When I came to IU, I had only a vague idea about what Little 5 was. After watching the ill5 video, I immediately associated Little 5 with pudding pools, beer bongs and a week of skipping class. Of course I knew the week culminated in some sort of bike race but I had no idea exactly what it entailed and what a huge deal it is. Now that I’m a senior, I think I can now say I understand all of the hype around Little 5—and I’m not talking about the partying. The race is one-of-a-kind. Literally you cannot find an event of this caliber in any other school in the nation. I try to explain it to my friends at other schools but they just don’t get it. Today I was lucky enough to view a documentary that perfectly sums up the Little 5 experience.
I am a member of the committee on Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) who is responsible for promoting this documentary entitled, One Day in April.In my opinion, it perfectly captures the extraordinary nature of this event. Produced by IU Alum Tom Miller, it tells the story of the 2013 Little 500 race, taking a look at the teams, riders, coaches and event staff who all make the race what it is. The film starts off with stunning shots of the Bill Armstrong track combined with race footage and B-roll of the riders.
It follows the Little 5 season, with a countdown to race day, including all of the spring series: Qualifications, Individual Time Trials, Miss N Outs, and Team Pursuit. The film took a close look at the Delta Tau Delta, Cutters, Teter, and Delta Gamma teams. By following the rider’s journeys including their struggles, injuries, and relationships with their teammates and families, I felt a powerful connection to the riders and felt that I better understood all of the hype surrounding the race. The film showed the riders training but also hanging out with friends, which reminded me that these people are students just like me. The difference is they have this amazing drive and passion for cycling. Not only cycling, but the desire to win, and push yourself to your limit.
The film did a good job at demonstrating the tough nature of the sport by including slow-mos of the crashes along with certain rider’s hospital visits. As the film got closer to race day, they also included the partying side of Little 5, but it was refreshing to not have that be the focus. Miller did a great job at capturing the element of community involved in this huge event, along with showing Midwestern culture and how something as simple as a bike race can become a way of life.
The film will be shown at the Buskirk Chumley Theatre on Kirkwood at 8 p.m. the day of the women’ race, April 24. I highly recommend everyone to see it! Check out the film's website for more information, watch the trailer and to buy tickets.
- One Day in April Website - http://www.onedayinapril.com
- One Day in April Twitter page - @OneDayinApril