Come for the races, stay for the stories

Photo: Sarah Andrews

Stories tie the old to the present. They’re what keep people coming back year after year — to relive the memories and remember the moments of Relays.

Relays is an old tradition. With tradition come stories such as Mary Bryson’s account of being the Relays Queen 75 years ago. There are love stories started on the Kissing Rock, to be told again and again. Mike and Lisa Ahren met at Drake years ago and their children Alyssa and Adam now go here, making new stories.

These stories at Drake are shaped by the people here. Shiv Morjaria found the support he needed to make it through cancer treatments during his first semester at college. The friends he made carried him through every step of the way.

There are stories of different backgrounds and faiths. Tennis players from around the world come together to form one team. Even with revolutions back home in Egypt and Tunisia, players Mark Fouad and Anis Ghorbel don’t miss a match. There are stories of learning from one another, of people coming together from different faiths and discovering their beliefs at Drake.

Alumni buy the tickets to see the runners, but that’s not why they come. They come to connect again with old friends — the people they ran around with at one in the morning, the friends who split Paul Revere’s breadsticks, the roommates who took care of them when they were sick, the professors who gave them the tools to succeed, the Bulldog fans who grabbed a beer at West End during halftime at a basketball game, the people they splattered paint on — these are the memories of Relays.

It’s not who wins the race, but the stories surrounding the track that keep us coming back.

So make your stories. Live them. This is what Relays is all about.