Mini Marathon raises money for IU cancer survivor

For the fourth annual IU Circle of Life Mini Marathon, organizers of the event wanted to make the race more of an all-day experience, said Nate Rollings, co-president of Circle of Life.

The mini marathon on Saturday offered new events for runners to participate in this year, such as a pasta dinner and a rock-climbing wall.

“We tried to make it a better experience for the runners instead of them just coming to run and go home,” Rollings said. “Any perks we can give the runners will mean more runners next year.”

Organizers made changes to the 13.1-mile course as well, Rollings said. The new course incorporates more of the campus and fewer hills.

“We wanted to show off what IU’s all about,” said Sean MacCauley, co-president of Circle of Life. “We tried to include more of the scenery the campus has to offer.”

Matthew Berman, co-president of Circle of Life, said he spoke to a participant who uses the mini marathon to train for the Boston Marathon. She told Berman she found the new course more challenging, but it will help her in other races.

Rollings said more than 2,000 runners participated in this year’s marathon. The numbers have not yet been finalized for exactly how many people participated or how much money was raised.

“A lot of people register last minute,” he said. “It’s hard to forecast. Around 40 percent register on race day.”

Berman said based on registration, the total amount raised will be near $34,000.

Money raised at the marathon goes directly into an endowment at the IU Foundation, MacCauley said. Board members at the Foundation review applications of cancer survivors and choose the recipient, he said. The scholarship allows the recipient to attend any of the eight IU campuses.

This year’s recipient was freshman Lucas Connor, who gave a speech before the race, Rollings said.

MacCauley said he has yet to receive any complaints about the event.

“I usually have a complaint or two from runners,” he said.

The organization has become better at putting on the race and running the marathon more smoothly, MacCauley said.

In the future, MacCauley said, Circle of Life hopes to spread to other colleges.

“We, as university students, understand what a wonderful gift a college education can
be,” Berman said. “We would like to help bring this opportunity to young cancer
survivors, regardless of where they wish to attend school.”