Home Official News Releases Entries accepted for Drake Relays 8K road race, half marathon

Entries accepted for Drake Relays 8K road race, half marathon

News PhotoEntries are being accepted for the 42nd annual Drake Relays On-The-Road 8-kilometer and half-marathon races, which start at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 24.

They are Iowa’s oldest road races. Both races will start adjacent to Drake Stadium on Forest Avenue east of 28th Street and will finish near 25th and Carpenter Avenue, adjacent to the Drake Fine Arts Building in Des Moines.

The first 200 runners who pick up the race packet will get special Drake Relays ASICS socks.

Last year, 973 runners finished the 8-kilometer race, and 1,312 half-marathoners completed the course with records set in six age divisions.

Overall winners of the 8-K and half-marathon, both male and female, will receive the 101st edition of the Drake Relays Champions watch and a $100 Asics gift certificate. Top open finishers of both races will receive cash prizes of $400 for first place, $200 for second place and $100 for third place.

A $100 award bonus will be given to an Iowan who wins either the 8-kilometer or half-marathon race.

Age division awards of $100 will be given to the first runner beating the 8-kilometer or the half-marathon records.

Registration can be completed online until noon April 21 by visiting www.GetMeRegistered.com. The online entry fee is $20 for 8 kilometer or $25 for half-marathon through April 14 and $25 for 8 kilometer or $30 for half-marathon from April 15-21.

Fees are $30 for the 8 kilometer and $35 for the half marathon at the packet pick-up site on Friday, April 23 and $35 and $40, respectively, on the day of the race.

Packets can be picked up at the Drake Fine Arts Center on 25th Street and Carpenter Avenue on April 23 from 4-7 p.m. and 7-7:30 a.m. on April 24.

The 8-kilometer course is 4.97 miles. Kevin Herd of Coralville, Iowa, owns the men’s 8-kilometer record of 23 minutes, 40 seconds, set in 1995. Diane Nukuri of Swisher, Iowa, holds the women’s record of 27:05 in 2009.

The half-marathon is 13.1 miles. Former Drake standout runner Matt Gabrielson from Minneapolis, Minn., set the men’s half-marathon record of 1:07:45 in 2007. Robyn Friedman of Lambs Grove, Iowa, established the women’s mark at 1:16.06 in 2009.

For more information on the races, e-mail calmurdock@earthlink.net or call 515-274-5379. Entry forms are also available at www.DrakeRelays.org