The 2024 Festival of Miles Athlete in Need is Jack Higgins. Jack is a junior at Vianney High School in St. Louis and has been battling bone cancer since 2021. The cancer has spread to his lungs, and Jack is undergoing extensive chemotherapy. Jack played numerous sports including soccer, baseball and his favorites – basketball and volleyball – prior to his cancer diagnosis, but has been limited due to his health circumstances. He has however, found a new sport – bowling! Jack is currently on the bowling team at his high school. With a challenging journey ahead, Festival of Miles Foundation is happy to support not only Jack, but his family in this time of need. Jack’s siblings, Molly (age 19), Macy (14), and Colin (10) have also been impacted by this diagnosis. This disease not only affects Jack, but it affects the lives of the people who take care of him and love him as well. Jack’s mom, Michelle, is humbled that Jack will be the beneficiary of Festival of Miles this year. She says “Thank you for welcoming him into your hearts.”

The 2023 beneficiary of Festival of Miles Foundation’s annual charity meet will be the Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience (Collegiate) Cross Country and Track Teams. The teams include students from Collegiate and Central Visual and Performing Arts High School (CVPA), both magnet high schools in the Saint Louis Public School District (SLPS).

On October 24, 2022, tragedy struck when a gunman entered the shared campus and opened fire inside CVPA. A CVPA student of dance and a beloved teacher were killed. The teacher was  Jean Kuczka, who served as both the CVPA PE teacher and the Collegiate cross-country coach.

Steele said, “Ms. Kuczka was in her first year of coaching and doing an excellent job of rebuilding our team. She is greatly missed. Every time we step on the track, we remember her grace, courage and commitment to her students and we look forward to honoring her through the sport that she respected and served so well.”

The Festival of Miles Foundation looks forward to bringing the St. Louis community and national running community together in support of the runners at Collegiate and CVPA and in honor of Jean Kuczka, a dedicated educator, active person, beloved family member and ultimate supporter and protector of her students.

The 2022 Festival of Miles Athlete in Need is Emma Reece. Although not an athlete in a traditional sense, 2-year-old Emma is a fighter currently battling leukemia. Nearly a year ago, a trip to the doctor for an ankle sprain resulted in the unexpected diagnosis of leukemia. Emma’s parents have had to miss extensive amounts of work to attend treatment, including hospital stays. Emma has three older sisters who have had to make sacrifices as well in order to be a strong family unit under immense amounts of financial and emotional stress.

With a long, multi-year journey ahead, Festival of Miles is happy to support not only Emma but her family through these trying times. The Reece family is already part of a community of runners, Emma’s father, Billy Reece, is an assistant coach with the Festus track team and Emma’s sister, Katelyn is a member of the Festus cross country team. But this year that community will grow to include all of the Festival of Miles supporters in St. Louis and across the country.

The 2021 Festival of Miles Athlete in Need is Lakeshia Finch. Lakeshia competed in track and field at Rockwood Summit High School, where she was a state champion in the triple jump. She went on to set multiple records at Abilene Christian University in Texas and was the NCAA Division II Indoor Triple Jump Champion in 2003. Lakeshia continued to use her athleticism post-college, staying active through a local championship-winning kickball team and regular exercise classes. She is also a dedicated volunteer in her community and church.

On the night of June 22, 2020, after their boot camp class was canceled, Lakeshia and her best friend grabbed a bite to eat at Applebee’s in St. John, MO. They, along with another patron, were randomly shot by a stranger. Her friend died on the scene. Lakeshia sustained life-altering injuries, including a spinal injury that has left her paralyzed from the mid-torso down. While doctors initially said she would never walk again, Lakeshia is pushing the limits and making slow improvements through physical therapy and with the support of her family. 

Lakeshia’s sister describes her as an “all around amazing woman that walks with God and leads with her faith.” 

Festival of Miles’ 2020 Athlete in Need is Janeann Taubel. She is a dedicated mother of three young children. Janeann is a triathlete and a five-time Ironman finisher. She most recently completed Ironman Louisville in October 2019. After difficulties recovering from a hysterectomy in November 2019, Janeann sought answers for what she initially thought was a faulty gallbladder, but was instead diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer in late December 2019. The cancer has subsequently spread to her liver, lungs, and bones.

