DES MOINES, Iowa — The Drake Relays is underway for some of the preliminary events. For fans Thursday, watching the decathlon and field events the possible weather moving in does not bother them.

“I wish we could schedule around the weather, but it doesn’t seem to work that way, but we’ll take we’ll take what we get, track kids are pretty tough,” said Doug Buch of Keystone. His son Colin is running the decathlon for the UNI Team. “We start out in the spring when it’s even worse weather and it’s rain and sleet and and everything, we start in the indoor season and then quickly move outdoors in March.”

For Buch, the weather is really secondary to the love of track and field and watching UNI compete.

“You’ve got to love the competition, you got to be able to embrace that you’re not going to be the best all the time, you’re not going to be best every day,” said Buch. “Typically, there’s somebody that’s always a little bit faster than you, stronger than you, or better than you, you got to teach a lot about life too.”

Andy Eggerth is the track coach at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. He has one athlete he is coaching for the Drake Relays.

“You’re dealing with weather, you just obviously, good competition, just trying to do what you can to help them perform the best they possibly can, which is difficult because it’s not something you control,” said Eggerth.

When you are a track coach, there is never really an off-season. Track runners put in miles in the winter as well.

“They keep you busy all summer, then you have the college team going from the time they step on campus after their finals outdoor championships,” said Eggerth.

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