A new century
Relays pull off an encore?
By Matt Miller
After last year’s 100th anniversary, can the Drake
Last year’s 100th anniversary of the Drake Relays had a little bit of something for everyone — Drake Relays memorabilia, countdown clocks located around the city of Des Moines, special athlete recognition, 100th Drake Relays highlight DVDs and even a special logo used throughout the event. So what can the Relays do for an encore this year? The 2009 success may be hard to duplicate, but officials believe the 101st Drake Relays, which runs Thursday through Saturday, will be every bit as special.
“We’re always excited for the Drake Relays,” said Brian Brown, Relays director. “You can’t have much more of a buildup than last year, but, absolutely, we believe it’s going to be just as big — we think that each year. The Drake Relays are a right of passage — they signify the beginning of spring. We have a lot of elite athletes competing, so that’s something to be excited about.”
The 101st Drake Relays will be a spectacle in itself and be plenty of fun for everyone. The event, which has an approximate $25 million economic impact on the Greater Des Moines area, kicked off last week with the annual Drake campus street painting, the Relays’ Parade, the 31st Annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest, Relays Carnival and many more activities. Competively, the event will bring together a couple thousand athletes ranging from youth to professional teams. The Relays will feature a record 119 events — six more than last year, and includes 23 invitational events.
“We have teams and individuals coming from all over to compete,” said Carolyn Hill, assistant Relays director. “I guarantee you won’t see a more competitive sporting event around than the Drake Relays this weekend. We’re ready once again to host one of the most prestigious track and field events in the nation. It has great athletes, great fans and great volunteers who showcase some of that midwestern hospitality.”
Renovations pay off
More than 40 Olympians have already committed to the 101st Drake Relays, and by press time, an additional 10 to 12 more are expected to show up to the Blue Oval. The Relays appeal to youth, collegiate and professional athletes due to Drake University’s $15 million renovation to Drake Stadium that began in 2005. The renovation project included flattening the surface area of the stadium, a reconfigured track, improved seating, new concession stands and a new scoreboard videoscreen in the stadium’s northeast corner.
After the renovations were complete, it wasn’t long before the facilities caught the attention of NCAA officials, as they declared it the site of the 2011 and 2012 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. This will be the third and fourth time Drake will host the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships since 1970. The 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held there, and fans saw 19 stadium records set, as well as a four-day attendance record of 41,187.
“In a sense, we see the Drake Relays as a warm-up event for the Outdoor Track and Field Championships,” Hill said. “But actually, the Drake Relays are bigger than the NCAAs. We’re just glad we’re able to have such nice facilities to be able to host a number of high-profile events.”
Brown agreed.
“The Drake Relays gives our fans a chance to gear up for future events like the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this June, and then also the upcoming NCAAs,” he said. “The Relays are a little like a precursor for what’s to come.”
Young and old traditions
While the Drake Relays has many stories, memories and pageantry surrounding it, traditions keep the Relays intact, drawing up to 50,000 additional to the metro each year. One such tradition is the annual street painting, an event that kick starts the University’s homecoming celebration.
“Street painting is a huge part of the Relays and even though it happens prior to the actual Relays, it sets the tone,” said Latasha Stiger, Drake University’s director of campus programming. “It definitely gets not only students, but the city in the mood to come out and watch the sporting events and experience the many of the other homecoming festivities happening.”
This year, 54 squares were painted by Drake University student organizations on Carpenter Avenue between 27th and 28th streets.
“The 54 spaces are really a coveted space,” Stiger said. “Since it’s a competition, the students really try to make the best design. The designs are then displayed on campus for the entire year and are visible to many people such as prospective students and others.”
Following the theme of “Relays 101,” this year’s Relays will also include the first ever Downtown Street Painting on Wednesday, April 22. Sponsored by Drake University, the city of Des Moines and the Court Avenue District businesses and organizations will be able to join in the fun painting the sidewalks along Court Avenue between Third and Fourth streets. The sidewalks will remain painted throughout the year, and will be visible to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the downtown area. Winning teams in the inaugural event will also receive a gift pack from Drake, and their designs will be featured on the alumni page of Drake’s Web site.
