Jacksonville Historical Society’s “The Great Fire Run”

 The Great Fire Run is happening once again, on Saturday, May 1. This event  honors the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901 by having the run outline the boundary of the  fire that occurred on May 3 of that year. The fire started due to a spark that came from a  kitchen fire. The spark ignited Spanish moss at a mattress factory in the area, which led  to its rapid spread downtown. The namesake of the fire is that it is known for being the  “largest metropolitan fire in the American South,” and smoke was noted to have been  seen from Savannah, Georgia.  

 The race will begin at Old St. Andrew’s Church and move downtown. The race is  5K and 1 mile, and is planned to begin at 7:30am with the 1 mile run beginning at  8:30am. In order for the race to continue this year, some changes have to be made to  make sure that the participants are as safe as possible. The main new rule is that  runners will be spread out at the start line since you are not required to wear a mask  while running; however, it is requested that all runners wear a face mask while checking  in or any instance when they are not running. Additionally, people are asked to not  congregate following the race and to comply to social distancing rules.   The Great Fire Run is $29 and benefits the Jacksonville Historical Society,  however, the price will increase after March 14. If you are interested in signing up for the  race, you can visit https://runsignup.com/ and find the Great Fire Run. A perk of signing  up at least two weeks prior to the run is that you will be guaranteed a t-shirt.  

Sources:  

https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/03/08/fanning-the-flames-jacksonville historical-society-hosts-the-great-fire-run/

https://runsignup.com/Race/FL/Jacksonville/JacksonvilleHistoricalSocietyFireRun5km