Jill Behrman 5k Run/Walk raises $17,000

Before he visited, Jill’s House was the last place Mike Baxter said he wanted to stay while receiving cancer treatment at the Midwest Proton Radiotherapy Institute.

“When you sign up at the treatment center, they have a list of places you can stay at nearby,” he said. “I just wanted to be alone.”

Students, community members and former patients such as Baxter attended the 10th-annual Jill Behrman 5k Run/Walk on Saturday at IU’s Memorial Stadium.

The run attracted 1,250 registered participants and raised an estimated $17,000, said Chris Geary, race coordinator and director of research and programming at Recreational Sports, in an e-mail.

Half the money will go to Jill Behrman Emerging Leader Scholarship, which honors selected student leaders who work for Recreational Sports. The other half will go to Jill’s House.

Baxter said he rented a house to live in during his two-month stay in Bloomington, but it flooded before he got the chance to move into it. On his way to the airport, he stopped by Jill’s House.

“It turned out to be one of the best places of my life,” he said. “There are six photon treatment centers in the U.S., but none of them have Jill’s House.”

IU student Jill Behrman went missing in May 2000 while riding her bike to work. The first race in her honor was in October of that year, Geary said in an interview.

“The first year we had to keep pushing the start time back because so many participants kept showing up,” she said. “I thought the event would slowly fade off as students who knew Jill graduated, but it’s stayed universal. It’s stayed between 1,300 and 1,500 participants each year.”

Jill always liked exercise and fitness, said Eric Behrman, Jill’s father. Jill was more of a cyclist than a runner, he said. She rode in the Hilly Hundred and participated in the deCycles bike ride from Bloomington to Atlanta.

“I know this is something she would have enjoyed,” Eric Behrman said. “I hope it continues to go on as long as people enjoy it.”

Bloomington resident Karlee Wyatt said she used to work for MPRI and treated many of the patients staying at Jill’s House. She said she has participated in the race every year but last year.

“Jill’s House is close to my heart,” she said. “Jill’s House is just always going to get bigger.”

Before the race, which was organized by Campus Recreational Sports and sponsored by several community organizations, participants joined in a warm-up routine.

At 10 a.m., the racers lined up in 45-degree weather, ready for the start.

“I recognize a few of the participants,” said Stacey Hall, program director for intramural sports, club sports and student development at Recreational Sports. “If they’re running together they push each other. The first person will probably finish around 17 minutes.”

Senior Lionel Montenegro rounded the corner with a time of almost 17 minutes flat, beating the second-place runner, who came in at 17:22.

Montenegro said he was not going to participate in the race, but a friend convinced him to run with him. He said the cold weather made the race less than optimal.

“It was a pretty bad day, but I think I made the most of it,” he said.