To the editor:

The KU Relays are a unique and wonderful thread in our community’s cultural fabric. It is a fun and relaxed event that is easy and affordable for the whole family. I have no idea how big the economic infusion is of so many out-of-town collegiate and high school teams, but it has to be better than a kick in the head.

Even with this year’s last-minute changes necessitated by rainy weather (this is the Relays after all) it was still a delight. The new Rock Chalk Park does for KU track and field what the Sporting Park stadium did for Sporting KC soccer. It is a world-class facility with a more intimate seating appropriate for track and field.

So many college sports have morphed into something more spectacle than sport. Yet track and field continues to be sport in its most genuine form. Actual student athletes give their all for KU just as their predecessors did in the 1930s, the 1960s or any other decade. That is something to celebrate and enjoy.

For more than 160 years, Lawrence has changed, adapted and evolved. For 88 of those years, the Relays have done the same. Anyone who goes to the Relays knows that they continue to be an important annual part of what makes Lawrence a special place to call home. Thank you to KU, Coach Redwine and all of the many community volunteers whose efforts help maintain the Relays as such a special event.