The Little 500 is a track cycling relay race held every April at Bill Armstrong Stadium on the Indiana University campus in Bloomington. Founded in 1951 by Howard Wilcox Jr and modeled on the Indianapolis 500, teams of four riders cover 200 laps on a quarter-mile cinder track before more than 25,000 fans.
In 1951, Howard S.
The Little 500 is best known outside Indiana as the inspiration for the 1979 Academy Award winning film Breaking Away, which dramatized the rivalry between working-class Bloomington townies and Indiana University fraternity teams
That fictional rivalry has a real echo in the Cutters, an independent team of Bloomington locals that has won the men's race fifteen times since forming in the early 1980s, more than any other team in race history
Proceeds fund scholarships for working Indiana University students, tying the spectacle directly to the university's mission
A separate Women's Little 500, first run in 1988, gives the event two full fields of competitive teams rather than a single marquee race
Qualification time trials in the weeks before the race determine the thirty-three-team field
and the tension of qualifying is itself a mini-tradition among IU cycling circles
The Cutters
formed by former fraternity riders after the release of Breaking Away
race as an independent Bloomington-local team and are treated with a kind of folk-hero status tied directly to the film's plot
Race proceeds continue to fund the original mission of scholarships for students who work their way through Indiana University
Dates TBA · Usually April
For route-based days, arrive early and expect normal streets around Bloomington to work differently.
Casual campus and stadium wear appropriate for April weather in southern Indiana, which can range from warm sun to chilly wind; layers, a rain jacket, and comfortable shoes for stadium...
Little 500 is easier when spectators give competitors, vehicles and staff room to work.
Base yourself where the last trip of the day stays easy, especially if Little 500 runs late.
Check official or local sources for ticketed areas, paid stands, and same-year access rules.
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Little 500 is listed for April · Spring. Always re-check the official or local source close to travel.
The festival is listed in Bloomington, United States. The map coordinate is a planning reference, not a guarantee of a ticket gate or exact venue.
Spring is the listed festival span. Add time for arrival, local transport, queues, and any route changes during the event.
Official source linked. Eventisimus separates source confidence from travel suggestions, so check final details before booking.
Bloomington, IN
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