Dorman Distance Carnival Celebrates 10 Years

It’s a long time between November and March. And distance runners get a little stir-crazy.

Robert Urban noticed both of those things while coaching at Dorman High School, envisioning a track meet that let those distance runners stretch their legs and jump into their new track seasons, shaking off the rust from the long layoff from cross country season.

“Those kids put in a lot of work in summer, they put a lot of work in the winter, it’s it’s year round with them,” Urban said. “And there weren’t a lot of opportunities for them in this timeframe. We were just looking for something to kind of break up that big training block of time. You know, the kids, they get antsy and stuff like that. So a couple of coaches, Jack Todd at Spartanburg, and a couple of us, we talked, and I said, hey, you know, would y’all want to just get some of your distance kids together and just let them rip? Just see what they[ve got in February after we’ve been practicing a couple weeks they were all for it.”

The Dorman Distance Carnival was born and 10 years later it’s going strong. 

“It’s exploded into a whole regional thing,” Urban said. “I’ve got kids from three different states besides South Carolina coming in.”

There are certainly more opportunities for competition in the February window than their were a decade ago, including indoor races in the region. Still, the Dorman event has continued to draw an elite field. The Carnival features eight events, ranging from 400 meters to 3200 meters, with the marquee event being the Boys and Girls Elite Mile races.

Why a mile? Urban said it’s a measuring stick on the track, and in everyday perception.

“Your average person walking down the street, they’ve got a clue about the mile,” he said. “They know about that. But when you say 1600 meters, they don’t always know what you’re talking about, you know? At the NCAA Indoor Championships, they run a true mile. And I love the traditions of the great American milers like Jim Ryun and the British miles who brought so much excitement. When Coach Johns got the new track, he said ‘I’m putting a mile line down on there just for you’, so I thought that was pretty cool. It’s nine-and-a-half or 10 yards extra, so it’s minimal, but the mile just sounds better.”

It also draws a field that’s packed with talent.

“In our boys Elite Mile, we’ve got 16 kids seeded between 4:09 and 4:27,” Urban said. “Those are verified times that they’ve run before. Now, I don’t expect them to run their personal best on February 21, but our meet record is 4:16, and I think it’s going down. That’s a really solid time. We’ve got, I think, six girls who have run a sub-5 minute mile. That’s our marquee event, our final event. We do Elite races in all of them. We do the long 400 sprint, the 800, and the 3200. All the fields are just unbelievably loaded up with talent. I’m just amazed.”

Aside from the performances on the track, fans will be treated to Urban’s performance as well. He’s the announcer for the meet, a role he fills at other meets as well.

“ I love the sport, and I’ve been involved with it since I was 13 years old in some capacity as an athlete, a collegiate athlete, a post-collegiate athlete, or a coach,” he said. “During Covid and when we came out of Covid, live results became very popular because not everybody could attend a meet. I started talking to Coach Johns and some people here about ways to enhance our meets, and just thought ‘let me see what I can do with this microphone’, you know, just giving commentary much like if you went to a horse track or something like that. And it just kind of evolved from there.”

What started with Urban hooking up an iPod to a boom box in front of a microphone between races or when changing hurdles has evolved into speakers and a much more advanced setup. At the heart of it, it’s just a way to help the meet flow.

“It’s an entertainment aspect for the parents, for the spectators, and for the athletes,” he said. “The music is a mix of current pop stuff to classic soul. I’ll get grandparents tell me they were glad I played a certain song. Somebody told me that 90s music is now oldies, and I guess that’s true. I’m just trying to make it fun. We’re just having a good time, and I guess it’s caught on.”

The event will begin at 9:50 with the National Anthem followed by recognition of Dorman’s 2004 Girls State Championship Cross Country team.

“A lot of them are coming back with their parents, their kids, their spouses, and we’re going to recognize them. We always try to recognize someone who has a connection to Dorman.”

There’s a Community Fun Mile at 10:05, and the first two Elite Races at 3200 meters begin at 10:25 and 10:50. Elite Races in all other events will be the final heat at those distances. The meet is scheduled to conclude with the Elite Mile races at 4:00 and 4:15.

“It looks like we’re going to have a nice day, and I think we’re just going to see some amazing performances,” Urban said.