Following their success with Freed to Run, which fully endowed Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership, JALA and Gunster Shareholder Mike Freed have reinvented the six-marathon series established in 2017 as the Freed to Run Challenge, which began in 2023 with a new event format set on the streets surrounding the Duval County Courthouse.
Instead of running from the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee to the Duval County Courthouse over six days, participants, whether as individuals or relay teams, now complete half-mile laps around the courthouse within either a 12 or 24-hour timeframe. And with the pediatric medical legal partnership fully funded, the event has a new goal: to fully fund a $2.25 million Shelter for Elders Endowment supporting housing-related legal services for Northeast Florida seniors.
Participants engage in fundraising based on their event participation, with each participant or team measuring the distance run by counting the laps completed around the courthouse. The new format allows for flexibility in pace—whether running or walking. As an alternative to this exciting challenge, supporters can elect to participate in a 5K run in Jacksonville or a 35-mile bike ride from St. Johns County to the Duval Courthouse.
Daniel Fortunat