Mary's Meals' Race to Feed Kids

Join us in-person or virtually at 9am CDT for the 13th annual Race to Feed Kids in support of Mary’s Meals, an international feeding charity that provides a daily meal to children in their place of education. This isn’t just your average run/walk. Every single race registration will feed one child at Mcheza school in Malawi, Africa for an ENTIRE school year, helping to end hunger and change their story.

Thank you for your generous support of Mary's Meals and the Race to Feed Kids in Des Moines, Iowa!

*This race is coordinated by Heartland for Kids, 501(c)(3). "Feeding the world's youth with Mary's Meals."

Email us at: marysmealsrundsm@gmail.com

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." ~ Mother Teresa

For 2026, we're once again partnering with a local Food Pantry for our "Feed the Hungry Near & Far" Food Drive. 

Please join us by bringing a non-perishable food item to the Mary's Meals Race to Feed Kids. We will deliver donations to the Central Iowa Shelter & Services Food Pantry. As a bonus, everyone who brings an item for the Food Pantry will receive a Mary's Meals water bottle or laptop sticker! 

♥ Thank you for feeding those both near and far. 

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The Race to Feed Kids was created and planned by a group of local volunteers who are passionate about feeding children in most desperate need of food. All proceeds are donated to Mary’s Meals, an international nonprofit organization, focused on providing children in some of the world’s poorest with a daily meal in their place of education. Mary’s Meals encourages chronically poor children to the classroom where they can gain a basic education that provides an escape route from poverty. This race specifically sponsors children in the village of Mcheza in Malawi (east Africa).

Mary’s Meals feeds over 2 million children around the world in 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Caribbean. With 59 million children out of school, and many more hungry, their work is only just beginning.

The school feeding programs are owned and run by community volunteers in the countries where Mary’s Meals provides food. For example, there are over 80,000 volunteers in the African country of Malawi who take turns to prepare, cook, and serve the daily meal in each school. As an organization working in some of the world’s poorest communities, Mary's Meals is committed to keeping running costs low to maximize the good with donations entrusted to them. At most, Mary's Meals spends just 7 cents of every dollar donated on governance and fundraising.

**We will update the 2026 Route & Course Video once it's been finalized with the city (construction, road closures, etc). However, we will be starting in the same location as years past and it will be a similar route. 

Check out our beautiful Downtown Des Moines Route (MapMyRun):

2025 5K Route & Course Video

• 2025 5K Route (Map)   
• 2025 Route Preview Video

For those who attended in 2023 and 2024, our route is altered slightly due to construction. The route will also start south (as opposed to north as it was in 2024) to avoid any "Finish Line" crossings.

Mary’s Meals is a simple idea that works. By providing a daily meal in a place of education, Mary’s Meals encourages chronically poor children to the classroom where they can gain a basic education that provides an escape route from poverty. For only $25.20, you can feed one child a nutritious meal every day for an entire year. Thousands of local volunteers and parents help prepare and serve the meals to keep costs low and enable Mary's Meals to continue feeding more children. 

Donation & Fundraising Options
Once again, we're including the ability for you to fundraise for Mary's Meals. Get your family and friends on board to help feed children in their place of education. Check out the Incentives tab to learn more about the perks!

Join us and start fundraising now by selecting "Become a Fundraiser" below!

For those interested in making a tax-deductible donation directly to Mary's Meals, please use this link and your funds will be assigned to our school in the village of Mcheza in Malawi. Your donation will be acknowledged with a receipt. 

Please note that fees for the run/walk are not tax deductible.

You asked and we answered! This year, we're including the ability for you to donate and fundraise for Mary's Meals. Get your family and friends on board to help feed children in their place of education.

