JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On Monday, a local attorney and a team of runners will kick off their annual Freed to Run — six marathons in six days.
It’s all to raise money to help provide legal services to Northeast Florida pediatric patients and their families.
“I just wanted to do something everybody could be for, and nobody could be against,” Mike Freed, the founder of Freed to Run, told News4JAX.
Freed will be the first to tell you he’s not a natural-born athlete. But helping others through running has become his passion. Getting to this point though did not happen overnight.
“I was not a runner up until that point,” Freed said. “I started running for about eight months to sort of make sure I could do it without dying, and apparently, I could.”
On Nov. 14, the runners of “Freed to Run” will once again lace up their running shoes for the “six marathons in six days.”
For each of those six days, the group will make stops at county courthouses on the way back to the River City. The money will go to the Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership (NFMLP).
It will then help pediatric patients and their families with legal aid when they need it most.
When the runners get back to Jacksonville there will be a 5K at the Beavers Street Farmer’s Market and it’ll end at the Duval County Courthouse. This will mark the official end of the journey.
Freed said the group has to raise $125,000 more to meet its goal of $2.25 million. He’s confident they’ll be successful.
“I’m not the prettiest runner in the world,” Freed said. “I’m not the fastest runner, but I can run a marathon and get up the next morning and run another one. And be inspired by all the families we’re able to benefit.”
If you want to help “Freed to Run” reach its goal, you can donate right on the website.