Les Corredoresn take first place in Little 50

On Sunday, April 14, the Indiana University Student Foundation (IUSF) put on the
annual Little 50, a 50-lap running race open to any undergraduate IU students. The
proceeds from ticket sales go towards working student scholarships. Les Corredores
snatched the 1st place trophy in the Women’s race, completing the race in 1:06:06.

Les Corredores is a four-member team composed of IU Running Club members,
including Rachel Mehringer, Katy White, Lexie Greitzer, and Sarah Boyum. Last year
they placed 2nd in this event. After months of training, their hard work finally paid
off.

“The team bonding is my favorite part about the experience,” Mehringer said. “Being
out here with everyone, you see that everyone’s cheering for everyone, nobody
cares what team you’re on.”

IUSF’s Steering Committee is largely responsible for the organization of this event.
They are in charge of the race day setup and all of the marketing for the event.
They also pre order the jerseys and awards for the runners, and organize the jersey
selection process once the teams have qualified. They also collaborate efforts with
IU Athletics to make sure the event runs smoothly.

Noah Muller, a member on the steering committee, said that they have met all
semester in order to prepare for Little 50.

One exciting new development in this event is the all-electronic timing system.
According to Muller, this is the first year they are using RFID tags on the runner’s
anklets as opposed to stopwatches.

Megan Goelzer, a fellow member on IUSF’s Steering Committee, believes that this
new timing system makes it easier.

“It’s a huge change for everyone but it seemed to have worked very well, and makes
it more accurate,” she said.

The Steering Committee takes a lot of pride in marketing and recruiting, Goelzer
said. They find volunteers, and the committees are composed of more than just
gunners.

Greek houses are a big draw for the event, but other organizations and clubs are
welcome to participate as well.

The winner and IU Run Club member, Mehringer, said that they have been running
everyday for the past few months for training. She said this win helped the training
mean something.

Lauren Davis, another member of the steering committee, says that the new
electronic system is the same one used in the Olympics. It is the first major running
event on campus that used this system.

“I think it turned out very well, it is a technological improvement that will help it
continue to grow in the future.”