by David Ball
Staff Writer
More than 900 runners, from active seniors to moms and dads pushing strollers, filled the streets of Downtown for the Vestcor 5K Bridges Run Saturday evening.
Nearly a thousand more onlookers filled Hemming Plaza and lined Duval Street during the race, which raised an estimated $30,000 for area charities.
This was the fifth running of the event and the most successful, said Will Morgan of Vestcor, which owns and operates Downtown dwellings such as 11E and The Carling as well as several apartment buildings all over Jacksonville.
Morgan is president of the Vestcor Family Foundation, the company’s non-profit entity that began the race to promote the revitalization of Downtown. He said the run’s success may lead to even more annual events to encourage residents to visit, and hopefully live, Downtown.
“I think it’s really catching on,” said Morgan. “It’s a nice event in the middle of the summer, and even though it’s hot, it’s fun to get out to Hemming Plaza and listen to the band and eat some barbecue.”
The heat wasn’t much of an issue, as the race began at 7:30 p.m. and some summer showers before the start made the racing conditions cool and comfortable.
The course took runners past City Hall on Duval street, down Laura Street and over the Main Street Bridge to San Marco before returning across the Acosta Bridge and finishing down Broad Street back to Duval.
One runner said the chance to run across two of the busiest Downtown bridges made it a special event.
“I really never come Downtown,” he said, “but this was really nice.”
Morgan said the growth of the event is evidence that people enjoy being Downtown. This year’s 900-runner field was up from 600 last year and only 300 the year before.
“I can say it certainly is providing greater exposure,” said Morgan. “We had close to 2,000 people come downtown for this, and that in itself was a success.”
Since 2003, the Vestcor Family Foundation has generated more than $116,000 for local charities, according to the group’s Web site. Recipients have included the American Diabetes Association, Brooks Health Foundation, Community Connections, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Down Syndrome Association of Jacksonville, Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, North Florida School, Rick Wilkins Foundation, St. Jude Hospital, Volunteer Jacksonville, Reading Program and Wolfson Children’s Hospital.