The greatest track and field meet of the year is coming up soon. The all-day event of the 42^nd annual David Tetlow Relays is set to take place on April 29, 2023, and will feature 16 teams from across the state. Almost every single event is a relay, as the name suggests. Only the 300m hurdles, the 3200m (two mile) and all jumping and throwing events like javelin and high jump, are not in the form of a relay. 

Some events take place during this meet that rarely happen at any other meets. The shuttle hurdle relay is (in my opinion) one of the best and most interesting races. It is where two lanes of hurdles are set up for each team on the 100 meter straight (usually a 100m hurdle race happens at normal meets), and one lane is facing one way while the other faces the opposite. The team of four separates, two at each end, and they set up their blocks. The first person goes in one of the lanes that the team has and runs the full 10 hurdles in the lane. As soon as they cross the finish line at the other end, the second member of the relay goes. The same thing happens for the rest of the runners, and the first person to pass the finish line wins. It’s an extremely intense, thrilling, and fast-paced event, my favorite to run, and a fan-favorite to watch.

A rare event, but still sometimes seen, is the throwers relay. Another fun race that gives others an opportunity to try out the 4X100 relay. This event is a basic 4X100, where four people run a full lap (400 meters), but it’s split up so each only runs 100 meters. But, the twist is that the people who run it are throwers, so it’s comprised of athletes who spend their practice in the weight room rather than running. This helps them to specialize and excel in throwing events such as discus, shot put, and javelin, but they hardly run, so this event gives them the chance to run a relay. 

Another weird event is the 4X1600 relay. This ends up being a combined distance of 6400 meters, which of course takes a long time. The men’s national record in 2017 was 16:41.30, set by American Fork, in Utah. So, based on that information, make sure to get comfortable to watch this one, it’ll take a while. 

There are two other events that aren’t typically seen, but other meets do run them. This is the distance medley relay (DMR) and the sprint medley relay (SMR). The DMR runs a total of 4000 meters, while the SMR runs 1600 meters. But, the DMR is broken up into 1200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m, with a new person running each section. It’s a fun race to watch, but as expected, it takes a long time. On the other hand, the SMR is a pretty fast race, as it is only a mile but broken up into 200m, 200m, 400m, 800m. 

In addition to these weird races, typical races such as the 4X100m, 4X400m, and the 4X800m events still take place. Ledyard has some great runners in all of these events, and are expected to do very well. The entire event is exciting and fun to watch and the weather is expected to be great, so make sure to come out and support your favorite Ledyard track athletes!

Adelaide Culligan, Staff Writer

Sophomore Adelaide Culligan is a staff writer for the 2022-2023 Colonel Newsmagazine. She enjoys listening to music, reading, and playing soccer.