Janeann is fighting hard and strong with her family through chemotherapy and using her mental and physical toughness to get her through this battle!

You can follow Janeann’s journey on Caringbridge here.

Our 2019 Athlete in Need is Margaret Lyons. Margaret is an accomplished local runner, wife, and super mom of three. Born and raised in St. Louis, Margaret ran cross country and track at Bishop DuBourg High School before her collegiate career at Missouri Southern State University, where she has earned Hall of Fame status. She is one of the most decorated female distance runners in Missouri Southern history, and is a two-time All-American. She is our first Athlete in Need to have actually participated in Festival of Miles, racing the Women’s Mile in 2010! She’s been a mainstay in the winner’s circle of many local races for a decade including the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Run (twice!). Normally you could find Margaret getting in an hour of running in her neighborhood before most people’s alarms have gone off, then getting her kids off to school and heading to work. However, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 distal colon cancer in mid-February after going to Urgent Care for abdominal pain and vomiting. Margaret underwent surgery to remove the cancerous tumor within a week of diagnosis and is now battling through the side effects of chemo. While prognosis is good, and Margaret is arguably one of the toughest (and nicest) individuals in St. Louis, this is a hardship and very difficult time for her and her very active family.

The 2018 Athlete in Need is Murelle Plotner. Murelle, an 18-year-old from St. Jospeh, IL, caught the eyes of local runners prior to the GO! St. Louis Marathon in April when she was highlighted by this story on KSDK. In 2013, Murelle was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a bone marrow disorder in which the bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells resulting in the need for a bone marrow transplant. While this disease has challenged her ability to run, her love for running has never subsided, even as she underwent a double lung transplant last year. She was so determined, she kept running on a treadmill while connected to oxygen!

Although Murelle has been cancer-free for five years, she has had many setbacks. When asked what keeps her spirits up in spite all her adversity, she stated, “Running, family, and friends help me be positive. I always have a smile on my face, even on the worst days. I absolutely love running ever since I was a little girl. The adrenaline rush kept me alive. I long for the moments of speed and competition. My family and friends are my rocks. Without them I wouldn’t be alive today. Positivity is key. If you have the right mindset you can do anything you want to do.”

Murelle is a fighter and we want to get a big crowd out at FOM to support Murelle and her family!

The 2017 Athlete in Need is Cassie Gorecki. Cassie is a St. Louis Public Schools Physical Education teacher who coached Girls on the Run for many years. Cassie played field hockey and soccer at Cor Jesu Academy and went on to play field hockey on scholarship in college. Cassie and her husband Adam were ecstatic last fall to find out their sports-loving family would be expanded. However, when “Baby G” was 21 weeks, Cassie was diagnosed with a malignant tumor, Chondrosarcoma, on her spine and back. The tumor was the size of a football. They put off surgery for the safety of the baby, and at 32 weeks Baby Gus was born. He spent 49 days in the Special Care Unit at Barnes Hospital, while Cassie underwent a grueling 10 hour surgery. Unfortunately, Cassie is now suffering paralysis from the waist down. She has a long road ahead of physical and occupational therapy, as well as 7 weeks of radiation as a preventative measure.

Gus came home with Adam on May 3, and they visit Cassie every day at the skilled nursing facility. “She’s fighting,” her husband Adam said. And just last week she had some voluntary leg movement; she was able to move each foot when the doctors held her knees and told her to kick a ball. Truly, Cassie exemplifies what it means to be a champion.

Meet Cassie here: https://www.teamgorecki.com/

This year’s athlete in need is four-year-old Triston Walls. While he may not be an athlete in the traditional sense, he is most certainly a champion. Born on April 23, 2012 with 4 holes in his heart–2 ASD’s (holes in the walls between the top of the heart) and 2 VSD’s (holes in the walls between the bottom of the heart)–Triston went into heart failure at just one month old. At 7 months old he had open heart surgery. A month-and-a-half later we was diagnosed with Pulmonary Vein Stenosis and Pulmonary Hypertension. Triston and his family live in nearby Ste. Genevieve, Mo. and hope to make it to Festival of Miles where Triston’s big brother will run the Kids Mile! You can watch more on Triston HERE.

