For the second year in a row, the annual Jill Behrman Color the Campus 5K (JB5K) was canceled – but the spirit of the event and legacy of Jill Behrman continued to shine. 

On April 23, several gathered in white JB5K shirts to celebrate at a high-energy cardio/hip-hop color dance party at the SRSC. The event, filled with bursts of powdered color and led by JB5K Steering Committee members, kept the tradition alive in a vibrant, alternative form. 

The JB5K was created in 2000 in memory of Jill Behrman, an IU freshman and Recreational Sports employee who disappeared during a solo morning bike ride in Bloomington on May 31, 2000. Jill did not report to work at the SRSC that afternoon and also missed a planned dinner with her dad and grandparents. 

Her disappearance sparked a widespread search effort and united the community in hope and grief. Jill’s remains were found three years later near Martinsville, and her case brought national attention to personal safety on college campuses.

The 5K event, first held in October 2000, was envisioned as both a tribute and a call to action. Proceeds support the Jill Behrman Emerging Leader Scholarship, personal safety workshops, and IU Campus Recreational Sports programs.

IU SRSC Service Director Kris Geary remembers being in Bloomington for her job interview at the time of Jill’s disappearance.

“I was told during the interview that one of their employees was missing,” Geary said.

Soon after starting, she was asked to create a memorial event with Jill’s family. What began as a reimagining of the “Run for the Endzone” quickly grew into a campus tradition. The first JB5K drew over 1,500 participants—double the expected turnout.

In 2012, Geary discovered the concept of a “color run,” where participants are doused in colored powder at various points on the route. After months of researching how to source and safely use the color powder, the JB5K was transformed into a lively, interactive event known as the JB5K Color the Campus run.

The JB5K has now been canceled two years in a row — in 2024 due to solar eclipse-related scheduling conflicts, and this year because of severe weather and unsafe course conditions. Yet organizers and participants continue to find ways to honor Jill’s memory and mission.

Instead of a race, this year’s JB5K Steering Committee hosted a colorful cardio/hip-hop dance party, blending fun and fitness with community spirit. IU graduate student Ayanna Culmer-Gilbert, a Steering Committee member, helped bring the idea to life.

“Zumba was already on the schedule,” Culmer-Gilbert said. “So we thought — why not turn it into a color powder dance party?”

Culmer-Gilbert said she was drawn to the JB5K in 2022 after challenging herself to run a 5K for the first time. Now deeply involved, she relates to Jill’s story, especially as a student who often works late hours on campus.

IU junior Sophie Wellbaum, another committee member and SRSC employee, also helped lead the dance party. She joined the committee by chance and quickly found a personal connection to Jill’s story.

“As an employee with recreational sports, and as someone who didn’t have a car until sophomore year, advocating for student safety is very important to me,” Wellbaum said.

Jill Behrman was raised in Bloomington, attended Bloomington South High School. She had just finished her freshman year at IU and planned to work at IU Camp Brosius, a family camp in Wisconsin, before she disappeared. She was also active in deCycles, a cross-country youth bike trip, and was passionate about sports from an early age — often following in the footsteps of her older brother, Brian.

Her mother, Marilyn Behrman, who is a faculty member at IU, still remembers Jill learning to ride a bike just a week after Brian did, despite being two years younger.

After Jill went missing on May 31, 2000, the Bloomington community came together, coloring the town in yellow flyers and ribbons. Marilyn stayed home during the searches, always hoping Jill might come back through the door.

“I didn’t want her to come home to no one there,” she said.

Authorities found Behrman’s bicycle on June 2, 2000, near North Maple Grove Road, about 10.5 miles from her home and within a mile of the home of the man, John Myers, who was convicted of her murder.

Jill Behrman’s case had widespread media attention, with several false leads, Marilyn said.

Jill’s remains were found in Morgan County by two hunters on March 9, 2003, nearly three years later. 

“This is the day we’ve all been waiting for,” Marilyn recalls the agent saying. “We found your daughter.”

John Myers, an Ellettsville resident, was tried and convicted for the abduction and murder of Jill in 2006. He was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

Myers drew investigators’ attention soon after Jill went missing because he made incriminating statements about the case to his grandmother and former girlfriend. According to court documents, investigators claimed that he killed Jill because his girlfriend broke up with him, and he was angry.

The JB5K may have been physically postponed, but Jill’s legacy continues to inspire a new generation of students and advocates at IU who weren’t born before 2000. Plans are already underway for next year’s race — and the continued commitment to safety, remembrance, and community.

Visit IU Recreational Sports for updates on next year’s JB5K and how to get involved.