This past weekend, hundreds of athletes made the journey to Des Moines for the 109th-annual Drake Relays.

It’s often heralded as one of the top track and field events in the United States, and it has hosted hundreds of current and former Olympians including Jesse Owens, Caitlyn (then Bruce) Jenner, and Carl Lewis.

Perhaps the unique part about the Drake Relays is the wide variety of athletes that it brings together to compete on the same blue oval.

This year was no different. Every level from senior athletes to Olympians and Paralympians all the way to middle-school athletes competed in this past weekend’s meet.

With the variety of athletes coming together, that also attracts several track and field enthusiasts, and that is part of what has kept volunteer coach John Raffensperger coming back.

“I love track and field and the atmosphere here,” he said. “The fact that everybody pretty much knows what’s going on — they’re knowledgeable people — that probably my favorite part.”

Raffensperger has now attended 63-straight Drake Relays, starting as a spectator in high school, then later competing and coaching in them. Now retired, he’s back to just enjoy them.

One of the things that seemed to bring joy to the audience in Drake stadium was Paralympic sprinter David Brown. Brown, a blind athlete, competed in the Paralympic 100- and 200-meters alongside his guide, Jerome Avery.

The admiration by the crowd for Brown as he won his 100 meters was palpable and made the race a memorable experience for him.

“Drake is an amazing atmosphere,” he said. “I can’t really explain it, the electricity is — well, honestly, electrifying. The track is a great track to run on, and the atmosphere is like running at the games.”

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The tandem of Brown and Avery has competed together for four years, and while the two have surely inspired many, they also inspire each other.

Avery is an accomplished athlete in his own right, qualifying for a few Olympic games, yet even he has to put in extra work to keep up with Brown.

“He keeps me on my toes,” Avery said. “There’s no such thing as, ‘I’m going to take this day off.’ Because when David is ready to train, I have to be ready to train.”

While the crowd at the Drake Relays marveled at the inspiring story of Avery and Brown, they were also treated to another great performance during April 27, Hy-Vee night.

One of the final races of that night was the women’s elite 2 mile, in which Iowa native Jennifer Simpson was attempting to break the American record for the event.

On a perfect day, she knew she could easily have the record; the problem was the conditions in Des Moines on that particular night.

“It was really windy,” Simpson said. “I talked to my coach about how I was really putting myself in a vulnerable position going out hard and being alone with all the wind.”

In spite of the challenging conditions, Simpson smashed the previous record, 9:20, with an impressive 9:16.

It was certainly an event that got the crowd going, which helped motivate Simpson throughout the race.

“I could tell as we were going that they were keeping track of whether I was on it or not,” she said. “When I came down that final stretch, it was so sweet to hear everyone’s enthusiasm, knowing that the record was in reach.”