The 2015 FOM Athlete in Need was 16-year-old Brian Ott from Fort Zumwalt West High School in O’Fallon, Mo. At the time of the meet Brian had been battling cancer of the brain and spinal cord since he was three years old. A true fighter, Brian most certainly the athlete in need description. He played sports his whole life including hockey for the Gateway Locomotives, a special needs team. He also helped out at FZW as a manager on the school’s football and basketball teams. His mother Erin told us after the meet that the Ott family was able to use the FOM funds to send Brian on “away” trips with his hockey team, something he had been looking forward to for a long time.

Christopher ran high school cross country and track at Edwardsville (IL) HS. He signed to run in college at Milligan College in TN, but shortly thereafter was diagnosed with Cancer. He had to go through all the nasty stuff that we all
know cancer patients have to go through- intense chemo, losing his hair, tons of hospital visits, etc. At the time of FOM 2014 he was in the maintenance stage of treatment (no more intense chemo) but continued “regular” chemo through March of 2015.

When his mother Lindsay told Christopher he was nominated this is what he had to say, “I told Christopher that he had been nominated for the 2014 Athlete In Need and he was incredibly humbled. He has always had the attitude that ‘there are many people worse off than me’.”

Brad was the FOM Board’s choice for the 2013 Athlete in Need in part because he was someone who had spent much of his adult life helping other runners himself. A Girls on the Run volunteer extraordinaire, Brad believed in the self-esteem producing powers of running and tried to spread his love for the sport to all, especially to young people. He and his wife Sarah had a beautiful 1-year-old daughter and he was a healthy guy in his early 30 when he noticed some strange symptoms while training for a marathon early in 2013. It was after Brad ran a PR in that marathon that he was diagnosed with a baseball sized brain tumor in his right temporal lobe. Brad underwent a long and technically challenging surgery in April to remove the brain tumor.

The surgery went well and the doctors were able to remove 95% of the tumor but it was determined to be cancerous and he faced a long rehab to get back to his normal, running self. By the time FOM rolled around Brad was certainly feeling better. He even helped hand out finisher ribbons after the GO! St. Louis Healthy Kids Mile!

Chris, a graduate of Francis Howell North, was today’s typical runner. He had found running as a great way to stay fit and challenge himself. At just 25 years old, while many his age were steadily declining in fitness, he was participating in local races and enjoying every minute of it.

In January of 2012, while racing a 10 miler, Chris was struck by a motorist and suffered severe injuries. The Lister family was overwhelmed by the support of the entire Saint Louis running community in the wake of Chris’ accident. They attended the Festival of Miles where Chris’ dad Rick spoke on his behalf.

In the summer after the inaugural Festival of Miles, Mike and his buddies were horsing around like 18-year-olds do, just weeks after high school graduation from Saint Louis U. High. The all-state high jumper fell awkwardly and broke his back, paralyzed from the chest down. Mike’s family was devastated and they were in desperate need of help. Mike’s father had trouble communicating after a bout with throat cancer and his mother was battling breast cancer. It just didn’t seem fair for one family to have to deal with so much pain.

In the three years that the Festival of Miles benefited Mike and his family we raised more than $15,000, every penny of which was sorely needed and went toward Mike’s rehab as well as his community college tuition. Mike’s father has since passed away but his mother has beaten cancer more than once and is still Mike’s biggest fan. His friends have created MilesforMike, to raise money for Mike’s continued rehab and education.

Brigette was the reason for the very first Festival of Miles. She was a standout middle distance runner for Saint Louis University who excelled on and off the track. She and her friends were in a terrible car accident on New Year’s Eve 2007, the result of icy highway roads. Doctors gave Brigette little chance to live that first night.

After a stint in a coma, Brigette awoke to serious brain damage and a long road to recovery. Just four months later Brigette had already progressed to the point that she was able to attend the Festival of Miles and even took a few very inspirational steps in front of the crowd to show off her progress. FOM raised $8,000 for the Schutzman’s that evening, money that went directly to Brigette’s rehab.

Today, Brigette is back in her home state of Indiana where she recently graduated from IUPUI. Her next step is nursing school and she’s even interested in someday working at a rehab facility in Colorado for victims of accidents similar to hers.