Drake Relays

One of the most exciting sports events of all EVER is Drake Relays. It's not just a high school event, it's also college, and even professional! Since this is a event for high level track and field participants, not many high schoolers get to go. This isn't going off of your class, it goes statewide. You have to be one of the best in the state to make it to Drake. It depends on which event you want to qualify in, the amount of participants for each event varies. For all field events, top 24 get to go. The field events include long jump, high jump, discuss, and shot put. For individual events, the 100 meter dash and the 100/110 meter hurdles have 32 entries. The 400 hurdles get 8 (REALLY HARD TO QUALIFY IN!!!!), the 800 meter dash has 16, and the 1500, 1600, 3000, and 3200 get 21. Unfortunately, the 200 meter dash and the 400 meter dash are not available to high schoolers. For relays, the 4x1 gets 80 entries (why so many? I've always wondered!), the 4x2 and 4x4 get 24, the sprint medley also gets 24, and the 4x8 and shuttle hurtle get 16. Also, the distance medley isn't available to high schoolers.
If you were lucky enough to qualify, embrace yourself. It is seriously the most fun I've ever had at a sports event, and I do a lot of sports! It is over a three day period, so if you're only in one or two events, you pretty much just get to watch everything happen. My freshman year, I made it in two events, the 4x1 and the sprint medley. When I wasn't running, me and my other teammates were watching other races for high schoolers, and we also got to see a bunch of professional races. We even got to see a Puerto Rican woman break the world pole vault record. It was incredible!
It is super fabulous to watch, but there is nothing compared to what it feels like to actually run in the relays. It is a huge stadium, and it's a beautiful, blue track. When you get to go down to the track, it is just pure madness. I started the relays, so I got to walk to the starting position in front of a packed full stadium. People were screaming and waving and I've never experienced anything like it! I mean for some people that's probably terrifying, but I loved it! And then when you start running, it is just so loud. You can hear people cheering, and I could even see my family in the front row of the stands. It was the most exhilarating 20 seconds of my life!
Not only are the relays fun to attend, but it's also really EXTREMEMLY fun to stay in the hotel with your teammates. Both our boys and girls teams were at the same hotel, so it was really fun. I learned so many new things about my friends and we had a great time. Our coach is really strict though, and he doesn't allow us to even go into the boys rooms. None of us do that anyway, we just chill in the lobby and play cards. Last year, me and like four other girls were put in a room with a balcony. Of course since we are teenagers, we're going to go on the roof! Unfortunately, we got in really big trouble, and our coach threatened to send us home early! All I have to say is, if you don't want us on the roof, why would you put us in the room with a balcony! Come on people!
Hopefully, you will get to experience Drake Relays once in your lifetime, because it is the most fun you'll ever have! If you don't go, hopefully this post will fill you in. I hope that I make it to Drake this year, the cut offs are in like 2 weeks! Fingers crossed!
For more information on Drake Relays, go to http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=15700&ATCLID=1404451
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