Cape Coral runners gather for the 2nd annual ‘Freedom 5K’

Hundreds of runners gathered for the second annual Freedom 5K running across the Cape Coral bridge as part of the Red, White & Boom Fourth of July celebration held in Cape Coral.

The 5K sets off the beginning of Cape Coral’s Fourth of July festivities, including live entertainment throughout the day.

Runners went onto and over the bridge and into Fort Myers and back.

“It’s a great challenge for runners not very often you get to run over a bridge in southwest Florida,” said Donna Germain, CEO of the Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce.

Thankfully, there were no medical emergencies, despite the heat.

Marcia Best got up early, put down her lawn chair and watched her son run. He flew in from Arizona to run this race.

“He loves doing marathons. He really does — anywhere he can do one, and when he knew he was going to come here to visit, he said, ‘Well, I’m looking for a race, and he saw this one, and being in the army, he knew this was for a good cause,” Best said.

Hundreds of people cheered those who crossed the finish line, but the first to get a congratulations was Nekiah Peery.

“I was very nervous,” Peery said. “I saw some other runners who looked pretty competitive, and I wanted to see what I can do, and I ended up doing well. I’m transferring to FGCU in the fall for running, so I’ve been training since mid-May, wanted to see where I was at today.”

The 2023 Priority Business Solutions Freedom 5K and Serpro Kids Fun Run is put on by the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral.

Germain said the money raised will go to the city’s heroes.

“The Special Operators Communicators Association, which is also a member of the Chamber Brotherhood and Heroes, also gets a portion of the proceeds and donations from the 5K,” Germain said.

The capstone to the Red, White & Boom event will be the fireworks show, which starts at 9:30 p.m.

You can find more information of the Red, White & Boom event from their website; however, tickets are sold out.