Foster organizes run for disease

Freshman Anthony Dee won't be able to make it back home to Naperville, Ill. for this year's multiple sclerosis run/walk, so he decided to bring the run/walk to Bloomington.\nDee is president protem for the Foster Quad Board of Governors and suggested having a 5K race at IU to help spread awareness for multiple sclerosis. \n"I want to raise money for the disease, while getting people involved and have fun doing it," Dee said. \nThe race will be held 9 a.m. Saturday, March 8. The cost is $5 to participate with a chance to win prizes.\nRegistration began Thursday at all major campus food courts, such as Gresham, Wright Quad, and Collins Living-Learning Center and the Indiana Memorial Union. Dee said registration will be taking place all over campus with a lot of advertising for the event.\nPrizes are available to race participants; the first place winner will receiving a semester's supply of breadsticks from Pizza Express. The rest of the prizes, which include DVD players and boom boxes, will be raffled off.\nThe race starts at Foster, proceeds north on Fee Lane through the Memorial Stadium parking lot. It continues along Woodlawn Avenue to 13th Street, then Law Lane to Jordan Avenue, up to Fee again and ends back at Foster. \nIU Police Department Capt. Keith Cash said the route goes through the stadium parking lot because 17th Street had to remain open during the race.\n"The original proposed route had to be changed for the runners' safety and because 17th Street is such a busy street," Cash said.\nCash met with Dee to help finalize details and give information and recommendations. The IUPD will be helping out during the race. \n"We will use our academy officers, which are IU students, to basically assist with any traffic or safety concerns," Cash said.\nDee has a personal connection to the disease with a close relative suffering from it.\n"We came up with the idea for the race because I have an aunt with multiple sclerosis, and I wanted to bring the race here," Dee said.\nFreshman Cody Griner, another member of the Foster BOG, said the board was brainstorming for ideas for a Foster-oriented activity, ultimately to donate proceeds to a non-profit organization.\n"We were talking about different charities to give it to, and not a lot of people know exactly what the disease is, so we wanted to put it out there and get more education out there about it," Griner said. \nAll proceeds will go directly to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a non-profit organization. The race is not associated with the society other than receiving all proceeds.\nLinda Gann, an Indiana chapter representative for the society, has also been helping the Foster BOG organize the event.\nThe Foster, McNutt Quad and Briscoe Quad BOGs, along with Pizza Express, are sponsoring the event.\nGriner and the Foster BOG are hoping for large numbers in the race.\n"This is our first annual race, so we really don't know what to expect," Griner said. "A lot of factors go into the race, like advertising and the weather, but we're hoping for a big turnout."\nE-mail any questions about the event to Anthony Dee at adee@indiana.edu.