JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Gate River Run -- a longtime Jacksonville tradition -- fires up Saturday with thousands of runners on the course through downtown and the Southbank. Some race to win. Many run for the pride of tackling the “Green Monster” -- the Hart Bridge -- near the end of the race.
But a select few #RunforInclusion.
Jeremy Hebda will be running his third Gate River Run this weekend as part of Challenge Enterprises and The Ability Experience team.
His inspiration to run comes from his father, Chris, a long-distance runner who worked with his son on running.
Jeremy’s mother, Joanne Hebda, said that in 2021, after Jeremy passed Chris on a run, Chris realized he might be ready to try the Gate River Run.
But they never got a chance to do it together. Chris passed away in January 2022.
But Jeremy was determined to run the race anyway in his father’s honor. And he didn’t have to do it alone.
Dave, a fellow church member, stepped up to be Jeremy’s running partner for the 15K race. Together, they crossed the finish line in 1 hour and 31 minutes, a testament to Jeremy’s resilience and the power of community.
But Jeremy’s pace dropped the next year when he didn’t have a partner to run with.
This year, Jeremy has a new motivation. He’ll be part of a push team for one of the specialized race wheelchairs. It’s all part of the groundbreaking #RunforInclusion initiative at the Gate River Run, specifically designed to support athletes of all abilities.
The Run for Inclusion is a team effort between athletes with or without disabilities to cross the finish line. Everyone is invited to participate and/or support The Run for Inclusion by going to challengeenterprises.org and clicking on the Gate River Run banner: tinyurl.com/runforinclusionGRR.
Jeremy’s Gate River Run Fundraiser page: https://give.abilityexperience.org/fundraiser/5250662
