Members of national honor society for engineering Tau Beta Pi have found a correlation between the mathematical figure pi and the sport of running.

The figure pi is about equal to 3.14, which is the distance in miles run in Tau Beta Pi’s 10th annual Pi Mile Run.

The race was held Saturday in Brookside Park. Not only is pi a part of the organization’s name, but the figure could also directly relate to Tau Beta Pi’s field of study.

“I don’t know how they actually came about [founding the race],” Tau Beta Pi president Rob Flores said. “I think that one day someone just realized that 5K is 3.14 miles and they were like, ‘Hey, we’re Tau Beta Pi, let’s do a Pi mile run.'”

The annual race isn’t just fun and games.

All proceeds from the Pi Mile Run are donated to the Special Olympics of Iowa.

“Every year [the money] has gone to the Special Olympics,” said Flores, senior in chemical engineering.

“We just want to do something for the community.”

The idea of a Pi Mile Run has caught on nationwide.

The ISU Chapter of Tau Beta Pi was the first to hold a run like this and there are other chapters who are now doing the same.

Flores said around one-third of Tau Beta Pi chapters now hold an event similar to this one.

The race is open to anyone wishing to compete and, as a result, a diverse group of competitors enter.

Men and women, young and old run together on the same course. This year the race was won by Barrett Barr, junior in economics.

“I like getting out and doing these races, especially the ones that benefit others,” said Barr, member of the ISU triathlon club. “This is a really nice course and a nice time of year to run.”