AirBNBs are also pricey and scarce

Absolutely. Find an arbnb or just plan to travel from the burbs to the track. Any serious track athlete holds these meets as a rite of passage!

My son did it as part of a 4 x 8 relay. Franklin field is really great. It’s fun if you have other team mates as well. You can stay in the nearby suburbs for cheaper than in Philly and drive in.

My senior year in college I anchored our 4 x 1 relay team to third in the Championship of America event.

As an experience, the best of my track career. Franklin Field is a great stadium, even with its undersized track. I recall increasingly fewer races but won't ever forget Penn.

National high school meets are a bit more formal than in my day and New Balance''s money and Penn's location is a sound combination.

A bit off topic, but after the race I went back to the hotel to finish typing an honors thesis. It was raining and the great Carl Lewis came back to the hotel to stay dry and was warming up for his 100m race in the hallways. I took a break from typing and stuck my head out the door. It was as if a freight train was passing by. Memories worth a lifetime.

Last year rooms were not bad but I just looked and the Hyatt we stayed at last year for $190 a night is $600 a night. Ouch.

There are college coaches there and it is well run

My kid’s team stayed at an airport hotel for Penn relays. It wasn’t expensive. Whether it is worth it depends on how much your kid enjoys track.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have experience with this meet at Penn in a few weeks? Hotel rooms are ridiculously expensive and my kids relay team might not do great but is it worth the experience?

Does your kid want to do it? If so, it will be fun for them, they'll get the all-important backpack and they'll get experience running in a big meet, so probably worth it to them. It's also fun for the kids to see the real HS super stars. I'm surprised hotel room as so expensive, Philly has a lot of hotels.

Anyone have experience with this meet at Penn in a few weeks? Hotel rooms are ridiculously expensive and my kids relay team might not do great but is it worth the experience?