Alpha Phi, Phi Gamma Delta run to Little Fifty wins

The second annual Little Fifty running race kicked off the festivities for the 2004 Little 500 Sunday. Going into the race, Alpha Phi and Pi Omega Tau sat on the pole for the women and men, respectively. Temperatures in the low 80's and strong winds made for a long day for all the teams at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex.\nUnlike the Little 500 bike race, the Little Fifty was the same distance for both women and men. The relay-style race consisted of 50 laps around the track, which equates to 12.5 miles. Teams consisted of four runners, and many teams switched runners after each lap. \nThe women took the track first, and Alpha Phi started off at a strong pace, leading the field by nearly 30 meters just a few laps into the race. \nThe team would maintain its strong lead until lap 34, when team I Run U Run, which qualified in 12th place, made a charge and pulled even with Alpha Phi along the backstretch into turn three. After a series of exchanges, Alpha Phi pulled ahead and didn't look back. Finishing in a time of 70 minutes and 20 seconds, Alpha Phi took home the Little Fifty championship in a wire-to-wire victory.\nJunior runner Carrie Turner said mental focus was one of the keys to Alpha Phi's victory.\n"It was just mind over body," Turner said. "When I was going into the corner (of the track), my legs felt like they just couldn't go anymore, but I just told myself that I had to keep going. There are so many times where your body wants to quit on you, but you just have to tell yourself to keep going."\nI Run U Run stayed in second place and finished just 12 seconds off the pace, holding off Phi Mu, which finished third to earn the bronze medal.\nSenior Elizabeth Munn of I Run U Run said it was fun to come out and enjoy the event even though her team came close but did not win.\n"I'm happy with how we did today," Munn said. "It's just fun to come out here and have fun, especially for me, since this is my last event to participate in at IU."\nOn the men's side, Pi Omega Tau qualified almost eight seconds ahead of its closest competition and led the field to the green flag. \nFifty laps later, Pi Omega Tau would slip to second as Phi Gamma Delta took the lead halfway through the race and coasted to victory in the 2004 Little Fifty. Their time of 58:37 was almost a minute faster than Sigma Chi's inaugural time in 2003. \nThe pace during the opening laps was blistering, as Army, the sixth-fastest qualifier, stormed ahead of the pack. By lap 10, Army had a lead of more than 20 seconds and had already lapped the last team on the lead lap. It would extend its lead to almost 25 seconds before second-place Phi Gamma Delta began to close the gap. Freshman Army runner Marshall Kulp said having the large lead might have hurt them. \n"Our motivation was to catch the people in front of us," Kulp said, "but having the big lead, I think we may have started to get comfortable."\nAt lap 20, Army had a lead of close to 20 seconds. By lap 22, Phi Gamma Delta had closed the gap to under five seconds, and on the backstretch of lap 23, they caught up with Army and took the lead.\nSenior Phi Gamma Delta runner Michael Trent explained the strategy Fiji used to cut into Army's lead.\n"We planned out exactly what pace we wanted to run each lap, and we wanted to stick to that goal, regardless of the consequences," Trent said. "We were definitely nervous at first because Army's pace at the beginning was ridiculous, but I look at it as winning comes to those who don't expect it. We wanted to come out and run our race, not really expecting to win, but that's exactly what we did." \nThe final 20 laps saw Phi Gamma Delta extend its lead to more than 20 seconds as the team coasted to victory. By the end of the race, Phi Gamma Delta had lapped every team except pole-sitter Pi Omega Tau, which even after falling back in the pack at the start of the race, worked its way to the front and finished in second place. Anchorweight, the ninth-place qualifier, finished third, while Army wound up fourth after its fast start. \nThe second edition of the Little Fifty added a new incentive for the participants. The team that made the most improvement from qualifications to end of the race earned a $250 scholarship per runner. Most improved for the women was I Run U Run, which qualified 12th and finished second. For the men, Grandpappies was awarded the scholarship after moving up into the top 10 after qualifying 17th.\n-- Contact staff writer David Paulen at dpaulen@indiana.edu.