For the third year in a row, the community will celebrate Wolfson Children’s Hospital with a 55-mile Ultra Marathon and Relay, a Run 5 to Keep Kids Alive 5-mile run and a 1-mile Fun Run, all beginning and ending at the Jacksonville Landing on Saturday, January 28.
The events, part of “One to Grow On,” presented by RPM Automotive, are a culmination of a months-long celebration of the patients who receive life-saving and life-changing care at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, the region’s only children’s hospital. The hospital, which serves tens of thousands of children of all ages each year, provides the full range of pediatric care. Wolfson Children’s includes centers of distinction in cancer, congenital heart disease, neurosciences, neonatology, orthopaedics and behavioral health, as well as many other services.
WJXT TV 4 is the media sponsor of the “One to Grow On” celebration which has already included a January 12 all-day telethon; this year’s telethon raised more than $105,000 through gifts from the community. Patient stories have been broadcast on TV 4 throughout December and continue this month January, and a colossal birthday cake with 55 candles (and one to grow on) graces the rotunda in front of the entrance to Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
January 28’s events begin with the 55-mile Ultra Marathon and Relay that kicks off at midnight at the Jacksonville Landing; in addition to “The Ultras,” teams of relay runners will accompany the Ultra Marathoners on every five-mile loop – 11 loops in all. The Run 5 to Keep Kids Alive is a five-mile run presented by iMethods that begins after the Ultra Marathon at 2 pm, also at the Jacksonville Landing. Cost is $20 per person to register. The one-mile Fun Run begins at 1:30 pm; the $12 registration will be on-site.
The runs will coincide with a Kids’ Birthday Party for the 55 kids honored by “One to Grow On” and their families, along with their caregivers and the Ultra Marathoners, as well as celebrity hosts with WJXT. The event is from 10 am to 2 pm.
To read patient stories, for more information about the Run 5 to Keep Kids Alive or the Ultra Marathoners, or to find out how you can “Light a Candle to Help a Child” at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, visit http://www.wolfson55.org. To support our cause, you can also find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/wolfson55.