Everybody at the Penn Relays has a story to tell
Volunteers, coaches and former athletes love to recall when they enjoyed the spotlight.
Excited and anxious about the full day in front of them, athletes from La Salle High, Abington Friends, and St. Genevieve gathered Friday morning at the Jenkintown train station to take SEPTA's regional rail line to University City.
Once there, they climbed the stairs to South Street and were met by a throng of people also on their way to Franklin Field and the 123rd running of the Penn Relays.
At 33rd and Spruce Streets, two Philadelphia police officers were directing backed-up traffic, and University of Pennsylvania security staff members were instructing fast-walking competitors and spectators where to enter the historic stadium.
It was a sun-splashed day, with the temperature reaching 85 degrees by late afternoon and many seeking shade high in the bleachers or under a tent to watch the event.
Tim Hickey, a coach at the old William Penn High School for 31 years and one of many dedicated Penn Relays officials, has made it to the packed carnival every year since 1968.
"One of the things I love is that so many kids that you've coached come back as spectators, coaches, or officials," Hickey, 74, said. "It's a great social gathering."
On a volunteer basis, Hickey continues to coach hurdlers at such schools as Neumann-Goretti, Penn Wood, and Swenson.
As he did Thursday - and will do for Saturday's finale - Hickey drives from Andalusia, in Bensalem Township, and parks near 233 South 33rd St.
"You deal with a lot of traffic, but I guess I like being my own boss," he said with a laugh.
Former world-class sprinter Leroy Burrell, who grew up in Lansdowne, is an honorary official at this year's Penn Relays. The former Penn Wood and University of Houston standout was a relay champion here in 1992 with the Santa Monica Track Club.
"It's humbling because this is one of the most prestigious track and field events in the world," Burrell, the two-time Olympian, said. "On Saturday, you get to run in front of 40,000 people."
In July 1994, Burrell set a then-world-record time in the 100-meter dash of 9.85 seconds (Jamaica's Usain Bolt managed a 9.58 clocking in 2009) at a meet in Lausanne, Switzerland. He now coaches Houston's men and women.
"We're always going to be here. We're always going to put our best people on the track," said Burrell, who is in his 18th season with the Cougars' track teams.
His son, Cameron, is a member of Houston's 4x100 relay team. The senior helped the Cougars place first in Friday's heat - and qualify for Saturday afternoon's Championship of America Invitational - in 39.28 seconds.
"Because of his last name, I think there's a level of pressure on him that's not there for others," Leroy Burrell said. "But he handles it well."
Walt Murphy is working as a statistician for NBCSN's two-day cable broadcast of the carnival. The well-known historian and archivist ran in the mile relay for Brooklyn's St. Augustine High in the 1961 Penn Relays.
One of the highlights for Murphy, a Queens resident making his 54th straight appearance at the carnival, was watching Florida A&M's "Bullet" Bob Hayes win the open 100- and 220-yard races, on a cinder track, in 9.3 and 20.6 seconds, respectively, in 1964.
"My running joke is that if the Penn Relays and Olympics were held on the same week, I'd have a hard time deciding my destination," Murphy said. "Actually, I'd probably lean toward the Penn Relays."
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