Kayce Doogs (nearest) walks with her Delta Gamma teammates prior to the start of the 2011 Little 500.
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(Bloomington, Ind.) – When Kayce Doogs began attending Indiana University in Bloomington in 2009, she thought she would compete on the Hoosiers’ cross country and track teams.
A knee injury robbed the East Central High School graduate of those hopes. But, the injury didn’t take away her competitive spirit.
She began riding a bike regularly for the first time since childhood. Through hours of training and a determination to win, Doogs has become one of the top female bicyclists on campus and gained the opportunity to compete in the legendary Little 500 bike race – the largest intramural bike race in the country.
In it, racers compete in teams of four. Each relay team member bikes for 100 laps, or 25 miles, around the quarter-mile cinder track.
Doogs took up bicycling because of the involvement of her sorority, Delta Gamma, with the race. She began training for the Little 500 once recovered from her knee injury.
“After a few months I began to see that I was pretty good at it,” she said.
Being relatively new to bicycling, especially on the competitive level, Doogs is still learning the intricacies of the sport.
“It definitely feels like something different. I still feel a little lost out there,” said the junior apparel merchandising major.
She’s proven to be a quick learner, however. Doogs was named the 2011 Little 500 Rookie of the Year. She helped the Delta Gamma team to a third place finish in the women’s competition.
In 2012, the award she is most concerned with is a first place finish. Doogs and Delta Gamma are among the Little 500 favorites, qualifying to start second in this year’s race.
She has been among the best individual riders leading up to the big race. In the women’s Miss-N-Out lap-by-lap elimination tournament with 94 total competitors, she finished third. She was also third in the individual time trials by finishing about 1.2 seconds behind the pole sitter.
Doogs is the daughter of Dan and Dale Doogs of Hidden Valley.
The women’s running of the Little 500 will take place at Bill Armstrong Stadium on IU’s campus Friday, April 20 beginning at 7:00 p.m.
