Jacksonville Florida Times-Union - Six marathons in six days for a good cause
Saturday marked many things for Jacksonville attorney Mike Freed, but his 36th marathon to raise funds for Jacksonville Area Legal Aidwasn’t at the top of the list. h It was that he and his Freed to Run fundraiser reached the finish line goal of raising $2.25 million so the nonprofit will now have a permanent funding source for the Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership. h Much of that also has to do with Baptist Health’s 125% match on donations and all of the other runners, teams, sponsors and businesses that have contributed these last several years. h Freed to Run is six marathons in six days by relay teams that began Nov. 14 at the steps of the Florida Supreme Court and then five other courthouses until ending Saturday at the Duval County Courthouse nearly 160 miles later.
Freed, a Gunster law firm shareholder, first laced up in 2017 as a solo act when he was tired of watching “everyone hating each other and not accomplishing anything,” he told The Florida Times-Union during his second Freed to Run. He admitted he wasn’t even an athlete and only a novice runner.
“I decided to do something significant enough to convince people to part with their money. That’s how I got this crazy idea,” he said. “Since I’m a lawyer, it made sense to do something for legal aid.”