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Bryan Clay Invitational

Seven Things I'll Miss Without Outdoor Season

Seven Things I'll Miss Without Outdoor Season

With the college and high school seasons pretty much wiped out, these are the things I'll miss the most in 2020.

Mar 17, 2020
Seven Things I'll Miss Without Outdoor Season
High school and college track and field meets are canceled as far as the eye can see right now due to, well, you know. Here’s what I’m going to miss the most about outdoors while I desperately hope that the pro season isn’t wiped out as well:

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High school and college track and field meets are canceled as far as the eye can see right now due to, well, you know. Here’s what I’m going to miss the most about outdoors while I desperately hope that the pro season isn’t wiped out as well:

Bryan Clay 1500

In the last three years, the Bryan Clay Invite has become the outdoor equivalent to the Boston University indoor track for men’s 1500m runners: if you’re an NCAA athlete wanting to run fast in the metric mile, go to Bryan Clay. In 2018 alone, three of the 10 fastest collegiate 1500m in history were run on the Azusa track, including Josh Kerr’s 3:35.01 collegiate record.

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The 2019 race was also a barnburner between Oliver Hoare, Carlos Villarreal and Yared Nuguse, and it’s a huge disappointment that we won’t get to see those three square off in a rematch this spring.

Heavily wind-aided sprints

While 100m and 200m races with winds +2.1 and above are not limited to just high school and college athletes, they are much more common for that population than pros, who often compete in enclosed stadiums that block wind. Imagine if a pandemic would have broken out last spring and we never got to witness a high school 100m record with a +4.2 gale pushing Matthew Boling:

And let’s not forget about the time then-Indian Hills CC freshman Kenny Bednarek ran a 19.49 200m with a +6.1 wind tunnel at his back. This is what we’re missing right now:

Steeple fails

I have never met a steeple fail video that I didn’t like. Even if the pros end up competing in 2020, they don’t splash and fall quite like their amateur counterparts.

Distance relays at Penn

Although it was inevitable that the Penn Relays would be canceled as the entire sports world is on hold, it’s still incredibly sad that the meet held every year since 1895 will not be contested in 2020. I’ll miss the 4xMile and DMRs the most, which are annually two of the more unique races on the collegiate calendar. I’ll have to relive this classic from the 2015 men’s 4xMile to fill the emptiness:

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4x1s

I’m a man with places to go and people to see, so in that sense I prefer my sprint relays in their smallest possible form: 4x100m. We still may get the Olympic 4x1s, but so many fun high school and college relays have been lost due to the coronavirus. Take me back to 2019 Texas Relays:


Nico Young's record chase

After dominating in cross country and then breaking the U.S. high school indoor 3k record (7:56.97) at Millrose in February, California senior Nico Young was set to chase more prep records this spring. Although the entire CIF schedule has not officially been canceled yet, I don’t imagine we’ll see Young in a Newbury Park uniform again. That’s a shame, because Galen Rupp’s 13:37.91 high school 5k record would’ve been a fun one for the NAU commit to go for.


The Arcadia Invitational, where Young ran 8:40.00 in the 3200m to win a thrilling duel against Cole Sprout last year, was canceled earlier this week.

Throwers Relays

The most underrated unofficial event in track is unquestionably the throwers relay. If there’s any time that could use some comedic relief, it’s right now, but alas, we may have to wait until 2021 for our next husky relay.