Relays kick off with Distance Classic

With a field that was noticeably lacking post-Fling revelers, the Penn Relays kicked off Sunday morning with the 13th annual Distance Classic road race. The 20K event was won in 1:06:04 by Jonathan "Wally" Dietrich, 23, a track coach at Bucknell University. The top women's place was nabbed by Lori Hageman, 34, with a time of 1:20:13. "I didn't want to go out so hard, but I was committed," Dietrich said, adding that there never really was a pack the entire run. "I've never run this far before, but it's awesome to be at the Penn Relays." For Hageman, this was her third time running the Classic, but the first time that she came out on top. "I don't know if I ran well or if people just stayed away," she said. The out-and-back course started and ended at Franklin Field, but not before winding through Powelton Village en route to West River Drive. From there, the nearly 400 runners made their way to Falls Bridge, where they turned around and headed back for three-fourths of a lap around the track. With the temperature approaching 70 degrees, many runners felt that the heat sapped their energy. Nevertheless, race director Trey Cassidy still felt that the race was a success. "It's about bringing in people who don't get a get a chance to run in the Penn Relays," he said. "You're not Carl Lewis or [high school sub-4:00 miler] Alan Webb, but you still get to cross the same finish line." The morning's events also consisted of a one-mile kids' run and a 5k run, which was won by Chris Yura, 21, in 16:15. Ten year-old Briana Jackucewicz took the ladies' top prize in 19:23. But a few Flingers did manage to make their way to Franklin Field for the 8:30 a.m. start time. "We've been drinking for the past four days, so it was pretty rough," Penn sophomore Courtney Morgan said. "People last night were like, 'You're doing what in four hours?'"

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