The Drake Relays has always been and always will be an exciting event for track programs in Iowa. With that in mind, athletes must remain focused during practice and the week leading up to it.

Assistant coach Travis Hartke said the week leading up to one of the biggest meets of the year may or may not make a difference in an athlete’s performance.

“It just depends on the person,” Hartke said. “Some of these guys are going to be at Drake and some of them are at another meet. We prepare the same way we do for everything else.”

Distance runners Dani Stack, Betsy Saina and Meaghan Nelson will be running at the Payton Jordan Invitational this weekend instead of in Des Moines. For others, Hartke said if they didn’t make the cut at Drake, they will be competing at the Kip Jarvin Open in Indianola, Iowa.

Saina will see her first outdoor competition of the year this weekend in California. With the weekends off from meets, Saina said she has been utilizing her time to train.

“I just did my normal training,” Saina said. “My training has been going very well. I don’t know if I’m in good shape or not, but everything has been going really, really well.”

Saina said she wasn’t sure where she is competition wise because she hasn’t yet competed to base her training off of.

Coach Corey Ihmels said the Drake Relays won’t affect how his runners will train during practice this week. The shift from the Mt. SAC Relays will provide a sense of the tough competition athletes will face this weekend.

“We had a big weekend this last weekend with traveling and everything,” Ihmels said. “It’s too quick of a turnaround; there’s not much we can do in the next four days that will make us any better.”

With the Big 12 Outdoor Championships within sight, Ihmels said it will be an easier week, but plans to come back and hit practice hard during the off week.

“We’ve just got to keep working towards the long term,” Ihmels said. “We’ll be pretty light this week for most everybody that is racing Drake.”

The Drake Relays will be the highlight of the track and field world this weekend. Action will start Thursday afternoon and end on Saturday evening.