Track braces for daunting Penn Relays

When the men's and women's track teams head north to Philadelphia to compete Thursday in the Penn Relays, the basic rules and customs of track and field will still apply. The shots will be the same weight, the races will be the same length, and the hurdles will be just as high as they have been at every other track meet so far this year. The basics of competition will be old hat for the Blue Devils.

But the Penn Relays will certainly not be the same old race for Jan and Norm Ogilvie's squads; 50,000 spectators will see to that.

The University of Pennsylvania Relay Carnival, as it is officially known, will be a step up in both profile and competition for Duke. The five-day distance festival, which kicked off yesterday and will continue through Saturday, is among the nation's most prestigious track events. It also features runners and field competitors ranging from elementary schoolers, to clubs and servicemen and women, to high-profile international competitors like Marion Jones, who competed last year.

The meet has been running annually for more than a hundred years, and attendance has become a local tradition.

"It's like a holiday in Philadelphia," Jan Ogilvie said. "Everyone goes to the Penn Relays."

Duke runners and vaulters will be competing Thursday, Friday and Saturday, when the most publicized events, including the competition's eponymous relays, take place. High-school and college competitors compete Friday and Saturday, with women's events and distance races Thursday and men's events Friday. Several of the collegiate relays take place Saturday, as well as the "championship"-level pole vault, in which Duke's Brent Warner will compete in a deep field.

"It's the top 12 college vaulters in the country who've come to Penn," Norm Ogilvie said of the steep competition. "They'll be clearing 18 feet, and Brent has never cleared 17 in competition. He'll have his work cut out for him."

While Warner is the only individual Duke competitor at the "championship" level, the Blue Devils have a host of individuals competing on the competition's earlier days. The women's team is sending 11 athletes to Philadelphia, including several competitors to open races. Phebe Ko will run in the 5,000 meters, Laura Stanley in the 3,000 meters, Liz Wort in the steeplechase, and Laura Chen will enter the pole vaulting competition.