James Weldon Johnson Birthday Run

June 20, 2026

Starts and Finishes at James Weldon Johnson Park

5K at 8 AM

One mile Fun Run/Walk at 9 AM

135 West Monroe Street, Jacksonville, Florida

Walk in the footsteps of history, then dance in celebration of a civil rights hero who shaped American culture. An afternoon of community, commemoration, and joy!

Race Features

• Shirts to all entrants

• Medals to all finishers

• Overall and age-group awards

• Post-race Block Park with DJ

• Birthday cupcakes at post-race celebration

• Chip timing

• Team competition

Course Map

The Second Annual JWJ BDAY 5K & Block Party presented by VyStar Credit Union and 1st Place Sports celebrates the 155th anniversary of James Weldon Johnson’s birth. Runners and walkers of all ages will begin at James Weldon Johnson Park and travel through the LaVilla neighborhood where the Johnson family lived, with historical information about his life along the route. The race finishes back at the Park with a Block Party featuring various food trucks, games, champagne, a DJ to set the festive mood, and cupcakes provided by Noted Marketing. All proceeds from this event benefit Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park, the City’s nonprofit partner that manages Jacksonville’s oldest and most historic park.

Walk in the footsteps of history, then dance in celebration of a civil rights hero who shaped American culture. An afternoon of community, commemoration, and joy!

The run will start and finish at James Weldon Johnson Park, located at 135 West Monroe Street, Jacksonville, Florida. Check in will begin promptly at 7:30am and the run will begin at 8:00am sharp on Saturday, June 20, 2026.

Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park mission is to bring joy to downtown Jacksonville by engaging with our history, cultivating meaningful partnerships, fostering participation and a sense of belonging, and creating dynamic cultural events. Through our collective efforts, we aim to enrich the community, inspire engagement, and contribute to the continued transformation of downtown Jacksonville into a thriving hub of bustling energy.

To learn more about Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park visit www.JamesWeldonJohnsonPark.org or follow @jamesweldonjohnsonpark on social media.

About The Title Sponsor

VyStar Credit Union is the second-largest credit union headquartered in Florida, with 79 full-service branches across Florida and Georgia, 1 million members and assets of over $14 billion. VyStar is the top mortgage lender in Northeast Florida and a major employer in the region with over 2,500 employees across the communities it serves. VyStar membership is open to everyone who lives or works in the 49 contiguous counties of Central to North Florida, 29 Georgia counties, and past and present military members and their families all over the world. VyStar members have access to 55,000 surcharge free ATMs worldwide. For more information, visit vystarcu.org, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn.

About The Charity

All proceeds from this event benefit Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park, the City’s nonprofit partner for managing Jacksonville’s oldest and most historic park. Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park was formed in 2014 to create a welcoming, urban public space that engages with our history and nurtures a sense of belonging, which connects our diverse communities and resonates throughout Downtown. We envision a contemporary, vibrant, green public space that is the heartbeat of our community where all people gather for fun, education, and relaxation. Our placemaking success and wide-ranging collaborations provide a variety of unique experiences that are essential to a thriving Downtown creating a sense of civic identity and pride. Visitors today can listen to live music, have a bite to eat from one of our food trucks, play in the kid zone area or simply find a respite from the Florida heat with flowers, shade and interesting sculptures. But we are not JUST a park. We’re community builders.

The weekend festivals we create highlight Jacksonville’s diversity and have generated passionate feedback such as “Jacksonville needs this!”

To learn more about Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park visit www.JamesWeldonJohnsonPark.org or follow @jamesweldonjohnsonpark on social media.