Great event for professionals. Great event for NCAA runners. But the high school relays are what makes this the greatest track event in the US. I ran in it in 1997, but I remember almost nothing about the actual competition. Obea Moore anchored the 3:08 John Muir team in the low 45s. Some Irish kid named Gareth Turnbull anchored the 1600 leg of the boys DMR in 4:00 flat and walked down DC area prep legend Sharif Karie in the final 100m. The Jamaican/American flags came out in greatest volume during the high school races, too.

Anyhow. I think it works best if you pick favorites (even arbitrarily) and let yourself get into it. Don't be an analyst. Be a fan and let some teenage kid too dumb to realize he's (or she... don't ignore the girls' races) supposed to be scared of the atmosphere do something great.

And eat around the stadium. I didn't do this because I was racing, but it smelled delicious all weekend.