Masters Spotlight: Bill Collins


Unable to leave his hospital bed for five days, he prayed just to walk again. A lean 160 pounds to begin with, Collins shed 41 pounds through the course of his


treatments and rehabilitation. He estimated 85 percent of his muscles were gone.


At that point, the thought of returning to masters track and field, where he had made so many close friends, set so many world records and won so many races, was the furthest thing from his mind. The idea of returning to the track as early as the spring of 2012 for the USA Masters Indoor Championships and World Masters Indoor Championships was laughable.


“When I looked at the results from the (2011) World Masters Outdoor Championships that I missed, and based on what the doctors had told me, I was forecasting I wouldn’t run at that level again until 2015,” he said.


But just as he did so many times before, Collins quickly began defying the odds. His recovery began slowly with no impact training and only sessions in the pool. He began to grow stronger once again and the familiar toned muscles began to reappear.


When the calendar turned to begin the new year, Collins still hadn’t been able to do any workouts on the track. The USA Masters Indoor Championships were just over two months away. Through the encouragement of his son on his rapid recovery, Collins made his first trip back to the track in early January.


Photo Courtesy of Bill Collins


“I started out very slow,” he said. “I was able to pedal around the track to run a two- minute 400m. It triggered in my mind that things were going to be okay. This outcome has been more than I ever could have hoped for.”


But he still had a long ways to get his 400m time down to around 56 seconds to be competitive in his age group. However, everything continued to fall into place.


He entered to run the M60 division in the 60m, 200m, 400m and 4x200m at the USA Masters Indoor Championships March 15- 17 in Bloomington, Ind., with the goal of traveling to Jyvaskyla, Finland, for the World Masters Indoor Championships April 3-8.


After four wins at the USA Championships, three gold medals at the World Championships and a pair of world records, it is safe to say Collins had a successful return to the track.


The Herald Times 23


This article initially appeared March 20 on www.usatf.org.


It brought tears to his eyes when he set his age-group world record in the 60m in Bloomington.


“You don’t know how many lives you have touched until something like that happens,” he said. “Every masters athlete I knew was calling and writing and emailing. That’s what masters is all about. I have won a lot of titles, set a lot of records and won a lot of championships, but it doesn’t come close to that.


“The recovery that I had was almost unheard of. People I have talked to, some have ended up in hospice homes and some are paralyzed. I am truly blessed. To have a normal, active lifestyle and to be back on the track is amazing.”


And all seemed right with masters track and field to have Collins, who is competing at the masters level for the 21st year, back and setting records. He shows no signs of slowing down.


He will return to compete in next weekend’s Penn Relays in the 100m and the 4x100m and 4x400m relays with the Houston Elite relay teams. A regular at the Penn Relays since his high school days, Collins has won a total of 33 events at the storied competition.


Collins is still unsure how long he will continue to compete. He has been approached about racing in the M75 division at the Penn Relays, which wouldn’t happen for Collins until 2026. While he remains uncertain if he will compete for that long, few would put it past him.


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