Runners and spectators of all ages will flock to Leverone Field House this weekend for the 45th annual Dartmouth Relays, a three-day competition featuring top high school, college and elite post-collegiate athletes from around the Northeast.
The three day event will begin Friday with the newly introduced men’s indoor pentathlon, which includes a 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 1000-meter race.
The high school competition will begin that afternoon at 4 p.m., continuing throughout the evening and on Saturday. Most of the collegiate and club events will occur on Sunday.
The meet offers runners high-pressure competition, and Dartmouth athletes enjoy the benefits of competing in front of their home fans.
“There’s a lot more pressure on the home team to perform well and actually win the meet,” long sprinter Ed Wagner ’16 said. “I like it a lot simply because of the crowd. It gives your friends a chance to see what you spend every afternoon working and training for.”
The track and field teams spend most of their time on the road, so the rare home meets provide runners with a familiar track and extra pressure.
“There’s a lot of pride that comes from protecting that space,” distance runner Meggie Donovan ’15 said, adding that she enjoys sleeping in her own bed before a race.
Erin Dromgoole ’01, a former runner for the Big Green cross country and track and field teams, has run at the Relays as a member of New Balance Boston, a post-collegiate racing team sponsored by the shoe company.
She said the event has always served as an important season opener. Though she did not compete in the Relays while an undergraduate, Dromgoole has returned to Dartmouth for the annual races every winter since 2007.
“We call it a rust-buster because it helps shake off the rust and get your competitive juices flowing again, and reminds your body what it’s like to prepare for a competitive race,” she said.
Last season, both the Big Green men and women finished first overall with 128 and 185 points respectively, recording a pair of school records from Abbey D’Agostino ’14 in the mile and Mollie Gribbin ’16 in the 60-meter dash.
With a time of 4:34.15, D’Agostino finished 30 seconds ahead of Dromgoole, who came in fifth place at 5:05.33.
In addition to competing, the athletes assist in organizing and running the event, a large fundraiser for the team. The event is also sponsored by New Balance which Dromgoole said gives the Relays the feel of a professional meet.
High school athletes use the event to show college coaches their skill and Wagner said he sympathized with the high stakes environment.
“I understand the pressure that is on them to do well and to get recruited,” he said.
A series of summer renovations to Leverone, including a resurfaced track, could impact the athlete experience. Wagner said he expected the new surface to provide runners with more traction and allow them to make turns easier, while Donovan suggested that, while it might not affect times, the new surface should be less harsh on runners’ legs.
The meet kicks off at 11 a.m. Friday morning with the men’s pentathlon.
