Happenings beyond the track

In addition to residence halls and greek houses, other campus units often come together to form teams. In previous years, a team of women representing the IU Army ROTC has competed. This year the IU Air Force ROTC is also fielding teams in both the men’s and women’s races. The Liberal Arts and Management Program has a team in the women’s race and had a men’s team attempt to qualify.

Throughout the 2000s, the race has become increasingly diverse. Mezcla, a team of Hispanic women, has competed for several years. Lioness Cycling, a team of African-American women, is in its second race and qualified 15th this year after starting a year ago. A Mezcla men’s team competed but did not qualify this year.

As in previous years, both Little 500 races will be presented live nationally in high-definition television by HDNet. IU’s Advanced Visualization Lab in the University Information Technology Services will be filming the races as part of an effort to record IU events in a new 3-D television format.

This year, the Little 50 running race will be held in the community at Bloomington High School North because the E.C. “Billy” Hayes Track at IU is being renovated. The change in location has led to increased interest in official Little 500 events from high school students, including many who have since offered to volunteer, said Dana Cummings, director of the IU Student Foundation in a press release. Transportation will be provided from the IU campus to the high school.

Another student philanthropy, Building Tomorrow at IU, is using cycling to raise money to build primary schools in Uganda. During Little 500 week, the organization will have a fundraiser, Bike to Uganda. Stationary bikes will be set up around the Bloomington campus. The group’s goal is to ride the entire distance from Bloomington to Kampala, Uganda — a distance of about 7,710 miles. For more information, go to www.biketouganda.org.

— Jamie Barrar