Every year, nearly 100 DePauw students sign up to ride in one of our campus's largest events: Little 5. Riders train through the bitter cold, pelting rain, poor road conditions and much more, including the terrifying experience of crashing.
But, through every hard fall, riders get back up and keep riding. Though we cannot claim to understand the pain of road rash or bruises from hardline contact with the daunting country pavement, we have worked this way throughout our planning of Little 5. We have had our fair share of bumps that cause us to fall, but in the end we have always gotten back up.
As second semester sophomores, we were approached by last year's steering committee co-chairs and were asked to take on one of the largest projects either of us had ever encountered. We were extremely humbled, but at the same time a little terrified. What makes this position unique is that it is a two-year commitment, so we will be back for round two as seniors next year. Like any first year rider, we have been using this year as a test run-to gage what we do well and what we can improve upon.
Having had the experience of both watching the race and planning the race, we believe that Little 5 really is "The Greatest Spectacle on Campus."
Common (or not so common) students have transformed into the best riders from all over campus, pushing their bodies to physical limitations, running into cars, running into each other, but always keeping a single goal in mind: the glory of winning Little 5.
As every rider knows, it is impossible to win Little 5 by yourself; it takes a tremendous amount of teamwork and trust in your teammates. The current semester has had its bumps in the road, but this week would not be possible without the determination of our steering committee members: first-year Katie Rust, senior Ali Sullivan, first-year Mike Perry, first-year Jimmy McDonnell, first-year Ian Good, first-year Luke Hartline, senior Chelsea Mucha, sophomore Gino Consiglieri, senior Kaleb Gregory, senior Jocelyn Jessop, first-year Katie McCauley, first-year Brad McGee, first-year George Quall, sophomore Libby Winkelman, sophomore Scott Lockwood, first-year Nick Polanco, senior Tommy Hiller, senior Caitlin Hickey and senior Hannah DeLucio.
We would also like to thank Margaret Distler, '13, and Paul Dugdale, '13, who were the 2013 steering committee co-chairs, for their help along the way, as well as Kent Menzel, Angela Nally, Rob Harper and the city of Greencastle for allowing us to hold this event.
Before any big race, riders experience a great deal of shaky nerves, the continuous pounding thud of their heartbeat and the confidence that their preparation is in place. Though our position is much less physically straining and excludes the possibility of clipping out, we have felt something similar. Despite all of this, we are still confident in our planning, in our steering committee and most importantly, in our riders that will make Little 5 truly be "The Greatest Spectacle on Campus."
-Laura Guild & Jordan Bantista