They met at a fraternity party.
The theme was Alphabet Soup: dress like something that starts with the first letter of your name. Sarah Hurdle wore a red duct tape dress and stuck a ping-pong ball on the top of her head to be a Solo cup.
“A red-haired girl in a red duct tape dress? I wanted to meet her,” Jake Shields says.
He went up to chat with her. He found out she was a freshman Redstepper and a new member of Alpha Gamma Delta. She found out he was a Little 500 rider.
“I thought that was so cool for two reasons,” Hurdle says. “I knew Little 5 was a big deal here, and I’m a big fan of the Indianapolis 500. Dating someone who was a cyclist was kind of like dating my own driver — a mini-celebrity. Then I got to know him,” she rolls her eyes. “No, I’m kidding, Jake!”
Hurdle, now a junior, and Shields, a senior, have dated through two Little 500 races for his fraternity, Theta Chi. To prepare, Shields bikes for six to eight hours a week, stays away from Little 500 festivities, and sacrifices each spring break to be in Bloomington for training.
“I love Jake and I want to support him in every way, even though it’s not always fun. I usually have to rearrange things, like running from one place to another, but I make every effort to do so,” she says. She has even volunteered for the IUSF Fall Cycling Series because she knew he would be there riding.
“But he is there for me, too,” Hurdle is quick to add.
Shields holds IU football season tickets — not because of the football team, but because of Hurdle. He watches her perform at every home game. Because she has to be with the team, Hurdle can’t hang out with friends or Shields at the tailgate. As a dancer, she performs for The Walk, a mini performance that happens two hours before the game.
“A lot of the girls have huge families that can come out and support them. And a lot of girls have boyfriends that watch, but Jake was always at the tailgate so I never had anyone to dance for,” she says.
Hurdle explained her feelings to Jake, and now he leaves the tailgate field for twenty minutes to watch her every performance.
“During the dance, they are supposed to go up and kiss someone on the cheek. She always kisses me twice, on both sides,” Shields says. “When I go back to tailgate they’re like, ‘Shields, what’s on your face?’ And then I have a story to tell,” he smiles at her as she laughs.
Their involvement with the greek system and their respective activities helps their relationship, the couple says. Since both are busy, they have to force themselves to block out time for each other. But after two years, it comes naturally.
“I’m happier around him,” Hurdle says. “When I’m stressed about sorority stuff or Redsteppers — silly girl drama — he makes me feel better. He’s amazing.”
“She’s amazing.”
They laugh a bit, only vaguely aware of how cheesy they sound. When they stop laughing, she looks as him and says, “I picked a good guy.”
