They've been running the men's distance medley relay at the Penn Relays since 1915. As far as most track and field folks surmise, the DMR was born that late April 1915 day at Franklin Field.

The very first Penn Relays DMR champion -- don't you remember? -- was Yale. They were followed by Wisconsin (1916) and the University of Chicago (1917-18-19).

They've been running the distance medley at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships since 1967. The very first winner -- and this one you really can remember -- was Kansas State.

And the KSU Wildcats were soon followed by other Wildcats, Villanova (1968-69), Manhattan College (1970) and Pittsburgh (1971).

All those Penn Relays and NCAA Indoor DMRs, of course, have provided some of the most exciting  moments in American relay racing.

"After all, the DMR," as Armory Track Foundation president Dr. Norbert Sander described it at a press gathering Friday, "is where it all comes together."  

It's got distance in it (the anchor 1600 meters, or as in earlier days, the mile), it's got speed in it (the 400-meter carry), and it's got middle distance (the 1200-meter opening leg and the 800-meter third leg).

Yes, indeed the long medley (4000 meters metrically-speaking, or two and a half miles, yards-wise) is exactly what Webster's New World Dictionary says it is: "a mixture of things not usually pieced together."

Well, the time has come to get on with the DMR of all DMRs -- the long men's medley that will ring down the curtain on the Armory Track Invitational meet Saturday night at The Armory. After nearly two full days of Armory action, the meet will conclude with the men's DMR starting at exactly 6:16 p.m.

With a power-packed lineup of three national teams (USA, Kenya and Ireland), the red-hot New Jersey-New York Track Club squad, and NCAA majors, Mississippi, Duke, Princeton and Columbia ready to step to the line at the fast-as-it-gets Amory 200-meter oval, the record book is almost certain to take a very bad beating.

The American collegiate indoor record is listed as the 9:25.97 set by the 2008 University of Texas team. The Armory record as well as the meet record is the 2012 Texas A&M clocking of 9:29.71. But the quickest-ever USA indoor clocking is the 9:21.77 notched by the Oregon Track Club, anchored by Will Leer, at Seattle in 2010.

Don't be too surprised, either, if the winning Armory time approaches the fastest-ever outdoor times ever recorded for the DMR.

The world best-ever DMR time in the great outdoors is the 9:15.56 performance of the Kenya team, anchored by Alex Kipchirchir at the 2006 Penn Relays. Fastest-ever American outdoor DMR time is the 9:15.63 notched by the United States Blue Team, anchored by Bernard Lagat, chasing Kenya down to the wire at Penn in 2006.

All eight teams at the Armory are considered "loaded."

Among the celebrities ready for baton duty are Erik Sowinski and Matthew Centrowitz for Team USA, Lawi Lalang for Kenya, Ciaran O'Lionaird for Ireland and  Michael Rutt and Kyle Merber for NJNYTC.

Then again, don't be shocked if one or more or the collegiate squads outruns some of the international foursomes.

"Anything can happen in a race like this, and that's what will make it so interesting," said Centrowitz. "Different teams, different legs, different strategies, it all plays into it. Something sensational can easily happen with a field this good."

Look for Centrowitz to personally deliver on that prediction. Given his New York roots -- dad Matt Centrowitz, out of Power Memorial Academy, then Manhattan College, then the University of Oregon, was a Big Apple racing all-timer, and his mom was a collegiate star at Hunter -- the younger Centrowitz will not lack local inspiration.

As the 2011 World Outdoor Championships 1500-meter bronze medalist, and 2012 London Olympic 1500 fourth-placer, he's already carved out a spot in his sport's archives.

"But coming back to New York is always something special," said the now-Oregon-based "Centro."

One thing that's guaranteed not to happen is this race result finding its way onto the official IAAF world-record list. Medleys, distance or sprint -- thus far -- just don't cut it to the record-keepers of the IAAF.

Internationally speaking, this race can produce a "world best."

Which prompted Armory announcer Ian Brooks to declare, "I don't care what the IAAF is going to call it; if it happens and I'm quite sure it will, I'm still going to call it a  world record."

 Armory Track Invitational Day One College Stand-outs

Honors were well spread on the first day of the Armory Track Invitational. One most notable winner was Amy Regan, the totally-undersung Stevens Institute of Technology junior from Green Brook, N.J., who ran off with the NCAA Division III cross country title last November and continued her rapid progress Friday by outrunning a field of Division I rivals to claim the Armory women's 5000-meter title in 16:40.84.

Settling for the 2-3 spots were Missouri's Kaitlyn Fischer (16:48.00) and Princeton's Lindsay Eysenbach (16:52.17). Princeton's Kathryn Fluehr had set all the early pace and seemed destined to win it, until stepping out of the race with just three laps to go.

"The Princeton girl (Fluehr) was running really well and that helped me out; I was just trying to hang on as long as possible," said Regan. "I don't know what my splits were. My coach Justin Wood wasn't yelling very loud. But then the race opened right up and I was there."

Amazingly, Regan was never a serious runner in her days at Watchung Hills Regional High School; she ran just one season of cross country, dabbled in indoor track, and considered soccer her primary sport.

"Now, I just like to run," she said.  "And want to get a lot faster."

She's majoring in engineering management and would like to go on to a masters degree in systems engineering.

"To run 16:40, and win the whole thing, that's obviously pretty amazing," said Stevens third-year coach Wood. "We want her to compete and against the best, and that's what we're going to continue to do.  The program's getting better every semester, every year."

Stevens teams are nicknamed the Ducks;  obviously, they're ducking no one in track.

"Seeing Amy win that NCAA cross country title, that was by far the highlight of my coaching career," said Wood. "That showed the new level of maturity she now has.

"To watch Amy's transformation from a freshman, to a sophomore, to a junior who is a confident, national-level athlete, that really means a lot. 

"Her future? It looks tremendous."

Other most notable collegiate Friday winners: In men's racing - Clemson's Jeffrey Green, 47.03 400 meters; Mississippi's Brandon McBride 1:01.40 500 meters; Albany's John DeLallo, 2:25.16 1000 meters; Columbia's Paul Ross, 14:17.85 5000 meters, and the Missouri distance medley team (10:00.42) in a nail-biter over Army (10:00.7) and coming-on-strong Adelphi (10:03.74).

Women's track finals went to: South Carolina's Precious Holmes, 53.83 400 meters; Toronto's Gabriela Stafford, 2:42.75 1000 meters; and the Duke distance medley team (11:23.42) over Wisconsin (11:24.64) and Princeton (11:25.17).

Men's field winners were North Carolina A&T long jumper Frank Quarles (25-1 3/4) and Cincinnati shot putter Macklin Tudor (59-4 3/4.) Women's field titlists included Mississippi State long jumper Erica Bogard (21-0), Western Ontario pole vaulter Robin Bone (14-3 1/4),  and Missouri shot putter Jill Rushin (56-0).

Armory Track Invitational action resumes at 9 a.m. Saturday.