Mini race, big results

Fans and supporters cheered and shouted early Saturday at Memorial Stadium not for a football game, but for the more than 1,400 runners who crossed the finish line of the inaugural 13.1-mile IU Mini-Marathon. \nParticipants from 25 states took part in the race, and hundreds more joined in for the 5K run and other weekend activities.\nProceeds from the weekend will go to a scholarship fund to help cancer survivors attend IU. \nThe IU student group Circle of Life organized the races in addition to various other activities to raise money for a scholarship fund to honor Bill Z. Littlefield, a Kelley School of Business professor who died of cancer last year. \nAt press time, senior Kevin MacCauley, president and chief executive officer of Circle of Life, said it was too early to tell how much money had been raised for the scholarship. However, he said he was happy with the turnout. \nCircle of Life collaborated with the Kelley School of Business to honor Littlefield. Many business school professors and students participated in the event, including Dean Dan Smith. Smith run in the 5K with his wife and family dog. \n"We're very proud of the students who put this together," Smith said upon finishing. "It's a great cause for Bill Littlefield, and it's an honor to have students like these."\nIn addition, business school seniors Myles Grote and Samantha Roper worked with MacCauley to coordinate the event.\n"This is a great idea. It bonds the Kelley school with the community," said George Vlahakis, manager of IU media relations. \nThe greek community was also active in the race. Several chapters paired with one another and competed for the best spirit and the fastest time. Prior to the race the chapters raised money for the scholarship fund. \nOld National Bank was the main sponsor for the event, and it helped raise money for the fund by hosting a contest for runners after the race with a chance to win $10,000. The company also presented runners with bags containing a T-shirt and time chip to track their place and finish time. \nBucceto's Smiling Teeth helped the group by providing a pasta dinner Friday. Proceeds from the $5 meal went to the scholarship fund. After the race, Circle of Life hosted an alumni party at Nick's English Hut, and Jake's Nightclub hosted a concert Saturday night.\nKurt Wente finished first in the men's 5K run with a time of 18:17.3. Don Yamtich of Bloomington and Nicholas Whitten of Bargersville, Ind., finished second and third, respectively. \nFirst place for the women's 5K run was Menzie Maurer of Marshall, Ill., with a time of 20:25.1. Following Maurer was Kelly Stanfield of Seymour, Ind., and Andrea Kent of Valparaiso, Ind., finished in third place.\nThe top five runners among the 1,406 mini-marathon participants received cash prizes. John Ngigi of Indianapolis, who won the race, finished the 13.1 miles in one hour and 10 minutes. Scott Robertson of Bloomington came in second place with a time of 1:14:03.3. Following Robertson was Gerry Groothuis of Mooresville, Ind., with a time of 1:16:54.9.\nHeather May of Bloomington was the first woman to finish the half marathon with a time of 1:24:27.0.\n"It was really cool to see how many people ran," said junior Lauren Hopf, who finished the mini-marathon. "I also liked the greek challenge. It was nice to see all the houses supporting their runners."\nMacCauley said he is already looking forward to next year's race and said planning will begin in just a few weeks. \n"It was a phenomenal turnout for the first year," he said. "I'm very pleased with the way the organization handled the event. We'll be doing self-assessments next week to analyze everything and figure out how to make next year even better"