At $100 raised, you’ll receive:

• ONE free short-sleeve Mary’s Meals t-shirt
• One free Mary’s Meals water bottle or a Mary’s Meals custom sticker

At $250 raised, you’ll receive:

• TWO free short-sleeve or long-sleeve Mary’s Meals shirts
• One free Mary’s Meals water bottle or a Mary’s Meals custom sticker
• Race registration refund (individual)

At $500 raised, you'll receive:

• "You Pick Two" Mary's Meals Merch: Includes short-sleeve, long-sleeve, crew sweatshirt, hoodie, and hat 
• One free Mary’s Meals water bottle or a Mary’s Meals custom sticker
• Race registration refund (individual)

At $1,000 raised, you'll receive:

• "You Pick Two" Mary's Meals Merch: Includes short-sleeve, long-sleeve, crew sweatshirt, hoodie, and hat
• One free Mary’s Meals water bottle or a Mary’s Meals custom sticker
• Race registration refund (individual or family)
• An invitation to Meet & Greet with Mary's Meals’ founder, Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow*

*The Meet & Greet will be with a group of Mary's Meals supporters during Magnus' next trip to Des Moines, Iowa. Although his trip is currently planned for October 2026, it may occur at a later date depending on scheduling.

** Incentives can be picked up on Race Day. For anyone not able to attend, we'll ship it to you! 

In 2026, we will be celebrating our 13th annual Race to Feed Kids in support of Mary's Meals!

While the location of the race has changed over time, the purpose of our race remains the same: to feed children in most desperate need of food. Organized by a group of local volunteers who are passionate about feeding children, the purpose of this race is to sponsor one of Mary’s Meals’ schools in Africa. To date, we have been able to feed thousands of children because of the support of our 5K/10K participants.

The first Mary’s Meals' Race to Feed Kids race took place in 2013 at Raccoon River Park. The race participants consisted mostly of our friends and family, but we achieved our modest goal of partially feeding a Mary’s Meals school. Raccoon River Park remained the location of our race (consisting of a 5K race only) for the next three years, with each year surpassing the previous one in terms of participants and proceeds to Mary’s Meals.  

In 2017, our venue changed to Valley Junction in West Des Moines, and we added our 10K race. Our new location, and the efforts of our volunteers, led to even bigger and better results. In our first year at Valley Junction, we had 518 race participants and were able to fully fund our Mary’s Meals school! We had similar results in our second year at Valley Junction in 2018.

In 2019, our race location moved to the Beaverdale neighborhood in Des Moines. Again, we had a great turnout and were able to feed 400 children for an entire year with our race proceeds! Due to the pandemic, we did not host a race in 2020, but were able to fully-fund our school through generous donations of our Des Moines family.

The next year, our race returned! Running through the beautiful neighborhoods surrounding Greenwood Park, our 5K/10K race was a great success. Being one of the first races to take place in Des Moines since the outbreak of COVID-19, our priority was to ensure the health and safety of our participants. We accomplished that goal and received several compliments on the organization and new location of our race. And again, we were successful in feeding the students of Mary’s Meals’ Mcheza school for an entire year.

In 2023, we moved our race to beautiful downtown Des Moines with our race starting at the Women of Achievement Bridge, 700 Robert D Ray Drive in Des Moines. It was such a success and we received such great feedback on the route, we've kept the same location. We hope to see you there!

Event organizers seeking accurate race timing in Iowa often choose True Time Racing Services. As the largest and most experienced provider in the state, the company is respected for its trusted approach and consistently high-quality results, making it one of the best timing services available.

Race Results Here:

https://results.truetimeracing.com/StartPage.aspx?CId=16535&S=Mary

Thank you for your support in the 2026 Race to Feed Kids! 

♥ LMNT

♥ Edible Arrangements

♥ Fleet Feet

♥ Power Life

♥ Fareway

True Time Racing Services is an Iowa-based timing company offering dependable race timing solutions backed by extensive experience. Recognized as the largest provider in the state, they are considered a trusted and best-in-class option by many event directors across Iowa.

