The 4th Annual Big Ten Hoops Day 5K returns to Indianapolis as part of the 2012 Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments. The run/walk is scheduled for Sunday, March 11 at 11 a.m. and tips off Championship Sunday of the men’s tournament. Registration for the Big Ten Hoops Day 5K is $20 if you sign up in advance at www.tuxbro.com or $25 on-site.
Participants are encouraged to display their favorite Big Ten University’s colors with t-shirts, face paint, flags and more. Music, a stretching station and a basketball shoot-around will help participants warm up before the race. Prizes will be awarded to the 3-point shootout winners as well as to the 13-and-under free throw shooting champions.
The event starts and finishes on Pennsylvania Street in front of Bankers Life Fieldhouse and winds 3.1 miles through downtown with the final three blocks running down newly-renovated Georgia Street. Packet pick-up will take place inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse from 9–10:45 a.m. ET on the day of the race, as well as Friday, March 9 (noon-5 p.m.) at the Indianapolis City Market. The first 2,000 registrants will receive a long sleeve Nike Dri-Fit event t-shirt.
For those who are not participating but would like to cheer on their school’s runners, cheer stations will be designated along Georgia Street, the final leg of the event. An award is also given to the best alumni cheer station.
The Hoops Day 5K adds to the overall Big Ten fan experience in Indianapolis that includes 22 Big Ten Tournament games along with the Big Ten Conference Career Expo, Big Ten Thinks Pink, pep rallies and the Wayne Duke Postgraduate Award.
Youth initiatives include the Big Ten Women’s Tournament Girls Clinic, Big Ten Middle School Curriculum Program, Pen Pal Program & Free Throw Shootout and the Inspiring Sports Tickets program.
The Big Ten Marathon in 51 Days is the youth component of the Big Ten Hoops Day 5K. Approximately 3,900 fifth through eighth graders run ½ mile per day on any five days per week for a period of 10 weeks through March 10. At the end of this time they will have run 25 miles. Schools will select up to 20 students from their team to run the final 1.2 miles of the marathon in the Big Ten Hoops Day 5K.
All-session and single-session tickets are now available for the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournaments. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800745-3000, and through the Bankers Life Fieldhouse box office.
