Mary McKenzie, an incoming senior at Cor Jesu Academy, says the conditions were just right for that run in early June. With the high-energy atmosphere of the Festival of Miles to aid her, she took off running — and, for the first time, broke a five-minute mile time.
The Festival of Miles is an annual running event presented by HOKA, a running shoe brand. There are fifteen races for youth, high school and even pro racers, and the proceeds from entry fees go to a St. Louis “Athlete in Need.” This year, the selected athlete was Larry Stone, an avid runner who suffered a middle cerebral artery stroke in 2024 and was later diagnosed with cancer.
“It’s a really cool event, and I think the purpose of it — to help an athlete in need — is really neat,” McKenzie said. “It draws a lot of people from the area and not. It’s such a big event and such a cool atmosphere.”
McKenzie has called herself a runner since she was in elementary school, when she got involved with the running team to spend more time with friends. In middle school, she joined the St. Louis Blazers Track Club.
Her innate competitiveness is what drove her to pursue running seriously, McKenzie says. She also credits some of her passion for the sport to her father, Steve McKenzie, who used to run marathons. She calls him her biggest supporter; his interest in running data has helped McKenzie formulate her strategy and understand the science of running.
“He knows a lot about running,” McKenzie said. “He’s read every running book you can imagine, so he’s taught me a lot about how to properly train and do the right things I needed to do to succeed.”
McKenzie ran at the Festival of Miles when she was in middle school, but had always wanted the chance to run in the high school girls’ event: the Missouri Mile. The Missouri Mile, however, is an invitation-only race, and just the top fifteen girls in the state, based on time, are accepted.
It looked like McKenzie wouldn’t get her wish to compete, after all, when she placed 16th — just short of the threshold that would put her cleats to the track. But when another girl scratched, withdrawing before the race, McKenzie got her shot. She was the only girl from Cor Jesu and the last seed.
“It wasn’t too hot, and the energy there is awesome,” McKenzie said. “So a combination of the weather, the time of day and the atmosphere was really cool.”
McKenzie stuck to the back of the pack, and she worked her way up throughout the race. By the time she crossed the finish line, she had charged past the vast majority of runners. She finished in third place with a time of 4:58.91. This surpassed her previous record of 5:06; McKenzie is only the second girl in Cor Jesu history to break five minutes.
“It was something I’d been working toward for a very long time,” McKenzie said. “I knew I was capable of it, but the race played out in a way that worked really well and helped me achieve that time.”