The 48th River Run took place Saturday and produced a record-breaking result, once again bringing national attention to the city – largely because a young lawyer just couldn’t stay still.
John Fannin, known to everyone as Buck, was involved in the race from the beginning. In his typical self-effacing way, he credits many other people for the existence of the race, but he was designated “River Run Creator” in the River Run Hall of Fame.
Fannin was born in Jacksonville, into the family that owned Ferrell Jewelry. Soon afterward the family moved to Tampa to open a store there. For business reasons the family moved back to Jacksonville and then returned to Tampa two years later.
Fannin graduated from Plant High School (coincidentally, he and I attended the school at the same time) and started college at the University of Florida but after registering for the draft he joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
Like every Marine, he ran a lot.
After that he got a job in the family business then returned to school, working on a degree in political science. But the jogging craze was just beginning. In civilian life, Fannin decided he wasn’t physically fit enough. So, he started running.
In the meantime, he went to law school and earned a degree, soon accepting a job at a Jacksonville firm.
Running got to be a habit. He ended another habit, smoking, and ran farther and farther.
Fannin joined the Jacksonville Track Club. He ran in several major races, including the New York and Boston marathons. When the club members decided they should hold a race in Jacksonville, he went out on the route he ran often from his home and mapped out what eventually became the 9.3 mile (15,000 meter) route of the River Run.
“The idea was to focus on the river and run through as many neighborhoods as we could,” he said. It also crossed two of the city’s bridges.
They wanted a sponsor and a member of the track club who worked at the Florida Times-Union, then a major newspaper, suggested talking to the paper’s top executives.
Fannin said Publisher J.J. Daniel agreed to sponsor the first race, in 1978. It was a success, drawing big-name runners such as Bill Rogers, who won – and then astounded non-runners by running the route again to cool down. About 2,400 people started but not all finished the race, which took place on a blistering hot day.
One of the niceties was a string quartet from the Jacksonville Symphony, deployed on River Road during the race.
Mayor Jake Godbold aided the effort by helping with potential problems such as railroad crossings and bridge openings.
But the usual first-time glitches could not all be avoided. A bag containing the entry fee money was misplaced and sat untouched atop a parked car for a while during the race, without being lost. Because of the large number of runners, there was a traffic jam at the finish line.
Fannin was busy managing the event and didn’t run in his own race for about 10 years.
When the newspaper sought too much control over the event Fannin demurred, and new sponsors were found after the first year. Eventually, Gate Petroleum, whose CEO Herb Peyton is a running and exercise enthusiast, became a long-term sponsor.
Fannin’s son and two daughters also became long-distance runners, but he has slowed down a bit at 85. His post-retirement exercise generally consists of plodding on a treadmill or catching fish from the dock behind his house.
