In 10th year, 5K honors memory of Jill Behrman

Pre-registration ends today for the 10th annual Jill Behrman 5KRun/Walk.

The 3.1-mile race takes participants through the streets on the north side of campus, ending back near its start at Memorial Stadium.

The race is in honor of Jill Behrman, an IU student and Student Recreational Sports Center employee who went missing during a bike ride in May 2000. Her body was discovered three years later in Morgan County.

“When many returned in the fall of 2000 and Jill was still missing ... the community was going crazy. We knew we needed to do something ... and this is where the idea for the race came about,” said Chris Geary, Recreational Sports staffer and race coordinator. “At first the money was going toward her reward, but in following years it was split and donated to both Jill’s House and the Jill Behrman Emerging Leader Scholarship.”

The race benefits Jill’s House, which is a residence center where patients undergoing outpatient therapy at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute in Bloomington are able to stay.

The other portion supports the Jill Behrman Emerging Leader Scholarship, which awards two $1,000 scholarships each year to students who are connected to Campus Recreational Sports and demonstrate leadership qualities.

The 2008 race included more than 1,400 runners, and the committee wants to increase that number to 2,000 in coming years.

Even non-runners are able to participate. Students also volunteer on committees that play a crucial role on race day.

“I’ve been involved with the committee for two years now and I’ve fallen in love with it,” said senior Kayla Black, a committee member.