On June 1st, the Emporia, Kansas Phi Delta Theta Alumni Club partnered with Sodexo ESU to operate a food booth at the Finish Line Street Party for the 2013 Dirty Kanza 200 Premiere Endurance Gravel Road Race. Proceeds from food sales benefited Kansas Epsilon’s (Emporia State) Iron Phi team goal.

This year, 930 riders competed in 200-mile and 100-mile races through the stark, rugged, and beautiful Flint Hills region, riding mostly on low maintenance gravel roads. Three city blocks of downtown Emporia were closed for the Finish Line Street Party where an estimated 4,000 people cheered the riders home into the night. Beginning about 12 hours after the 6 a.m. start, the first rider crossed to win the competition.

Kansas Epsilon alumnus Shane Heiman became an Iron Phi through this endurance challenge though a mechanical issue 180 miles into the race prevented him from finishing. In 2012, Heiman was featured on an official Dirty Kanza Trading Card.