marathon May 20. "I'll run the half-marathon, so am getting stoked for this experience," he wrote. Then Dixon will turn his attention to Brisbane -- and another shot at Shaheed. "I guess I made it through age. I’m always ready to rumble, so if there is some events out there to go head-to-head with the mates -- I’m for it." Ken Stone http://www.masterstrack.com
