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FOLEY – It has been 3 years since Graham Creek Nature Preserve has hosted a Creek Crawl. This year, the team is bringing it back to close out the 2017 fall event season at the center, after being asked by the public to resume the event. Response came both locally and from afar.

“We already have 100 registered runners at this point and we’re two weeks out,” said Leslie Gahagan, environmental manager. “We anticipated about 150, and right now we have at least 25 that are over 2 hours away registered. We’re pulling from Mississippi and Florida, and we didn’t expect that.”

This will be the last calendar event taking place at Graham Creek for fall, with the next calendar event taking place when archery returns to the center during 2018.

The Creek Crawl is a 4-mile race course, where participants get to crawl, climb, and run through 400 acres of trails. Over 12 obstacles will be placed along the course to test agility, strength, and endurance, as the racers will overcome obstacles, jump, and of course, get a little muddy as they race towards the finish line. The course leads up to the grand finale: 25-yards of water to crawl through at the end of the course. The Preserve team states that runners may bypass the water and add an additional mile to their course. Participants must be 10 years old or older on race day.

Water will be available at certain points along the course, and the preserve asks that participants arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of the race for instructions. There will also be outside showers and hoses available for after-race cleanup.

The race begins at 8 a.m., and food and drink tickets will be redeemable starting at 9:30 a.m. Every racer 21 or older with a valid ID will be given a beer ticket to redeem. There will be an award ceremony at 10:30 a.m., with awards going to the top three males and females.

Those who wish to run in the Creek Crawl can register online at www.Active.com, or at Sports-N-More on Nov. 17 from 3-6 p.m., or onsite Nov. 18 by 7:45 a.m. A registration fee is required.

All proceeds benefit the educational programs at Graham Creek Nature Preserve.

For more information, contact Leslie Gahagan at lgahagan@cityoffoley.org, or check out Graham Creek’s website at GrahamCreekPreserve.org.