When the novel coronavirus pandemic forced the Penn Relays to cancel the 126th edition, the ancient event turned to something modern to give it a temporary stage. The Penn Relays, a beloved institution for fans and a right of passage for American runners, throwers and jumpers, will not take place for the first time since they debuted in 1895. But the Digital Penn Relays will.

“We’re marrying one of the most historic events in the world with something that is really new,” Penn Sports Properties Vice President Nino Vanin said.

As sports have shut down, leagues and events have tried to hold their place in the public’s consciousness. Many have turned to video games or esports. NASCAR’s iRacing has exploded in popularity, and both Major League Baseball and the NBA have staged video game tournaments among players. Track and field doesn’t have a direct analog, but the Penn Relays are trying to find an answer with the Digital Penn Relays.

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What exactly are the Digital Penn Relays? They are a Penn Relays-themed video game competition that organizers view as an “online festival”: part esports contest, part Internet hangout, part television show and part sports documentary.

The gaming portion will consist of teams of gamers playing Minecraft, taking “speedruns” around a virtual Franklin Field — with lava, ice and water added — on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus. The teams, which have not been determined, could consist of some of the 15,000 high school and college athletes who would have performed, as well as Penn alumni, coaches and former competitors, depending on who signs up. Organizers will accept roughly 100 gamers.

The Minecraft competition will be streamed on Twitch over five hours on the afternoon of April 24, which would have been the second day of the actual Penn Relays. (Twitch is owned by Amazon, whose CEO, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) The gaming will be interspersed with interviews of current and former athletes, live feeds from the actual Penn campus, and highlights and video packages from old Penn Relays.

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The concept is an expanded version of an idea designed to supplement the actual Penn Relays. For years, event organizers had seen the Penn Relays’ crowds grow older. To connect with a younger audience, the Penn Relays partnered this year with Gen.G, a company that owns and operates esports teams. They planned to have a gaming component on site for the event.

“Once the Relays were canceled, we pivoted and said, ‘Let’s really blow this digital out,’ ” Vanin said.

Event organizers believe the idea behind the Digital Penn Relays — a merging of a digital world with an actual real-life event — could keep a foothold, even after the effects of the coronavirus fade from the sports world. In their minds, the digital concept allows people to experience a taste of an event from home, which may make them more likely to attend in person.

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“We think these types of concepts will exist for a long time,” said Jordan Sherman, Gen.G’s head of revenue operations. “When you talk to events and say, ‘Actually, you can reach more people and you could do it all from their homes and elongate the schedule,’ you’re really on to something. I think this is going to outlive the coronavirus time period.”