Live Results (Link will be updated the week of the race)

Results will be posted after the race at the link above (hosted by True Timing Race Services)

• 2025 Results
• 2024 Results
• 2023 Results
• 2022 Results
• 2021 Results

Awards and Trophies will be presented after the race (approximately 9:45 / 10:00 am).

• If you placed based on the results link but are unable to attend the Awards Ceremony, please reach out to us at marysmealsrundsm@gmail.com to collect your medal. 

Winners' Categories

Trophies will be awarded to the overall male/female finisher and the top master male/female (40 and over)*

​5K age group awards (medals):

• 17 to 19 (top 3)(male/female)

• 20 to 29 (top 3) (male/female)

• 30 to 39 (top 3) (male/female)

• 40 to 49 (top 3) (male/female)

• 50 to 59 (top 3) (male/female)

• 60 and over (top 3) (male/female)

5K youth category awards (medals):

Note: Youth Categories are subject to change and is dependent upon the number/age of youth registrations

• 8 and under (top 3) (male/female)

• 9 to 11 (top 3) (male/female)

• 12 to 16 (top 3) (male/female)

* Trophy winners will not be eligible for age group awards. 

** Participants must be a registered, timed participant wearing a chipped bib to be eligible for winner categories. 

Celebrate Mary's Meals on Saturday, May 9, 2026

♥ 7:30: Celebration of Mary's Meals Kick-Off 

     ♥  Coffee, Donuts, & Music

     ♥  Visit with our team members to share your Mary's Meals stories or hear ours! 

♥ 7:30 - 8:30 am: Pre-Race 5K Bib & T-Shirt Pick-Up

♥ 8:00 - 10:00 am: Mary's Meals Merch Store

     ♥  Classic Tees, Long-Sleeve, Sweatshirts & more... including designs not available online! 

     ♥  GOODBYE Clearance Rack (Original, Vintage, & Discontinued Designs)

♥ 8:00 - 10:00 am: Kids Corner

     ♥  Mary's Meals Temporary Tattoos

     ♥  Youth Activities

♥ 9:00 am: 5K Race Start time 

     ♥  For those not participating in the Run/Walk, join our BLUE CREW and CHEER on the Runners! 

♥ Immediately following the Race: Awards & Celebration

Location

All activities will take place on the east-side of the Women of Achievement Bridge in Des Moines, IA

Parking

Downtown Des Moines Parking Options

• Street Parking is available along the east-side of the bridge along Robert D Ray Drive and various side-streets.
• Street Parking reserved for persons with disabilities parking permits are located near Brenton Skating Plaza.
• Public Parking Garages - several public pay garages are located within a few blocks from the bridge, with East 2nd Street Parking Garage being the closest. 

We recommend participants give themselves a few extra minutes to navigate public parking. 

Ready, Set, VOLUNTEER!

We need your passion and energy to make our annual Mary's Meals Race to Feed Kids a roaring success! Lace up your shoes, grab your friends, and be a part of something incredible! Whether you're cheering on runners, handing out water, or high-fiving participants, your help makes a HUGE difference. Plus, you'll be a part of an amazing community all working towards one goal: a simple solution to world hunger. 

Let's sprint towards a better tomorrow. Please contact us at marysmealsrundsm@gmail.com.

**We will update the 2026 Bib Pick-up Times & Locations once they've been finalized. We will offer a Friday afternoon and Saturday morning pick-up like we have in years past. 

2025 RACE INFO (Not yet updated for 2026)

We have several bib pickup options available: 

• Friday, May 8, 2025 from 3 - 6 pm at Fleet Feet (Des Moines, IA)
• Saturday, May 9, 2025 from 7:30 - 8:30 am at the east-side of the Women of Achievement Bridge (Des Moines, IA)

Women of Achievement Bridge

(between the Robert D Ray Asian Garden and the Brenton Skating Plaza)

700 Robert D Ray Drive 

Des Moines, IA 50312