Pandemic Papers pause: Penn Relays article

Thanks to Edsall for sharing this article from Sports Illustrated on the first cancellation of the Penn Relay Carnival (Penn Relays) since its inception in 1895. As the article notes, Penn has survived the “Spanish” flu pandemic of 1918/1919 and two world wars. That’s not to mention several other wars in which our country faught – Korea, Vietnam, multiple Gulf wars – as well as the post-9/11 era of hyper-security paranoia. Through it all, at the end of April, there has been Penn. Until this year.

I was texting Coach Terry Horton earlier today, musing how I would gladly (well, maybe not “gladly”) trade sitting at home on a chilly and damp day with shivering out in the cold at Franklin Field. To which he replied: Be careful what you wish for. As in, God willing, we have plenty more raw and chilly days like this to stand around in our future. As you have read in these Pandemic Papers, some of our athletes’ fondest memories have come at Penn Relays. From a coaching perspective, the logistics of Penn are quite challenging, with a border on maddening (trying to park our vans in narrow parking lots and garages in Philly, for starters). From the perspective of track and field in general, Penn Relays is one of those events that transcends track and field and has come to be emblematic of our sport. Here’s hoping it is back, stronger than ever, in 2021. Like everything ELSE.