For the past 23 years, the Ball State undergraduate sports administration program program has organized the Chase Charlie Races.
According to Eric Klosterman, associate lecturer of sport administration and coordinator of the undergraduate sport administration program, it began as part of a fundraiser for a student organization within the sports administration program. Over the years, it transitioned into a specific mandatory class within the sports administration program, Event Management in Sport (SPTA402), which is taught by Klosterman. The proceeds of the event go towards the Sports Administration Fund for Excellence.
The Chase Charlie race took place on Saturday, Oct. 21, and included three separate events. Klosterman said the in-person 5k is notably the most popular over the virtual option.
A male runner finishes the 5k in-person race. The race started at Muncie City Hall and finished at Emens Auditorium. Isabella Fuller, DN.
Shuttle buses transport participants from Emens Auditorium to the race’s starting point at Muncie City Hall. The participants of the in-person 5k took the lead in guiding the Ball State Homecoming Parade back to the campus.
Brantley Kuntz, senior accounting major at Ball State, already participated in Air Jam for homecoming week and said he was excited to be involved in homecoming his senior year.
“This is my first year doing Chase Charlie and my second time ever doing a 5k,” Kuntz said.
He said no better time to participate in another 5k than your senior homecoming.
The second event is the Kiddie 100, designed for children 13 and under who want to run across the football field during the Oct. 21 Ball State homecoming football game. The third event offered was a virtual 5k for individuals who wanted to support the Sports Administration program but could not attend on-campus homecoming activities.
Behind the scenes, there is a significant amount of effort being invested.
Klosterman said his class plans, organizes, and executes the Chase Charlie race as part of their class project. This involves paperwork, road closures, risk management, compliance, marketing, sponsorships, website design, advertising, and more.
“It’s a long process,” Klosterman said. “It’s a lot of work, especially with this event taking place in the middle of the semester.”
The hard work paid off for April Adler, senior sports administration major. Adler said the team had spent the whole semester preparing for this day, and she couldn’t be happier that it was finally here.
“It came up pretty fast, and all of our hard work is going to show today,” she said. “We’re excited to have our professor take a step back and let us do everything and execute this event.”
Quentin Osborne, who also competed in the race, has benefited from his hard work at this year’s race. The two-time race champion is a sophomore media and production major at Ball State and competed with two of his friends in this year’s Chase Charlie Races.
“My time was a little worse this year, but it was still super fun,” Osborne said.
Results and more information regarding the Chase Charlie Races are accessible through their website: https://www.chasecharlie.com/virtual-5k-or-10k.
Contact Isabella Fuller with comments at isabella.fuller@bsu.edu.
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