The Penn Relays Mystery: METAL BARRIER at Franklin Field Explained!

[@brianmcewen3082]

I knew the reasoning behind it already, but didn't know about Doherty or what year it happened. Thank you for putting this together, this was very well done.

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@jordanjordannis2258]

this was incredibly informative and well put together. Thank you for the history lesson!

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thank you, Jordan!! I appreciate you watching.

[@jimoliver2163]

Unique and DANGEROUS! A girl falling on the infamous rail broke her leg on it. I also noticed a runner slip on it and land on their back! The rail could be replaced by a foam barrier. Maybe a much shorter barrier with led lights or something. Please make the safety of the runners a priority!

[@SportsTalkTech]

Jim, you are so right. Athlete safety is a problem, and when you consider many inexperienced athletes run at the Penn relays, they have to do better. On Saturday, I saw at least one athlete crashing out because of the rail. And there were a few on Friday and Thursday…

[@dharr6628]

After competing on that track in high school and now watching Penn for over 3 decades I did not know that. Thank you!

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thank you, D Harr! Interesting, when you competed lane 5 would be the 400m lane. In 2015 when they put down a new surface they squeezed in another 400m lane which is now lane 4 because they moved the steeplechase water jump pit from the outside of turn 4 to the inside of turn 1.

[@daenique7384]

Very nice historical context! I never knew this. Looking forward to more videos!

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thank you for watching! Stayed tuned loads of content coming.

[@charlie5525]

This was incredible! Please do more videos like this!

[@SportsTalkTech]

Roger that, Charlie!

[@tracknfieldtingz3606]

Your content are so educational. I always wonder what it was there for but never researched

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thank you! I appreciate you watching.

[@paulgill3672]

You learn something new every day! I wondered about that curb. Thanks!

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thanks for watching, Paul!

[@Meechooilka]

Great video. US also has at least one insane indoor track where 4x400 runners start and end in completely different parts of the track. It's nauseating to watch.

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thank you, Meechooilka! Agreed, it’s tough on the eyes when things aren’t standard.

[@rossconnor8614]

Great presentation! I was wondering the same thing watching races at this track.

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thanks for watching, Ross!!

[@kmohamed953]

Very informative! Thanks for the history lesson, I learned something new.

[@SportsTalkTech]

🙏🏾 thanks for watching.

[@maggiethebrewer03]

Thank you I was thought that was the reason but I didn't understand why they would build it that way.

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thanks for watching, Maggie!

[@jakefine5917]

What an interesting concept! Very ingenuitive of Doherty, but I wonder how it can affect pacing for sprinters. I’ll have to look out for this during this year’s edition!

[@SportsTalkTech]

Yes, be sure to catch the #PennRelays2023 next week! To address your question, it's generally not an issue if lanes 1-3 aren’t used If they use those, runners will have a larger stagger. After the first lap, for races 800m and above, these lanes will be blocked off, and runners will move to lane 4. It's mainly in the 4x400m relay where mishaps can occur, as younger runners might get confused and are more likely to injure themselves. Thanks for watching!

[@JayDublow]

Yeh man, love it. Big man ting

[@SportsTalkTech]

🙏🏾

[@tracknfieldtingz3606]

They don't want to chip away the history at the stadium, how confusing though. 😂 Very interesting though, I never really notice how they run in the 400m.. taking note next time.

[@AndreLindo]

Thank you for creating this video! I understand now! But, why the metal line on the track? People have gotten hurt

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thanks for watching, Andre! Athlete safety is an issue, especially for inexperienced athletes. Apart from making it a six-lane track or a stadium rebuild, the options appear limited. You need some barrier to separate the way from the “field.”

[@kerryanthonythompson4820]

Very informative. However the College needs to keep this track configuration in the past. The rail is a Constance endangerment to the athletes. Potential career ending obstacle

[@SportsTalkTech]

Thank you, Kereto! You make an excellent point about athlete safety.

[@sannii6382]

Tuff

[@deanethedream]

Are there any other races affected by the configuration of the track?

[@SportsTalkTech]

Any races where you need to run a lap around the track if they use lanes 1-3.

[@SportsTalkTech]

Make sure you watch the Penn Relays this weekend.

[@deanethedream]

@@SportsTalkTech Definitely, it’ll be an exciting weekend. I was just wondering, if they added lanes to the inside of the track, did it affect the size of the football field?

[@SportsTalkTech]

As far as I can tell, no impact on the football field. Great question.

[@philjohns3533]

The rail has been the cause of many falls and injuries and in some cases ruining a performer's season. The rail looks too much like the normal lane line and runners do not remember the rail during the moment of battle. The rail should be of a high visible color that distinguishes the the rail from a normal lane line color. When the same rail is wet, again there's no rail watching by the runners and the inadvertently step on the rail, causes a wipe out and fall, sustain injuries and a team loses its opportunity to compete. I remember a night race with Penn in the event, the Penn male runner fell after stepping on the same wet rail, never got up to finish the race, i emailed Dave Johnson within a few days and said, that rail cost Penn the race. The rail at night is even harder to recognize, Penn runner wiped out, Yesterday and today April 26, 2024, the same falls continue on the backstretch through the finish line. And speaking of the finish line, all events should a banner to run through, runners continue to run past the finish line because there is no visible or recognizable finish line. The bell lap sound is embarrassing, no one can hear it from across the stadium, add an audible bell sound over the PA system. The aforementioned was mentioned to then meet director Dave Johnson no later than 2009.

[@SportsTalkTech]

Facts!