JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On Saturday, when the Gate River Run is held for the 42nd year, some of the most elite distance runners in the country will compete, as well a number of top local runners.
Top runners say the chance to line up against some of the nation's best is a rare opportunity and one of the reasons many set up their training schedules to peak for the gate.
"It's so exciting to get all of the big names here. My idols are coming to my town to see what a great city we have," said Lydia McRae, who is one of the favorites to win the First Coast Cup, given to the top local male and female finishers. "It's really big. There are going to be a lot of people. Once you get in there, there are so many spectators, they are so excited, so you just have to take it in. It's really, really exciting."
Marc Burget is no stranger to top races. He won the Keys 100 two years ago and has won the Donna 110-running 86 miles one night followed by a marathon the next day-the last two years. He is the kind of runner that even top local runners marvel at.
"It's very special. For Jacksonville, it's the Super Bowl of running," Burget said. "It's something that everybody looks forward to ever year. It's a race that I have friends outside of the city who come in and look me up, so it's very special."
In addition to those who enter the 15 K-last year over 12,600 entrants finished the 9.3-mile course- there is a 5K and a 1-mile fun run as well. Something in the neighborhood of 20,000 runners will enter one race or another.
"River Run is really a special race," Carley Glasser, who won the Donna 5K last week, said. "I love seeing people from all over the country come and participate. It's always a race I have on my calendar. It's a tough 15K. It's just a special race.
Imagine being able to play golf against the world's best during the Players Championship. That’s what it is like to run the Gate River Run with Olympians and national champions on the course.
Once again this year, Channel 4 will broadcast the race. Our broadcast crew includes Cole Pepper and Keith Brantley at the start and finish lines, Nikki Kimbleton and Kelsey Beckmann, who has qualified for the Olympic trials in the marathon, and who will be set up in San Marco. And Allyson Henning will be at the foot of the Hart Bridge, known as the Green Monster, the final obstacle to finishing the course.
Our coverage begins at 7 a.m. as part of "The Morning Show. "