Register now for the IU Mini Marathon on April 2

Indiana University newsroom release:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Register now for the sixth annual IU Mini Marathon and 5K Run/Walk, taking place on Saturday, April 2. For the first time, the Indiana University Alumni Association will coordinate the event.

"The IU Mini Marathon brings together the Bloomington community, IU students, and alumni from around the country," said J Thomas Forbes, executive director of the IU Alumni Association. "The IU Alumni Association is pleased to bring IU family and friends together to raise awareness and support for IU students who are cancer survivors."

The half marathon and 5K course will wind through the IU campus and downtown Bloomington. The first 500 people to register for the half-marathon pay only $40. After that, the cost rises to $50 per person, or $45 for IU alumni, faculty, staff and students. The cost to participate in the 5K is $30 per person for the general public, or $25 for IU alumni, faculty, staff and students.

Register online at http://alumni.indiana.edu/events/iumini or by calling 800-824-3044.

"We know that a large number of alumni return to Bloomington each year to participate in the IU Mini Marathon," said Mark Skirvin, IUAA's senior director of alumni outreach. "We look forward to hosting a fun, successful event this spring."

The IU Mini Marathon and 5K Run/Walk benefit the Bill Z. Littlefield Scholarship fund for cancer survivors who are also IU students. Littlefield, an IU Kelley School of Business faculty member, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer caused by asbestos exposure.


The routes for the half marathon and 5K course will wind through the IU campus and downtown Bloomington.
To honor Littlefield, who succumbed to cancer in 2005, Kevin MacCauley, Myles Grote and Samantha Roper developed the IU Mini Marathon while students at the Kelley School of Business at IU Bloomington. MacCauley, Grote, and the event's original adviser, Cynthia Rex, continue to serve on the IU Mini Marathon's steering committee. Since the half-marathon and 5K began in 2006, more than 10,000 people have participated with more than $100,000 being raised in support of the cancer survivor scholarship fund.

"We knew a time would come when larger IU involvement would be necessary for this event to prosper," said MacCauley. "The IUAA is the perfect home for the IU Mini Marathon and we expect great things to come for the university. As for April 2, I have already registered and am ready to run -- though not as fast as Myles, he's a former track athlete!"

The Indiana Running Company has partnered with the IU Alumni Association to coordinate the event.

"We look forward to supporting the 2011 IU Mini Marathon," said Ben Bartley, IU Mini Marathon committee member and owner of Indiana Running Company. "We're excited to see the event heading in a direction that can meet its potential."

The IU Alumni Association is dedicated to serving the university and its diverse alumni, students, and friends. As one of the nation's largest alumni organizations, serving more than 540,000 graduates worldwide, the IUAA provides many programs and services to its members, nonmember alumni and the university. For information, visit www.alumni.indiana.edu or call 800-824-3044.