“Our students did a great job of sitting down with the alumni office and figuring out how to get the ball rolling on this idea,” Stiger said. “We hope it turns out great and will add to the overall experience of the Relays.”
The 2010 Drake Relays was also a first for the Grand Blue Mile, which was held April 20 and began at West Locust Street and ended at Nollen Plaza. Drake officials say this event, like last year’s pole vault event at Jordan Creek Mall in West Des Moines, encourages community participation.
“Community events like this started my first couple of years here,” Brown said. “Previously these events have been spectator-oriented, so this year we wanted to be sure to bring the aspect of track and field to the community and increase participation. We have such a rich history, why not get the fans involved?”
Officials say the one-mile street run was geared toward competitive and recreational participants.”
Hill says the Blue Grand Mile went as planned, and officials hope to continue it well into the future.
“Anyone can exercise — walk or run a mile,” said Hill, who is helping organize her fourth Drake Relays. “The run promoted healthy habits and get the community involved.”
Created by Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield and the Relays, and sponsored by the Asics and Powerade, the Grand Blue Mile brought past and current athletes together. Three-time Olympian Suzy Favor-Hamilton, the winningest track and field athlete in NCAA history (nine individual titles), offered coaching advice at the event. Steve Scott, a record-holder with most sub-four-minute-miles at 136, was unable to attend due to a coaching event.
“Suzy is certainly a fan of the Relays and is a great ambassador for running and competing,” Brown said. “We look forward to doing the race or similar things in the future.”
A display of athletes
Not only do this weekend’s events showcase the talent of collegiate and professional athletes, they also give the opportunity for high school athletes to make names for themselves in front of thousands of fans. This year’s high school division will feature 2,153 athletes from 15 girls’ events and 15 boys’ events.
“I think it’s extremely exciting to be able to compete as a high school student at the Drake Relays,” said Dave Anderson, who serves on both the Iowa High School Athletic Association, the Drake Relays Committee and is also a Drake Relays official. “It’s a great opportunity for them to feel a part of the action with so many notable collegiate and professional athletes.”
Defending champions are scattered throughout the field in the high school division, including Dowling Catholic’s Katie Flood. With a win in the 3,000 meters, Flood, a senior, can become the first four-time champion in the distance race. Other notables in the girls’ division include Sioux City east junior Shelby Houlihan in the 800 meters and 1,500 meters and Dike-New Hartford’s Hannah Willms in the long jump. In the boys’ division, notables include Indianola high jumper Noah Kittleson and Denison-Schleswig’s Brandon Scherff in the shot put.
“We’re very blessed right now with some of the high school athletes that we have,” Anderson said. “They continue to perform at a high level.”
Anderson has had the opportunity to see thousands of athletes since he competed in the Drake Relays while in high school in 1968. He also competed at the collegiate level and coached teams throughout his career. This year marks the 42nd straight year Anderson will be in attendance.
“I really enjoy the event because of the atmosphere, and all the athletes have the chance to compete,” he said. “There isn’t a purer sport than track and field. It’s a sport where you define your success. The performance speaks for itself.”
At the collegiate level, Brown, who owns the Drake Relays special invitational high jump record of 7’7” set in 1997, believes this is the year that his record could be wiped away. This year’s men’s invitational high jump features the No. 1 through 4 ranked high jumpers in the world.
“While I’ve enjoyed my Drake Relays record, I think this is the year that it falls,” Brown said. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Technology at the Relays
Most at the 14,467-seat Drake Stadium won’t be viewing the action through a camera. That’s not the case for Ryan Fenton, who works for Flotrack (www.flotrack.org.), a company that is partnering with the Drake Relays to provide video coverage of this weekend’s events. Flotrack, which is based in Austin, Texas, is the leading online media source for track and field and the sport of running. Flotrack is part of Flocasts, an online sports media and technology company specializing in online video technology.
“We’re coming to the Drake Relays to be able to showcase the weekend’s events to fans who aren’t able to attend,” said Fenton, who also runs the Web site. “This is the company’s first year covering the Relays really in-depth. Previously, coverage was limited and thus minimal.”
