Here's a checklist to help you prepare for your race.

Before you arrive:

1. What do I eat on race day? For weekend races, your primary concern will be what to do about lunch. You should eat a normal breakfast, assuming that your normal breakfast is fairly healthy and doesn’t mostly consist of greasy foods or empty calories. On Saturdays, depending on the size of your lunch, you'll probably want at least an hour or two between your lunch and the race. Keep your lunch fairly simple, something like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and/or fruit, etc., is fine. Try to avoid a lot of dairy products, all fried foods and anything “heavy”. Drink plenty of water and think about bringing a snack (e.g. pretzels or crackers) to the meet for later on.

2. Should I wear sweats? Regardless of what the weather looks like you should always wear sweats to every race. Once you’ve arrived and the weather gets warmer, then you might want to start taking your sweats off, but always show up to races with a sweat outfit. This is especially true at early Spring season meets like the Tiger Relays, when the weather can suddenly change from good to bad. Meets like the Tiger Relays have a history of very strange weather, so early in the season you may even want to bring an extra sweatshirt, just in case.

3. What about the uniform? If you're on a relay, then your uniform must match the uniform of your relay partners. This is interpreted to include tights and other articles of clothing worn under the uniform, where the color of these items must match as well. Here's a list of the KHSAA's uniform rules.

After you arrive:

1. When do I warm up? The most important first thing to do when you arrive at a meet is find your teammates, because the warm up should be a group thing. I recommend starting about 30 minutes before your first race, in order to leave enough time for adequate stretching, achieving inner peace, using the restroom, and so forth. Most races will announce first, second and third calls for each event. If you hear a first call for your event, and you haven't started warming up, then you need to begin doing so.

2. How do I check in for my race? Before every race, you need to find the “check-in clerk”. The meet directors must know who is and isn’t at the meet, so they’ll basically call roll. At invitational-style meets like Tiger Relays, the check-in procedure involves you going to an area where the check-in clerk will call out the names of each entry (or teams, if it's a relay). If you're on a relay team, then you should go with your team - not alone. When you hear your name (or relay team's name) called, tell the clerk you're there. The clerk will eventually line all the individuals or teams up and take them to the start. At the smaller Master Schedule meets, those are the ones usually held during the week, the check in process is much less formal. At those meets you just show up to the starting line and check in.

3. Anything else? Aside from the matching uniform rule mentioned above, you will need to remove all jewelry before your race. Apparently, you are also (only) allowed one “hair-holding item” like a pony-tail holder or a band of pre-wrap, but not more than one. This corresponds with what they call the “unnecessary adornment” rule. This year, they are also not allowing the wearing of watches during races. If you wear any of these things, then the meet officials can (and probably will) disqualify you after the race. Some of these rules will seem very strange, so if you're not sure whether something's legal, then ask the coach or chief meet official.