The 2013 Big River Festival of Miles presented by Under Armour escaped the weather and lived up to expectations with deep fields producing fast times and in front of a record crowd. After a brief downpour during the end of the GO! St. Louis Healthy Kids Mile, the wind and temperature died down, a rainbow appeared and the meet was on. All told, the crowd was just over 1,300 on what turned out to be nearly perfect conditions for racing. We raised more than $5,000 for the family of Brad Eastman! A recap of each race can be found below:
Saint Louis Track Club Men’s Mile
The final race of the evening had as much hype as ever with 9 of the 11 competitors having already run under four minutes for the mile (or the 1500 equivalent). The men did not disappoint. After even splits saw them hit halfway in 2:00 and 3/4 in 3:00 it came down to a massive kick with nearly everyone still in it with 200 to go. Over the last 100 it was last year’s runner-up, Craig Miller (New Balance), pulling away from Mexico’s Pablo Solares to take the win in 3:59.23. Daniel Clark charged hard to grab second at the line in 3:59.45, his first time under four minutes for the full mile. Solares was third in 3:59.49. Easily the deepest field in event history, eighth place was 4:02.
Speed Factory Athletics Women’s 800
Arguably the race of the night, the Women’s 800 saw the races’ top three seeds locked in a tight battle the entire way with three lead changes over the last 200 meters. Canadian Olympian Jessica Smith had the top spot with 200 to go but hometown favorite Shannon Leinert made a strong push at 150 to go and briefly went to the lead on the homestretch. Then a hard-charging Heather Kampf made her bid and overtook Smith and Leinert in the last 50 with all three finishing within 3 tenths of a second and all under the previous meet record. Kampf, the defending champ, won in 2:01.96 which won her $1,000 and the XS Energy Battle of the Sexes Bonus over men’s winner Craig Miller. The Zamboost sub 2 bonus remained elusive for another year.
MoMileSplit High School All Star Miles
2013 marked the third year for the high school miles as a part of the event and entries exploded with top athletes from AR, IA, IL, KS, KY, MO and OK all competing. The girls were up first and they came to run fast. From the gun, the top three seeds set a torrid pace with Missouri’s Hannah Long taking the point followed by Iowa State Champ Stephanie Jenks and Missouri freshman Taylor Werner. The rest of the field followed not too far behind, including Oklahoma State Champ Regan Ward and Foot Locker finalist Anna Holdiman. Over the last lap it was Long who pushed hard to try and open up a gap but Jenks covered every surge before going by to take the win in the last 100 meters. Jenks (4:47), Long (4:48) and Werner (4:49) all went under the meet record. Like the Men’s Mile, the field was super deep with 14 competitors running 5:08 or better.
The boy’s mile was even closer. The leaders came through lap one in 60 seconds before slowing to 2:07 at halfway which put nearly everyone back in it. A 65 third lap also kept most of the 16 runner field in contention and then things got interesting. The backstretch saw the O’Fallon Illinois duo of Alex Riba and Patrick Perrier push hard to the front followed by Missouri’s top two, Noah Kauppila and Spencer Haik. In the last 100 it was Perrier in lane one with Kauppila trying hard to pass on the inside and Riba trying to come by in lane two. They were nearly dead even with Haik just a stride or two back. Then, over the last twenty meters, Haik found one final gear and shot past all three to take an incredible win in 4:12.23. The top four were all separated by less than four tenths of a second, which made for one of the best finish pictures in the history of the event.
Saint Louis Injury and Rehab High School All Star 100s
A new event at this year’s Festival of Miles, the 100s were a definite crowd favorite and you can bet they’ll be back n 2014. On the girl’s side it was St. Elizabeth Academy (Mo) star A’Iesha Irvin-Muhammad blasting away from the start to take the win in a legal 11.87 seconds. Nataliyah Friar was second and Maya Cody grabbed third. On the boy’s side hometrack favorite Raymond Wingo from Saint Louis University High School shot out of the blocks and into a commanding lead at 40 meters but the race was not over. Missouri Class 2 champ Michael Wells closed hard over the last 60 meters and caught Wingo just before the line totake the win in a blazing 10.43 seconds. Illinois State Champ Cole Henderson was third.
GO! St. Louis Junior High Invitational Miles
The track races began at 7:10 with the Junior High Boys and Girls Invitationals and they got things off to a really good start. The boys made it clear that the meet record of 4:47 was going down by splitting nearly even laps at 4:40 pace from the gun. On the last circuit it was down to Farmington’s Ryan Parson and Zack Long from the Saint Louis Blazers Track Club. In the end it was Parson who took the win in 4:40.18 with Long a tick behind in 4:41. On the girl’s side, Iowa’s Jennifer Jenks (Stephanie’s sister) saw a big lead shrink on the last lap as 11-year-old Olivia Sovereign from the JC Comets made a big mover. Jenks, got a second wind though and took the victory in 5:25.68 to Sovereign’s 5:26.86.
Yurbuds Masters Men’s Mile
A small field of five produced an exciting race in the Masters Mile with Dan Rooney setting the early pace along with James Woolridge. A conservative Jeff Neuschwander came from well back early to join the front on the last lap and it was down to a Rooney-Neuschwander replay from a few years back when the two had a similar duel. In the end it was Rooney edging his way to the win in 4:55.61.
Saint Louis Injury and Rehab Corporate Relay
The Corporate 4×100 relay is a fun event where local businesses and organizations battle it out for local bragging rights. This year’s race was a tight race between the defending champs from Yurbuds and the hosts from Saint Louis University High School. The teams from Big River Running Company, Big Shark Bicycle Co. and McCarthy Construction were no match! SLUH did take the win but it was all in good fun as each team contributed to the Festival of Miles Foundation as a race sponsor. A special shout-out to Swim, Bike, Run Saint Louis who were scheduled to run but could not compete.
GO! St. Louis Healthy Kids Mile
The night kicked off with 145 boys and girls from all over the Metro area and beyond battled it out on the 1 mile course that includes a mix of track and roads on SLUH’s campus. Luke Davis from Hanna Woods Middle School was the overall boys champion with Kyana Chandler from Nettleton Jr High in Arkansas winning on the girl’s side.
GO! ST. LOUIS HEALTHY KIDS MILE RESULTS