It’s rare that we see track and field stadiums packed with 50,000 to 60,000 fans for a meet when someone like Usain Bolt isn’t competing but it happened over the weekend. At the 2017 IAAF U18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, fans shattered attendance records to watch the future stars of the sport.

The photo below was making rounds on social media. It even promoted two-time Olympic medalist Nick Willis to share his brilliant idea of an annual home-and-home meet between Ethiopia and Kenya.

50,000 specators made it a magic night in Nairobi. The largest ever crowd at a World U18 Championships. #MagicalKenya #WU18Nairobi2017 pic.twitter.com/Q7PJYb6hjT

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) July 15, 2017

I wanted to know more about the atmosphere and feel at the stadium so I dialed up my good friend and fellow track and field journo Cathal Dennehy to discuss his experience at the championship. Cathal and I crossed paths when I first went out to Europe to cover the track circuit in 2013. As a freelancer writer, his work is everywhere from Runner’s World, The Guardian, Run Blog Run, SPIKES and many other other places. He went viral on the internet with his “Depths of Hell” play-by-play call from an Irish championship and even made an appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” You can find Cathal on Twitter: @Cathal_Dennehy

The latest episode of the CITIUS MAG Podcast is now up on iTunes. Subscribe and leave a five-star review.

You can listen to the latest podcast chat with Cathal below:

https://soundcloud.com/user-713795263/cathal-dennehy