by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
It was a Saturday run with a purpose.
About 350 people signed up for The Jacksonville Bar Association Young Lawyers Section “Run for Cover 5K” race held Saturday in Riverside.
The event benefited the Florida Skin Cancer Foundation and it is one of a number of races around the state that are run in memory of Alan C. Sundberg Jr., who died of skin cancer in 1998 at the age of 33.
Sundberg is the son of former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan C. Sundberg and the brother of Tallahassee lawyer Bill Sundberg, who is one of the founding members of the Florida Skin Cancer Foundation.
Founded in 1996, the Florida Skin Cancer Foundation is dedicated to educating Floridians about the dangers of prolonged exposure to the sun.
“It’s a great event for a good cause and it just gets better every year,” said Lee Wedekind, president of the Young Lawyers Section of The Jacksonville Bar Association.
“Pat (Kilbane) and all the volunteers did a great job,” he said. Kilbane organized the event.
Tents were set up for racers and the public to receive free skin cancer screenings throughout the event.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 3.5 million skin cancers in more than 2 million people are diagnosed annually, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
Nearly 800,000 Americans are living with a history of melanoma and 13 million are living with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer, typically diagnosed as basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma.
The Saturday race featured the annual event’s first 1-Mile Fun Run/Walk for participants who wanted to participate other than running or walking the 5K, a 3.1-mile course.
Of the 350 who signed up for the race, 289 completed the loop from Riverside Park to Willow Branch Park and back.
“Everyone did a great job, the volunteers, the doctors and 1st Place Sports,” said Kilbane.
Kilbane joked when asked about his first-place finish in the men’s part of the attorneys’ division.
“I won first place among the male lawyers who entered the race, but I couldn’t place in my age group,” said Kilbane. “That’s just the way it goes sometimes. But everyone appeared to be having fun raising money for a good cause.”
Complete race results can be found at 1stplacesports.com.
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