It’s On! The Magis Miles, the fastest Illinois high school mile races for five years running, is back on Saturday, June 26, after a year off.
After a 2020 Covid-year hiatus, the Magis Miles event at Saint Ignatius College Prep is back this year on Saturday, June 26.
For five years from 2015 to 2019, “The Magis Miles” featured a night of one-mile races on the track at Saint
Ignatius in a spectacular setting on the near West side against the backdrop of Chicago’s skyline. The night
featured elite races for top professional and collegiate men and women runners, multiple heats for top Illinois
high schoolers, and an “undercard” of open races for all-comers of all ages.
“We’re back!” said event director Ed Ernst, who teaches and coaches track and cross country at Saint Ignatius. “We’ll be making some changes. We have a new facility and a faster track, still with a view of the Chicago skyline, and it will mean we have to do a few things differently. We also have to revive the
race after a year off. But we have a good idea about what made our event successful in the past—and the
June relief from pandemic restrictions makes the event a go for 2021!”
Magis (pronounced ''MAH-jis') is a Latin word that means 'more' or 'better'. “At Saint Ignatius College
Prep, we use the word Magis as an inspiration for doing more for others and our community,” says
another meet organizer Ray Lewis, a Saint Ignatius alumnus class of 2012 and now a teacher and coach.
“We hope this meet can be an expression of Magis for the running community.”
Open 1-mile races for all-comers will start in the late afternoon—first to sign up are the first served.
“We will fill as many heats as we can fit into the day,” said Ernst. “Everyone who signs up gets to race with
runners of similar time and ability, and everyone gets a shirt, just like before. We hope that high school
runners who race in the afternoon one year will come back to earn a place in the evening program the next
year.”
Early evening features high school races for the top boys and girls in the state of Illinois—and sometimes
from other states. In the five previous editions of the race more than 500 high school runners have raced
at Magis Miles. “Our race has been a PR factory,” says Lewis. “Almost everyone who races runs a
personal best. You run the state meet for a medal. Then you come to our race for a fast time.”
In previous years Magis Miles has produced some of the fastest high school times in the nation for the
mile. In 2016 Sean Torpy from Carl Sandburg and Miami University of Ohio ran 4:05.10, with his twin
brother Chris close behind in 4:07.13. In 2017 Illinois’s top high school runner, Soren Knudsen of
Minooka, actually won the final elite men’s race of the evening, charging from behind to beat a crew of
collegians and professionals in 4:05.58. Kelly O’Brien from Palatine and Northwestern ran 4:48.01 in
2016. Glenbard West high schooler Katelynne Hart, now at the University of Michigan, set a new meet
record and a new Illinois All-Time High School Best of 4:39.57 in 2019.
There are also races in the evening program for elite elementary school and high school freshmen runners.
The late night program features professional and collegiate runners. Previous winners of the women’s
race include Hope Schmelzle from Northern Illinois University and Wheaton-Warrenville South High
School, who ran 4:43.96 to win in 2016. Hart was the women’s elite race champion three years in a row,
running 4:46.54 in 2017 and 4:44.63 in 2018.
On the men’s side, former Eastern Michigan runner and Polish national champion Greg Kalinowski won
the inaugural race in 4 minutes and 4.07 seconds to win in 2015. St. Olaf College’s NCAA Division III
champion Jake Campbell won in 2016, running the meet record of 4:02.05. Bradley University’s Taylor
Floyd Mews won in 4:03.86 in 2018. Former Loyola University star San Penzenstadler won in 2019 with
a time of 4:06.57.
“We’ve been getting emails from men and women who ran the race as high schoolers, and now they’ve
become top collegiate runners,” said Ernst. “They want to know if Magis is on this year because they
want to come back and run in our elite race now.”
“We think everyone needs more track and field in their lives, and we don’t get enough of it in Chicago,
especially,” said Ernst. “When you watch our championship race, that is likely to be the fastest mile you
will ever see in person.”
Bringing runners of different ages together is a big part of the event: “We are high school track coaches,
first,” said Ernst. “So one big goal for this event is to put elite-level runners in front of our high school
kids, so they can see what's possible.”
For the college runners in the meet, the race is often a homecoming: “When our high school hero runners
graduate and move on to the college ranks, it seems like we never get to see them run again,” said
Ernst. “This is an event where we bring the old Illinois heroes back to run in front of the new heroes.
“We have this beautiful facility in a beautiful city. We are excited once again to invite people to our
campus for this event.”
Spectator admission is $5.00, cash only. The first races should begin at 5:00 PM. The meet runs on a
tight schedule, with the National Anthem at 7:00 PM and the final race concluded by 10:00 PM.
Dick Pond Athletics and Saucony Running Shoes provide support for the event.
FAT timing services are supplied by Dave Behof of LA Timing, with help from Illinois Prep Top
Timing. Steven Bugarin, assistant coach for track and cross country at Ignatius, is the official meet
photographer.
The Magis Miles track meet has an information web site: www.magismiles.com . Follow the meet on
twitter: @themagmiles.
Registration for the Magis Miles is on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/magis-miles-2021-
tickets-156957497099
To get more information, contact the event organizers, Saint Ignatius Coach Ed Ernst
([email protected]), 773-407-5220.
