Wenik | Running or not, the Penn Relays have meaning for everyone

There’s something about Penn Relays that makes me nostalgic.

Maybe it’s seeing the high schools that I used to run against sending their relay teams flying around the track.

Or maybe it’s watching people I used to share a track with running at their absolute peaks in college, with schools like Oregon and Rutgers emblazoned across their chests now instead of Livingston and West Orange.

Or maybe I just miss running in relays of my own.

Either way, Saturday afternoon, I sat in the press section and watched Oregon dominate the college men’s 4xMile Championship of America.

The lineup was supposed to include Jeramy Elkaim , who used to compete for my high school’s biggest rival. I consider not getting lapped by him the one time we ran against each other to be a career highlight.

And the anchor was supposed to be Edward Cheserek , whose name you should probably now know if you don’t already. One year after I graduated from Millburn High School , leaving my organized running days behind, Cheserek became the king of high school cross country while running for St. Benedict’s Prep.

In 2012, Cheserek easily won our county championship, finishing with a 5-kilometer time of 14:18. For context, the next-closest finisher, a former teammate of mine, crossed the line almost two minutes later.

Just three days ago, I watched Elkaim sit out while Cheserek broke the magical four-minute mile barrier, putting up a dazzling 3:56.4 split in the second leg as his squad won by more than eight seconds.

"It was just an amazing experience. I didn't know how crowded the stand would be, and the noise, the competition, it was such a thrill,” he said in the post-race press conference. “I'm so happy to have such a great team. It was a great opportunity.”

It’s almost impossible for me to rationalize the fact that this smiling, bashful kid up on the podium used to run on the same courses I did — and that  he’ll likely be in the Olympics one day (as the other writers in attendance were quick to point out).

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a bit jealous.

And I would also be lying if I said I didn’t feel pain for Elkaim last year, who faded in the final two laps of the same race as Penn State’s Robby Creese passed him and scooted away for the victory.

Every runner has a similar story — I once cost my distance medley team a medal when I botched an exchange with the 400m sprinter I was supposed to hand off to, causing him to drop the baton.

But most of us won’t ever get the chance to win — or lose — on a stage as large as the one that was set up on our campus last weekend.

Whether you’re a track junkie (me), nostalgic (also me) or you just like soaking up the scene of 40,000 or so Jamaicans screaming their heads off, Penn Relays has something for everyone.

The Relays’ spirit doesn’t go away when the Carnival packs up for the year, either.

I know that I’ll be stepping up to the starting line for this weekend’s Broad Street Run wearing my lucky old training shirt, the lettering that reads: “MILLBURN TRACK & FIELD” inexplicably not faded yet.

And I still wish I hadn’t dropped that baton.

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