Runners, walkers and ruckers will converge on Mt. Juliet High School next Saturday morning for the Run for Freedom, a race event built around raising money for survivors of sex trafficking. The City of Mt. Juliet promoted the event, which offers a half marathon, 10K, 5K and two ruck divisions, all starting at 9 a.m. on Nov. 14.
According to the event listing on RunSignup, the race is billed as the 4th Annual Run for Freedom, benefiting Rest Stop Ministries. The course begins and ends at Mt. Juliet High School, winding participants through the Greenway, Charlie Daniels Park and nearby neighborhoods, the listing states. Mt. Juliet High School sits at 1875 Golden Bear Gateway, per Wilson County Source.
The City of Mt. Juliet highlighted the race in a Facebook post published Friday, pointing residents toward registration ahead of the Nov. 14 start. Registration for all distances closes the morning of the race, at 8:35 a.m. CST, according to the same RunSignup listing.
Five Ways to Take Part, One Cause Behind Them
Participants can choose a half marathon, 10K, 5K, or one of two ruck options — a 10K ruck or a 5K ruck — the listing notes. Ruck participants over 150 pounds are asked to carry 20 pounds of dry weight, while those under 150 pounds carry 10 pounds, per the event's rules.
Every entry fee is described as supporting Rest Stop Ministries' work with survivors of sex trafficking and exploitation. The RunSignup page states that registration helps fund the organization's long-term residential program, workforce empowerment efforts and other supportive services for the women it serves.
What the Money Funds
Rest Stop Ministries serves adult female survivors of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation, founder Rondy Smith told the Lebanon Democrat. “Our core program is a long-term residential restoration program for these survivors,” Smith said. That program runs 18 months, with an optional six additional months in the ministry's transitional apartment, the newspaper reported.
The Lebanon Democrat's coverage of a prior running of the race found strong early momentum: as of one Tuesday morning that year, 222 people had registered and the event had raised roughly $10,000 for Rest Stop Ministries. An organizer told the paper at the time, “It's our first year, and it is going to be an annual thing” — a description that sits alongside the current listing's framing of this year's race as the 4th Annual Run for Freedom. A separate race-information page from halfmarathons.net states the event launched in 2023 as Mt. Juliet's first half marathon and returned in 2025.
Getting There and Registering
Runners hoping to lock in a specific race-shirt size should check the registration page directly, since available accounts list differing cutoff dates for guaranteeing sizing. Full registration details, course maps and distance options are posted on the Run for Freedom registration site.
