Bike Race for a Cause to Benefit Marshfield Area United Way’s NOW Program on Saturday, August 2nd

Thursday, July 3rd, 2025 -- 12:00 PM

The Marshfield Mini 500 is holding a Bike Race for a Cause on Saturday, August 2nd to benefit the Marshfield Area United Way NOW Program.

The event is being held on S. Business Park Avenue from 9am-3pm. I spoke with Aran Tripathi and he discussed the race in more detail.

Listen to the interview with Aran here!

Again, the Bike Race for a Cause is being held from 9am-3pm on Saturday, August 2nd at 4001 S. Business Park Avenue.

(AI assisted transcription of the interview by Otter.ai):

Aran: "It's a pretty straightforward bike race. The idea behind it is motorsport based. So, in motorsport, you have a circuit, which is just a race course that is lapped multiple times. So, that's what we made out in the 401 South Business Park Avenue that area."

"We have a tentative circuit and so there are four different races, first, little kids for beginners, and it's just a single lap around the circuit and it's just non competitive. It's just to have fun, just to get cheered on by the spectators. Any beginner who has training wheels or needs a parent by their side, they can race in this race and they can earn a prize at the end and it's just a really good fun time."

"The second race, called the circuit sprint, is a five lap race, so it's a little bit longer. It's basically for anybody who wants to do a shorter race, doesn't have the stamina for a longer race, but also wants to have that fun. Then a 10 lap race. And then finally, there's a 20 lap race, which is an endurance race."

"And the cool thing about the event is that each of these placements are based on a qualifying time, so you have to do a single lap around the race before any of these races to get your place, to get your position. And so there's adrenaline, there's fun, and there's a whole lot of community. And that's what we're trying to do with this event."

Riley: "And now this event is being held to raise funds for the Marshfield Area United Way's NOW Program. Can you talk about that?"

Aran: "When I was looking into this event, I wanted to share my love for racing and I wanted to bring in another cause, which is very pressing in our community. I'm a recent graduate of Marshfield High School."

"I graduated last year. So, I graduated in 2024. Through my time there, I was part of the student council and we were very involved with the NOW Program. We did cereal drives and donations and Penny drives to essentially donate money for the program."

"And through my time there, I discovered how impactful the program is. It's the Nutrition on Weekends Program and essentially the students who get free and reduced lunch at school, they only get those lunch programs for the week. On Saturday and Sunday when school is not in session, they don't get those extra meals and, obviously, they still need to eat on those days."

Riley: "And now in order to raise those funds, there is an entry fee for people to participate. Can you touch on that?"

Aran: "Yeah, so the event only has a $10 entry fee, but that entry fee includes a complimentary helmet donated by Spencer Emergency Services and that $10 entry fee directly goes towards the Marshfield Now Program. All proceeds for the event go towards the Now Program. And so we're hoping to just get as much awareness and promotion for the NOW Program as we can.

Riley: "But, of course, spectators can attend for free, correct?"

Aran: "Correct."

Riley: "Is there an age limit for the kids who would like to participate?"

Aran: "Yes, because it's a closed course and because speed is obviously going to be a safety issue, you're asked that no one above the age of 15 signs up for the event. This is just to try to ensure that the event is fun and friendly."

"It's simply just to maintain that fun, friendly atmosphere. Competitiveness is always encouraged, and this is going to be an event that is going to be reoccurring from year to year. Moving forward, we may build in precautions to be more welcoming to kids of the older age, but for now, it's just 15 years old is the age limit."

Riley: "If people would like to learn more or get signed up, what's the best way for them to do that?"

Aran: "There is a Instagram page called Marshfield Mini 500. There is a link on that page which goes directly towards the sign up sheet, interest form, which they can fill out. But also on that sheet, there is a link towards the NOW Program, where you can learn more about the NOW Program. They can also email [email protected] for more information.

Riley: "Anything else?"

Aran: "This is just going to be, hopefully, a really fun event for everyone. I really just want to emphasize how important food security is in our community. It's something that is sometimes not a direct headline when we're thinking about how to help people in our community, but hunger is really a silent killer."

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.