LIFE LIST UPDATE – No. 550: Run the Alligator Trot 5K in Florala

18th Annual Alligator Trot 5K in Florala, Ala.

I crossed another item off my “life list” on Saturday when I ran in the Alligator Trot 5K race in Florala, Ala.

The Alligator Trot is one of the most unique footraces you’ll ever run in, and I’ve had it on my “life list” ever since the day that I first heard about it. If you enjoy running, I highly recommend that you participate in this event.

One of the things that makes the Alligator Trot 5K so unique is that it actually takes place in two states. The 3.1-mile race begins in Alabama at Florala State Park proceeds around Lake Jackson into Florida before reentering Alabama for the finish line at Florala State Park. I’d venture to say that very few footraces, if any, take you into more than one state. They’re probably aren’t any that take place in Alabama and Florida like the Alligator Trot.

This year’s Alligator Trot 5K Race & Walk marked the 18th year of the event, which is held annually in conjunction with Florala’s annual Masonic Celebration. The race began a few minutes after 8 a.m. at the intersection of Third Avenue and Third Street in Florala, which is just off one of the parking lots at Florala State Park. Runners continued down Third Street and entered Florida about half a mile later.

Once in Florida, the race course turns left onto Lake Road, which runners take around Lake Jackson and back into Alabama. When runners cross back into Alabama, the road becomes Lake Shore Boulevard. Runners continue down Lake Shore Boulevard until they reach the finish line, which was just past the intersection of Lake Shore Boulevard and Tenth Street.

A fair number of people took part in Saturday’s race. A total of 225 registered for the event, and 217 crossed the finish line. As of Monday morning, the official race results haven’t been posted, but it appears that the overall male winner finished the race in 17:11, and the overall female winner completed the race in 18:47. (I finished in 25:53, which was my slowest 5K finish in over three years.) For more information about the Alligator Trot, visit its official Web site at www.alligatortrot.com.

As you would expect for a race in late June on the Alabama-Florida line, Saturday’s race was hot and humid, which is why during pre-race announcements organizers encouraged everyone to sign up for the annual Cancer Freeze 5K. Next year’s Cancer Freeze will be the third annual running of that race, which is also held at Florala State Park and follows the same route as the Alligator Trot. Held the first weekend in February, that race raises money for local cancer patients.

In the end, I enjoyed scratching another item off my “life list.” How many of you out there have ever ran the Alligator Trot 5K in Florala? What did you think about it? Do you know of any other unique races like this one? Let us know in the comments section below.

(And remember, the whole point of these life list updates isn’t to draw attention to myself or to anything that I’ve done. Instead, my aim is to encourage others to accomplish their own life list or bucket list goals. I’m just an average guy, and if I can do some of these things, so can you, so get up off the couch and get going.)