TRACK AND FIELD NOTEBOOK: ALL-COMERS MEETS START THEIR SUMMER-LONG RUN.

Byline: Julio Cortez  Staff Writer

The 40th edition of the All-Comers Track Meets, sponsored by the Los Angeles Unified School District, kicked off its summer season Wednesday night at Birmingham High in Van Nuys.

The event had 1,100 participants on its opening night and event coordinators figure the meets will live up to their history and attract about 1,500 by the end of the season.

This year, however, coordinator Scott King had trouble putting on the event because of lack of funds by the LAUSD. The meets, usually held between June and July, were brought back by the school district two weeks prior to its start, giving King and his crew little time to prepare.

``Normally, we have fliers that we print out letting people know about the meets and I take them to the different running stores in the area,'' said King, the head cross country and track and field coach at Birmingham and a member of the All-Comers crew for more than 25 years. ``We are not getting the fliers until (this week) so it was hard for people to know about the event. We notified as many track clubs that I knew about and put out press releases so that people could be aware that the program was going to be held.

``We did a pretty good job of putting this thing out in so little time. I was very happy when we found out the meets were going to be brought back. I was getting literally hundreds of calls from people who were wondering if we were going to have the meets. There were so many calls that I couldn't call all of them back.''

The All-Comers meets run for five consecutive weeks through Aug. 10, on Wednesday nights at Birmingham High and Thursday nights at San Pedro High. According to King, the purpose is to introduce the community to the sport and give families something to do as a group during the summer.

``You get all kinds of people participating,'' King said. ``Maybe some are out there to lose weight or because their friends are doing it. It's not all serious track and field because only about 10 percent of the participants are real serious athletes. A lot of people had health problems and its a good way to stay healthy.

``It is impressive that in a five-hour period we can serve that many people in our community. Its great that the school board and people in charge of youth services can give this opportunity to the public.''

There is no charge for participants or spectators and there is no limit on how many events in which a person may compete.

--Big event: Former Cal State Los Angeles long-distance runner Sylvia Mosqueda was on hand Wednesday for a special performance. She ran a 10,000 meter race in hopes of finishing under 32 minutes in order to qualify for next month's World Championships in Edmonton, Canada.

Mosqueda, who won distance-running championships for East Los Angeles College before winning an NCAA championship at Cal State L.A., was unable to qualify, finishing the 6 1/4-mile race in 32:40.1. This week she makes her final attempt before the July 23 deadline.

``(The All-Comers Track Meets) was our last chance for her to try to qualify,'' said Skip Stolley, Mosqueda's coach. ``We looked for a track meet in the United States and in Europe, but there weren't any before the qualifying deadline date. ...

``She is one of the most talented female runners in U.S. history. To qualify under the 32-minute mark is real tough. There are 11 women nationally who run the 5,000 meters under 16 minutes. She has to run at a faster pace than runners do in the 5,000 just to qualify for the 10,000 meters.''

--Camping out: The USC Track and Field Camp, a four-day introductory program to the sport for teen-agers 12 to 17 years old, also took advantage of the All-Comers Track Meets by running in Wednesday's events.

``(The All-Comers Track Meets) is an event that attracted us so that we can give our kids the opportunity to compete in real events,'' said USC coach Ron Allice. ``There is no criteria to participate and it's great because it is a low-key thing and it's a non-high-pressure situation for the kids. I think it's great that (the LAUSD) is able to put such programs and have anyone just participate for free. Track and field is something every athlete should be a part of at least once because you run, jump and throw. All sports are about running, jumping and throwing, and track and field is a true test of those skills.''