TO THE non-athlete, the road running results which appear frequently in The Royal Gazette at this time of year likely mean very little.

To the runners themselves, they mean everything - a gauge of their own form, an indication of whether they're getting slower or faster and whether or not they're finishing ahead of the rival who a week earlier beat them across the line.

And for those who study the results carefully, there's a lot more to be gleaned . . . such as the prevalence of those in their late 30s and older who these days seem to regularly show their young counterparts a clean pair of heels.

In the absence of Jay Donawa and Kavin Smith, himself in his 30s, it's been Tracy Wright who's been stealing the headlines of late.

At the ripe old age of 38 - an age which in other sports might be considered 'over the hill' - Tracy's running better than ever.

Last Sunday, for instance, he ran away with his fourth Evian 10-miler - his first victory was back in 1990.

Previously this year he'd won the Lindo's 10K, the Butterfield and Vallis 5K and the Five Flat Miles race.

But perhaps more astonishing than Wright's dominance, in fields all numbering well over a 100, has been the ages of those chasing him across the finish line.

Last week's 10-miler saw second place go to visitor Michael Scythes, aged 44.

Forty one year-old Devoe Whaley placed third and arguably the most impressive performance of all came from 53-year-old Harry Patchett who placed fifth.

Ricky Sousa (fourth) and Colin Swan (sixth) rounded out the top six and both are 39 and about to join the masters division.

Earlier this month Patchett finished just half a minute behind Wright in the Lindo's 10K, and before that Whaley won the Flying Colours Round the Town Race.

And there are many other over-40 runners who continually place in the top 10 - Sylvester Jean-Pierre, Calvin Steede, Vernon Tankard, Philip Albouy to name but a few.

Bermuda has seemingly always been able to produce extremely fast and fit veteran runners, for whatever reason.

Ray Swan was maybe the most celebrated, having won his age division at the prestigious Boston Marathon along with a slew of other titles. Before him, Calvin (Baldy) Hansey had ruled the roads well into his late 30s. Jeff Payne and David Saul are others who come to mind as athletes who sometimes seemed to get better with age. Indeed, Payne, now in his 60s, remains a force in local cycling.

With such an abundance of veteran talent, it's often been asked why the Island isn't represented at more international age-group events.

New Jersey's Sid Howard, a world record holder and world champion, who has been running local races for more than 20 years, said on his last visit in the New Year that he believed Bermuda's runners could make an enormous impression at events such as the World Masters Games.

And he's probably right.

Yet the local governing body, Bermuda Track and Field Association, despite raising almost all of their revenue through local road races, rarely put anything back into that area of the sport, either for the 'old-timers' or anyone else.

Almost all of their funds are exclusively spent on financing the trips of track and field athletes and officials (all too often with limited success).

Excursions to developmental meets such as next weekend's CARIFTA Games are, of course, very much worthwhile.

But it's high time, particularly with road running having consistently over the years proved more popular than events on the track, that some their cash be ploughed back into an area of athletics where Bermuda can excel.

Why not send a team of our leading masters runners to some of the major international age-group events?

Given that few other sports have succeeded on the international stage in recent years, it would be interesting to see whether our road runners could make an impact. All indications are that they could.

And if the BTFA really wanted to show some goodwill, how about organising a local international masters event, inviting some of the world's leading age-group runners to showcase their talent against our talent right here in Bermuda?

For many years, International Race Weekend in January has proved to be one of the highlights on the local sports calendar.

A similar festival, exclusively for masters, seniors and veterans, would likely prove just as popular, especially as Bermuda's own athletes would be among those setting the pace.

* * * *

IF THERE'S anything worse than a bad loser, it's a bad loser with an excuse.

And it sometimes seems that when our teams head overseas, they return with a suitcase full of them.

Arriving back from Argentina after posting a 1-3 record in the America's Cup, the senior national cricket squad had explanations aplenty.

So far this week we've heard the following:

4 "The squad's rebuilding, most of the players were young, we shouldn't have expected any more."

4 "The pitches were terrible."

4 "The outfields were saturated."

4 "We lost the toss, and whoever lost the toss was never going to win."

Well, you know what? A few of the other teams were probably experiencing a few difficulties as well.

Nobody likes to get beaten. But if we're going to lose, let's try and do so with a bit of dignity.

- ADRIAN ROBSON