Celebrate milestones as you make your way to the finish line of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Challenge and Gasoline Alley 250 Mile Challenge with our virtual badges! You can post these badges on social media and also add them to your bib and finisher certificate.
You can download all of the badges and digital resources here.
On your computer:
Right-click the png overlay of the virtual badge you want to add and click “save image as…”
Save the image
Download your bib or finisher certificate
Drag and drop the badge png on top of your image.
Scale to preferred size.
Save image.
On your Android phone:
Download the png overlay image and save it to your photo gallery
Open your bib or finisher certificate
Click on the edit/add sticker button and click “sticker from gallery”
Choose the Virtual Badge PNG you downloaded and stretch it to fit your image.
On your iPhone:
Download the bib and/or certificate and virtual badges to your camera roll
Download a photo editing app, such as Canva or Adobe Photoshop Express
Follow the instructions from the app you choose to add your virtual badges.
You can also share your badges with us on social media by using #IndyVirtualChallenge! Download badges sized for social media here.
Indianapolis author features Indy Mini in upcoming children’s book
Many run the Indy Mini in athletic shorts and a t-shirt, others may choose to sport the iconic checkered flag pattern, but few (if any) run the Indy Mini in slacks, a jacket, and a top hat.
Photo Contributed by Marty Brown
Marty Brown, author of the ABCs in Indianapolisis one of the few. Brown is going to run the OneAmerica 500 Festival Virtual Mini-Marathon dressed as James Whitcomb Riley, the Hoosier Poet.
“I can’t say I’m looking forward to running in slacks, a jacket, and a top hat, but it will be a fun change of pace,” said Brown.
Brown wrote the ABCs of Indianapolis, which features the Indy Mini on the “M” page, “Mini-Marathoners Moving.” Since the Kickstarter for his children’s book was so successful, he is fulfilling his promise to supporters and running the #IndyMini in a costume.
After discovering a gap in his daughters’ bookshelves, he wrote the book to encourage his daughters to explore and learn more about their hometown. The book teaches the alphabet through neighborhoods, characters, and sites of Indianapolis.
“There are lots of books that take them into outer space, tropical jungles, and the worlds of their favorite characters, but no good books about their own backyard. So, I shopped around and discovered many ‘local’ kids’ books never get deeper than tourist or Wikipedia-level information about a city,” said Brown.
Photo Contributed by Marty Brown
“The goal of the book is to make kids and their parents more curious to explore Indianapolis. For that reason, we featured ‘off the beaten path’ content in the book… we focused on lesser-known, quirkier places and characters that make Indianapolis unique.”
Although he ran the #IndyMini for the first time in 2008, Brown has been a long-time fan and supporter. “As a kid, the Mini Marathon always signaled the beginning of May. Watching my dad go ‘downtown’ for the Mini meant summer was almost here and school was almost over.”
His love for Indianapolis and the Month of May has since only grown stronger, and his book, The ABCs of Indianapolis, is a direct result. His favorite page in the ABCs in Indianapolis, other than the pages that include his daughters, is the “M” page, “Mini-Marathoners Moving.” (Our’s too!)
Photo Contributed by Marty Brown
“This may be playing to the audience, but… I love it for two reasons. First, it captures one of my favorite stretches of the course—heading west on 10th Street past the Slovenian National Home, just before the Mile 11 marker. Second, there are some fun ‘Easter eggs’ on that page, including a rotund, bearded character from The Runners mural by James McQuiston, which was recently taken down to make way for a Major Taylor mural downtown,” said Brown.
Photo Contributed by Marty Brown
Brown partnered with local illustrator, Jingo de la Rosa, and expects the book to be available by June 2021. In addition to the ABCs in Indianapolis, Brown and Jingo de la Rosa are working on the 123s in Indianapolis, a counting book about the city. You can preorder the ABCs in Indianapolis here.
