MEET HISTORY

The Festival of Miles began in 2008 as a way to raise money for the family of Brigette Schutzman, a standout cross country and track runner for Saint Louis University who had been badly injured in a car accident on New Year's Eve 2007. Brigette spent several weeks in a coma and doctors gave her a pretty slim chance of recovery but slowly that spring she began to make progress. We held the event in April of 2008 on a Monday evening after a junior varsity track meet at Saint Louis University High School.

The highlight of the evening was to be an attempt at a sub four minute mile; it would have been the first outdoor sub 4 in Missouri since the 1960s. We preceded the marquee event with a moving tribute to Brigette (pictured below on the rigtht), who was able to attend the event; her first trip since the accident. She actually walked a few steps for the crowd to a standing ovation. There were four races before the mens elite mile; a junior high boys and junior high girls mile, a masters mile and an open womens mile. The sub 4 attempt drew a very solid field but with temps in the 40s and lots of wind they fell short with Mizzou grad and Olympic Trials Qualifier Neville Miller running 4:08 for the win. The event received a ton of media attention in Saint Louis, including a full page article and photo in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. It also made the front page of letsrun.com. Most importantly it raised $8,000 for the Schutzman family in their time of need.

Just two months after the inaugural Festival of Miles tragedy once again struck the Saint Louis track and field community when Mike Rathmann (picutred below), an All-State high jumper from Saint Louis University High School was paralyzed from the waist down in an accident while on vacation. To make matters worse his mother was going through chemotherapy treatment for her own battle with cancer. It was an easy decision to hold the event again in 2009 and to raise money for the Rathmann family this time. The 2009 Festival of Miles really brought the event to a whole new level. We added two crowd-pleasing events; the 10-and-under 100 meter dash and the celebrity 100 meter dash where local sports and media celebs battled it out for the unofficial title of "St. Louis' fastest celebrity."

We held the event on a Saturday evening in late May to avoid the cold weather and we brought in an absolute first-class field of elites that included sub 4 milers Derek Scott, Jordan Fife, Dan Strackeljahn, Tommy Schmitz and Olympian Leo Manzano. The event was a huge success with more than 1,000 spectators filling the bleachers and the backstretch of the track. Leo gave them what they came to see with a 3:55.29 mile, the third fastest time in the world at the time as well as the fastest time ever run in Missouri, indoors or out. The event was covered by Flotrack, once again made the Letsrun.com front page and was covered pre and post-race by the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch. We raised $5,000 for Mike's family.

2010

The success of the 2009 event propelled the Festival of Miles to a whole new level in 2010. Under Armour stepped up as the presenting sponsor and Flotrack brought its number one track reporter, Ryan Fenton, to cover FOM for the whole nation to watch. The new event on the FOM schedule, a special kids one mile race for all-comers (not just the speedsters) was a big hit. The race started and finished on the track with the kids runing out onto the school campus for the middle of the race.

Other highlights early in the night included meet records in both junior high races with John Esswein running 4:47 for the boys and defending champ Hannah Long running 5:09 for the girls. Adam Hylan broke the masters mens mark as well, running 4:45.

The women's mile featured Missouri High School star Emily Sisson who was coming off a top 20 finish at the IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships earlier in the spring. Sisson wowed the crowd with a 4:48 mile to win going away from the field of collegiate and post-collegiate athletes. Later that summer Sisson set the US High School Record for 5,000 meters, running 15:48 at the IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships.

The Saint Louis Track Club Men's Elite Mile capped off the evening once again and the athletes gave the crowd the closest race in meet history. Former University of Arkansas star Andy McClary battled Saucony's Tommy Schmitz all the way to the line with McClary holding on for the win in 3:58.16 to Schmitz' 3:58.40.

2011

More than 1,200 enthusiastic spectators, participants and track fans gathered at St. Louis University High School for the fourth annual Big River Festival of Miles presented by Under Armour on Wednesday, June 1. Things kicked off with more than 100 first to eighth graders running the GO! St. Louis Kids Mile, providing an awesome start to the evening.

The featured event, the Saint Louis Track Club Elite Men’s Mile, dazzled the crowd with three competitors breaking the four-minute barrier. Jordan McNamara, Oregon Track Club, took home the win with a time of 3:57.84. John Jefferson, Brooks Team Indiana Elite, barely edged out McNamara’s OTC teammate and hometown favorite, Stephen Pifer for second place with a time of 3:58.54. Pifer, who raced in front of his hometown (Edwardsville) crowd for the first time as a professional ran a 3:58.55.

Team USA Minnesota teammates Gabriele Anderson and Heather Kampf battled down the home stretch of the AppWorldSolutions Elite Women’s 800 with Anderson coming out on top with a time of 2:03.09.

One huge highlight of the evening came during the boys Juice Plus High School Boys All-Star Mile when Daniel Everett of Westminster Academy ran a blazing fast 4:07.68, one of the fastest times in the nation in 2011. Colleen Quigley of Nerinx Hall led the girls field with a winning time of 4:52.83.

St. Louis University High alum and world-renowned road racing/track announcer Toni Reavis entertained the crowd throughout the night and more than $6,000 was raised for the Rathmann family.