When Jacksonville's longtime running tradition returns next spring, expect far fewer shoes — the fewest for 16 years — pounding the downtown pavement.
The Gate River Run will limit the field to 8,000 runners for the annual 15-kilometer race's next edition on March 20, 2021, while additional COVID-19 safety measures are moving into place, race director Doug Alred said Tuesday.
WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union reports those measures include mandatory masking before the race, the installation of a second starting line to promote social distancing and revamped procedures for packet pick-up and the pre-race Gate River Run Expo.
Some of the race-day details, Alred said, remain to be worked out, but the race is expected to traverse Downtown, San Marco and St. Nicholas once mo
The cap of 8,000 represents a decrease of more than 50 percent from the Gate River Run's high of 16,357 finishers in 2012.
