Last modified: Monday, August 27, 2007
Second Circle of Life IU Mini Marathon and 5K set for Sept. 8
Race proceeds used to create scholarships for cancer survivors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Aug. 27, 2007
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Second Annual IU Circle of Life, a not-for-profit philanthropic event organized by Indiana University students, is in the final stages of preparation for the Sept. 8 mini marathon and 5K races on the IU Bloomington campus. Old National Bank is the event's title sponsor.
In its inaugural year, more than 3,200 runners from 39 states competed in the 13.1-mile run to raise $60,000 for the Bill Z. Littlefield Scholarship for Survivors. Interest in the event has been strong, and organizers continue to accept registrations for both the mini marathon and 5K races.
Pre-race ceremonies will begin at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the IU Athletics complex on 17th Street and Fee Lane, with the mini marathon starting at 8 a.m. and the 5K at 8:15 a.m. Participants can register, pick up packets and visit an expo in the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sept. 7 and from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. on race day. Other activities will include a pasta party the night before at the Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, 1000 E. 17th St., across from the athletics facilities.
To register or for more information, go online to www.iumini.com.
The event was launched last year to raise money to create the Littlefield Scholarship. The scholarship, named for a Kelley School of Business faculty member who died in 2005 from cancer, will enable a cancer survivor to attend one of IU's eight campuses once enough money is raised to endow it.
This 13.1-mile run is one of the largest running events in southern Indiana and the state's first collegiate-hosted mini marathon. Runners will compete on a road route taking them through the IU Bloomington campus and surrounding areas. The route has been officially certified and sanctioned by the USA Track and Field Association.
"The course for the mini marathon has not changed, but we've made improvements in preparation for the course and staffing the race," said Ryan Risse, IU Circle of Life chief executive officer, a senior from Tell City, Ind., who is majoring in marketing at the Kelley School of Business.
"We want to thank everyone in the community who has assisted us with planning," Risse added. "We appreciate the inconvenience it may impose on some of our neighbors. It is our hope that the community can embrace the mini marathon and help us to make it bigger and better each year."
IU Circle of Life organizers have been working with authorities to notify local residents along the race route about road closures and traffic delays on race day. Course maps have been provided that outline when and where runners will be during the race.
A scholarship account has been established at the IU Foundation. Event planners hope that once the scholarship is endowed, annual proceeds of the event will be able to support other charitable causes. Contributions can be sent to the IU Foundation at P.O. Box 500, Bloomington, IN, 47402; made by phone at 812-855-5776; or made online at https://iufoundation.iu.edu (specify the name of the account: Circle of Life/Bill Littlefield Scholarship).
