Thursday, April 21, 2011

DES MOINES, Iowa-The Drake Relays, Iowa's premier sporting event, will feature 115 events during the 102nd running of the track and field extravaganza April 27-30 at Drake Stadium.

Two new events have been added to this year's meet: The high school boys' 800-meter race and high school girls' 4x200 meter relay.

Competition will begin with the heptathlon and decathlon on Wednesday and Thursday, April 27-28. The heptathlon begins at noon Wednesday and 10:30 a.m. Thursday, while the decathlon starts at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

The 11th annual distance carnival starts at 4 p.m. Thursday with finals in nine running events.

Preliminary heats in 10 races will be held Friday morning, starting with the high school girls' 100-meter hurdles at 8 a.m. 

Finals in 12 running events are slated for the afternoon session, beginning at 12:15 p.m. with the university-college men's 4x1600-meter relay.

For the sixth straight year, the Drake Relays will host a Friday evening session beginning at 5:30 p.m. with the prelims of the high school girls' 4x100-meter relay. Finals in nine running events will conclude the evening session.

The Saturday session (April 30) will begin at 8 a.m. with the 8-kilometer and the half-marathon road races. The first session inside the stadium also will start at 8 a.m., with the high school girls shuttle hurdle relay prelims.

The Saturday afternoon session, which features finals in 36 races and seven field events, begins at 12:30 p.m. with the men's triple jump.

Two additional events introduced in recent years return in 2011 to add more excitement to Relays Week. For the second year in a row the Grand Blue Mile will take place on Tuesday, April 26 in downtown Des Moines.

The "Pole Vault in the Mall" at Jordan Creek Town Center returns this year after a one-year hiatus with a new format and a talent-rich roster featuring some of the best men's and women's pole vaulters in the world. Four of the top eight vaulters in both the men's and women's United States rankings will take part in this unique competition. Five teams will be paired with a male and female competitor joining forces to vie for a team championship based on the best combined finishing place of the five pairs. It is the first year women have vaulted in the mall.

Tickets for the 2011 Drake Relays April 28-30 are on sale now, and may be purchased online through the official Drake Athletics website (www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com) or by calling (515) 271-DOGS (3647).

DRAKE RELAYS EVENTS BY THE DECADE
Listed below are the numbers of events that have been held in previous decades of the Drake Relays: 

1924: 39

1934: 37

1944: 38

1954: 44

1964: 52

1974: 58

1984: 75

1996: 90

2001: 104

2002: 109

2003: 114

2004: 116

2005: 113

2006: 113

2007: 113

2008: 111

2009: 113

2010: 119

2011: 115