Circle of Life Mini Marathon reminds of real human struggles

For a great number of fans and competitors, IU athletics are an escape from the strain of everyday life. \nA student screams at a television set with furious emotion and immediately forgets the research paper he has due the next morning. A professor takes a well-earned break to enjoy a game of tennis outside of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building. An alumna spends a weekend afternoon cruising the Internet to find the results of IU’s latest soccer match, Monday morning’s meeting not even a blip on her radar screen. A volleyball player hammers home a spike and barely worries about the week’s lectures.\nBut on Saturday morning, 2,000 participants in the second annual Circle of Life Mini Marathon confronted the stark realities of life, gathering at the philanthropic event intended to raise money for scholarships for cancer survivors.\nThe greatest value of the running of the race was not the actual competition – it was the money raised to benefit cancer survivors. \nBut an athletic competition is held in order to determine a winner, and while many runners no doubt showed up for that end, the act of running a charitable race takes much humility. \nAthletes, especially once they reach the collegiate level of organized play and are somewhat successful, receive a level of admiration from their peers and fans, and that admiration places them on a pedestal. This is not a criticism – hard work requires a just reward. However, at an event like Saturday’s mini marathon, athletes take a conscious step to understand how little wins and losses matter in life’s grande scheme, or in the face of great adversity – namely, the battle against a chronic disease.\nThe event was highlighted by the appearance of IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson, with his team behind him, as he spoke and presented awards. The leader of the biggest athletic program at IU, Sampson’s presence served to further acknowledge the fact that athletic competition pales in comparison to much \nlarger issues.\nIt is easy to get caught up in the intensity of athletics and forget the obstacles of an outside world that presents much fiercer and more\ndifficult opponents. \nDecked out in crimson and cream and shouting in glee or anger removes us from that outside world. We metaphorically live and die with every shot, serve or pass. Saturday’s events reminded us that such a mentality is just that – a metaphor. Real life has harsher consequences than a tally in the loss column.\nThe benefits of the Circle of Life Mini Marathon will go toward a noble cause, one that every Hoosier will get behind. Thanks are in order for those who organized the event that reminds us of our place in the world, and of the real heroes who have won the most difficult battles. Saturday’s mini marathon took those who call themselves part of the Hoosier Nation and placed them in context of the more important \nhuman nation.