1,100 run for Jill's House

Every year, Marilyn Behrman can't help wondering if people will continue to come to the benefit event that honors the memory of her daughter, Jill. \n"I just keep thinking, 'Gosh, the students don't really know Jill. Are they really going to show up?'" she said.\nBut every year, those worries evaporate as the Bloomington community answers, "Yes," in a huge way, refusing to let Jill's memory fade with time. \nThis year, more than 1,100 runners, joggers and walkers strode through a chill breeze Saturday morning to be part of the sixth annual Jill Behrman Run for the End Zone.\nLooking at the race participants filling the Mellencamp Pavilion, where the race started and finished, Jill's parents and grandparents expressed their deep gratitude for the growing support shown to the family every year. \n"It's been amazing," Marilyn Behrman said. "It's just great to have that sort of continuous support."\nThe 5K race has been scheduled every October since 2000 -- the year that Jill, then an IU sophomore, disappeared while riding her bike in Bloomington. The race brings students and community members together to help raise money for the Jill Behrman Emerging Leadership Scholarship fund and for Jill's House, which meets housing needs for patients of the IU Proton Therapy Treatment Center.\nThis year, Collins Living and Learning Center was the best represented dorm team with 46 members participating. Delta Gamma and Sigma Delta Tau tied for best represented greek organizations with 10 participants each.\nIU's Division of Recreational Sports, where Jill worked, organizes the event, and some students involved with RecSports ran in the race Saturday, while others worked to make sure the race ran smoothly.\nIU Senior Jimmy Grimes, the race's overall winner, also works at RecSports. He said the event brings the division together as everyone is encouraged to get involved in honor of Jill and her family. \nStudents aren't the only ones showing support, though. The event draws individuals and teams from all over the community. This year, the largest teams from the community were a group of 28 from Meadowood and 25 from Bloomington High School South's volleyball team, where Jill played before she attended IU.\nAlso, for the first time, Bloomington's Chamber of Commerce joined with RecSports to co-host a Wellness Fair in the Pavilion during the race. The event, free to the public, included 54 community organizations giving away fitness information, door prizes and even massages. \nIU Athletics' outdoor venues coordinator, Prentice Parker, worked behind the scenes during the race Saturday. He is also a friend of Eric Behrman, Jill's father, and remembers when Jill disappeared.\n"As a father with a daughter, I felt very sad for the family," Parker said. Showing support through Saturday's race is one way for him and others in the community to help, he added.\n"This is the community. We help," Parker said. "That's what it's all about."\nJill's grandfather, Lester Behrman, drove from DeCatur County Ind. for the race and said he couldn't stress enough how grateful he was for the willingness to help and the support he felt on Saturday.\nHowever, Jill's case is still unsolved -- her body was found in 2003 but no one has been prosecuted for her murder -- and Lester said he still wanted justice for those involved in the crime.\n"You know, the sad part is, there are people on the streets who know what happened," he said. "It'd be nice if they could get the people off the street who would do that sort of thing. Hopefully someday they'll be able to bring those people to justice." \nMarilyn and Eric Behrman walk in the race every year, and expect the event will get larger next year. Marilyn said she enjoys coming to see all the people Jill was connected to.\n"That's the great thing -- just to see the difference Jill made to so many people," she said. "It's just very uplifting to be a part of all this"