Hosted by VisitPITTSBURGH on July 12, the inaugural one-mile race through the North Shore had almost 2,000 participants and more than 10 different heats, including some runners from Mt. Lebanon. The race was open to the public but also featured such U.S. Olympic medalists as Clayton Murphy and Jessica McGorty. With $34,200 in the pot, the five male and five female top-place finishers, many of whom traveled from all over the country to compete, each got their share of the prize

Others like Allison Huffman, Firwood Drive, are a lot closer to downtown Pittsburgh than most.   

Huffman, born and raised in Mt. Lebanon, has been running since she was 14 years old. In high school, she played tennis and ran track and field, but she has increased her mileage over the years since it is “good for the body, good for the mind.” 

A participant in Fleet Feet’s Liberty Mile every summer, Huffman recalled how crowded the similar race always was, so the North Shore was an exciting prospect for its more spacious route. Another bonus: this course is nearly straight, giving hopeful runners the opportunity to drop time off their personal bests.  

Huffman is no stranger to a training schedule, as she recently completed the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. She has run other scenic races like the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10k through Charleston, South Carolina that finishes on the iconic King Street. Every year, she also enjoys the “Run Through the Woods,” supported by Hoover Elementary’s PTA. Despite the hilly streets of the Hoover neighborhoods, Huffman “tries to incorporate the family as much as possible in the running” by pushing her four-year-old daughter in a stroller when she competes in the race. 

And incorporate the family, she did. Her 8-year-old son, Austin, helped with the training for America’s Mile by running a stopwatch for his mom at the track. Austin accompanied her in the mile-long race, as well, having gained lots of confidence from Kids of Steel at Hoover Elementary. 

Jon and Katie Schultz, Driftwood Drive, took after Huffman by involving the whole family in the race, as well. After running the Half Marathon together last year, Jon Schultz continued running with his wife Katie, an avid runner since high school. Just as Pittsburgh’s marathon weekend features a slew of kids’ events, the Schultz family came together for the Move Mile portion of the race. Katie ran alongside their twin daughters, Lucy and Molly, and Jon ran with their son Nick until the whole family joined together to cross the finish line.