Little 50 Quals

Little Fifty Running Race contestants ran Sunday to see who qualified for the second annual addition to the 'world's greatest college weekend.' \nThe IU Student Foundation sponsors the second annual event April 18 to kick off IUSF's week of Little 500 activities.\nTwenty-five women's teams and 30 men's teams, consisting of four people on each team, competed in Sunday's qualifications. Both the men and women had one more attempt to qualify than last year, according to IUSF Little Fifty Steering Committee Chair and senior Courtney Griffin. \nAll of the women's teams qualified, but only 25 of the 30 men's teams made the cut.\nLeading the pack Sunday for the women was Alpha Phi with a time of 10:40.14. \nLeading the men with a time of 8:43.14 was Pi Omega Tau. \nGriffin said the event adds a lot to Little 500 week because it's completely amateur and anyone can participate.\n"For Little 500, you have to have a bike," Griffin said. "For this, you just need tennis shoes."\nFinishing in ninth place for the women was team Soul Fly, which had a time of 11:32.21. Junior runner Kate Glover of team Soul Fly said she thought her team did pretty well.\n"I didn't even know if we would qualify," Glover said. "I'm proud of us, and I think that in a couple of weeks, with practice, we can improve."\nSome teams had a lot of support at the qualifications Sunday, as fraternity brothers, sorority sisters and friends came out to cheer on the runners.\nThe Little Fifty race came from an idea of IUSF alumnus Ray Jordan. He wanted to include more students in the Little 500 week activities. The fifty-lap relay competition was the product of his idea.\nAlpha Tau Omega senior Stan Regan said he does a lot of cross training year-round and the qualifications showed his team its strengths and weaknesses. \nHis team finished seventh Sunday with a time of 9:11.77.\n"I think it's an amazing experience in addition to the week because so many more people run than ride bikes, and it's so easy to become involved in this," Regan said. "I've been dreaming of an event like this since my freshman year."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.