Fenton’s crew that attends track and field events have made quite a name for a company that has been around less than four years. Gathering footage and then playing it post-race and some as a live stream, Flotrack has covered a plethora of major competitions including the 2009 USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., the 2010 USA Cross Country Championships in Spokane, Wash., and even the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
“The goal is to promote track and field in the United States and the world,” Fenton said. “Track and Field is a sport where there’s not a lot of media coverage, but we’re trying to change that.”
Hill echoes Fenton’s opinion.
“The partnership should work great, and give more people the opportunity to see what the Relays are all about,” she said.
Besides taping each event, Flotrack also conducts interviews with athletes, teams and coaches.
“It’s another way to bring the athlete to the fans,” he said. “It’s more than just capturing them competing, but gives people the ‘behind-the-scenes’ stuff, such as preparing for the race and post-race comments, too.”
Although Fenton and others will have a lot of responsibilities during their stay in the metro, he says they are looking forward to it.
“When we came to Iowa before, we really weren’t sure what to expect,” Fenton said. “But it has a great environment, and the Drake Relays really provide a great platform for what Des Moines is about.” CV
Caption: The Beautiful Bulldog contest is always a highly attended event and took place this past Monday at Nollen Plaza. Photo courtesy of Drake University
Caption: Des Moines native Lolo Jones will compete in the women’s invitational 100-meter hurdles at 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, April 24. Photo courtesy of Drake University
Caption: Flotrack, which covers national and international track and field events, has partnered with the Drake Relays, to bring the event to the World Wide Web. Photo courtesy of Flotrack
Caption: The Drake campus painting is a signifying event that the Drake Relays have begun. Photo courtesy of Drake University
Sidebar:
Calendar of events
Wednesday, April 21
11:30 a.m. (judging starts) — Alumni-Downtown Street Painting — Court Avenue
noon — Heptathlon
12:30 p.m. — Decathlon
Thursday, April 22
9:30 a.m. — Decathlon
10:30 a.m. — Heptathlon
2:30 to 6:30 p.m. — Distance Carnival at Drake Stadium
3 p.m. — High School field events at Drake Stadium
6:15 to 7 p.m. — Hall of Fame Induction (Sheslow Auditorium)
Friday, April 23
8 a.m. to 4:25 p.m. — Drake Relays at Drake Stadium
5:30 to 8:55 p.m. — Drake Relays “Relays Under the Lights” at Drake Stadium
7 p.m. to 1 a.m. — Court Avenue Celebration
Saturday, April 24
8 a.m. — Drake Relay On-the-Roads 8K/Half Marathon
8 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. — Drake Relays at Drake Stadium
Sidebar:
Olympians to watch
Men’s Invitational Mile: Bernard Lagat
Women’s Invitational Discuss: Stephanie Brown
Women’s 100-meter Dash: Laverne Jones-Ferette, LaShuntea Moore
Men’s Invitational 110 Hurdles: Shamar Sands
Women’s Invitational 100 Hurdles: Lolo Jones, Damu Cherry, Vonette Dixon
Men’s Invitational Shot Put: Christian Cantwell, Reese Hoffa
Women’s Invitational 400-meter Dash: Mary Wineberg, Bobby-Gay Wilkins, Shereefa Lloyd, Kineke Alexander, Trish Bartholomew
Women’s Javelin: Kara Patterson
Women’s Invitational Discuss: Aretha Thurmond
Men’s Invitational High Jump: Jesse Williams, Andra Manson, Tora Harris, Mickael Hanany
Men’s invitational 400-meter Dash: Renny Quow, Ramon Miller, Michael Mathieu, Erison Hurtault
Men’s Invitational 400 Hurdles: Javier Culson, Isa Phillips
Men’s 200-meter Dash: Wallace Spearmon, Bernard Williams, Adam Harris, Thomas Hunter, Martial Mbandjock
Men’s Discuss: Casey Malone, Ian Waltz, Jarred Rome
Men’s Pole Vault: Derek Miles
Women’s 1,500-meter run: Hazel Clark-Riley
Women’s High Jump: Chaunte’ Lowe, Sharon Day, Nicole Forrester, Lavern Spencer
