Athletes, fans battle rain and fierce competition at final day of Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- On and off rain marked the final days of the Penn Relays, where athletes battled not only competition but inclement weather during the historic event.

The 129th running of the Penn Relays brought around 17 thousand athletes to Franklin Field. It's the oldest track and field event in the entire country and its prominence is known worldwide.

"It's my first Penn Relays, so it was a great experience, I'd love to come back again," said Tri-Tania Lowe of GC Foster College in Jamaica.

She endured what she believed to be frigid temperatures to win the long jump.

"It's a little bit cold. I just don't like the cold," she said. "I'm used to the heat, so I had to get warm."

"It's so warm out here, it feels like the summer," said the relay's associate director Aaron Robison, who had a different viewpoint on the weather.

"It's a little bit of rain to cool things off but it's all about to heat back up as the track gets going."

There were blue skies and sunshine for the first two days of the competition.

"The energy of the Penn Relays is unlike any other sporting event. I mean, I've been to World Series games, I've been to playoff games in all sports, and the Penn Relays is just different," said Robison.

Part of that difference is the nearly hundred thousand people who come out every year.

"It's my 45th year, I ran in it. I ran down here many years on this track," said Steven Bayne from West Philadelphia. "It's my second church. It feeds me. It feeds me."