Kyle Perry crossed the finish line and flashed a big smile. He had won the McKinley Mile for the third time.
"It was great," he said after the race. "It was nice having these guys cheering me on at the side, especially since I lost track of how many laps I had."
A 2010 Ball State grad, Perry said he was glad to see the event continue to grow since it started five years ago. He was on the winning team in 2008 and 2009. He now owns his own business in Muncie called PROJECTiONE, which is a design and fabrication studio downtown.
This year, 30 teams competed in either the 24-mile namesake race or the 1-mile Benny Dash. Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, who organized the event, said $1,857 had been raised to benefit Cardinal Greenway.
During the two years that Perry didn't race, John Callahan was on the winning team. A senior business administration major and member of the Ball State Cycling Club, Callahan said he was still happy with a second-place finish.
"We fell behind kind of early," he said. "But we were struggling to catch up. A couple riders had a good push toward the end."
It's all about speed and strategy, he said.
"The beginning of the race was about going as full on, as fast as you could - giving every molecule of your body moving forward - whereas the last couple laps, you were thinking more about the finish," he said. "You're not really thinking during the majority of the race. You're just out there gunning it."
After doing it for three years, Callahan said he's happy to see the event getting bigger.
"Lamdba Chi and those guys have something to be proud of," he said.
For the racers, having fun the theme of the day. Chris Thompson, a history professor and member of the team for Kirk's Bike Shop, said he was glad he could cheer his team to a victory.
"It was the thrill of just riding as hard as you can, for as long as you can - and riding with some really fun teammates - then watching them work really hard and win," he said.
Despite the 40-degree weather, teams seemed to enjoy the atmosphere of the race more than the competition. It included inflatibles, a DJ and free food. Even the owner of Carter's Nearly World Famous Hot Dogs was there - and he ran out of dogs by the end of the race.
Geoffrey Dobbins, a junior finance major, said he's not sure if McKinley Mile will ever rival the Little 500 at Indiana University. He raced with a team from Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
One thing going through his head during the race: "When's it over?"
"We did good," he said. "We only lost to FIJI [among the greek teams]. It's a bigger course, and it's hard to get more people out here."
The race even attracted people from the community to share in the fun - like Kyle Johnson from the "Machisme Cyclisme" team sponsored by the Fickle Peach.
"We had a blast," he said.
Even though he's a regular biker, the last few laps caught up to him.
"Each time, I was hoping that this was the last lap and it would be over," he said, laughing.
Katherine Mowat, the women's golf coach and a fitness instructor at Ball State, said she was glad to be part of the winning team. She contributed two laps for Kirk's Bike Shop.
"One thing I've always liked about any kind of racing - be it running or triathlons or biking - is the atmosphere and the environment."
"It's a lot of fun to take an individual sport and add the team component to it."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
