How do you get in a meet? Do you gain money if you win?
It can't be as easy as "Hi! I want to get in this meet.".
well its pretty easy, you apply to the meet director or whoever is hosting and compete unattached, meaning you can win but youre not technically competing against the other athletes there. For example if you win your event, the second place finisher is actually going to be first place, assuming he is not unattached too. Money is almost impossible without a sponsorship ie. nike, addidas, etc., for females its even harder to get since so little attention is paid to track and field here. But yea, ive been to several collegiate meets that had people over 40 yrs old competing, some did surprising well, they just run attached and want to stay competitive. When she won the Texas relays the girl that actually finished first was an unattached competitior, olympic athlete for some other country (forgot) but yea, her results are just for her and her coaches, they dont count against the collegiate athletes.
btw, just found this javelin pic of her from a while back, this was around the time of most the upper body pr's lol.