ONLY ON 8: Female and male solo winners reach finish line in the Great Alabama 650
A lot of action took place on Day 8 of the Great Alabama 650.
Just before 9:00 a.m., Florida native Salli O’Donnell made it to Fort Morgan to claim her 6th title in the female solo category of the country’s longest paddle race.
O’Donnell finished the 650-mile competition in 6 days, 17 hours and 53 minutes.
About seven hours later, Arizona native Christopher Thomas captured his win in the male solo category.
It took Thomas 7 days and 51 minutes to take home the division.
Thomas and Missouri native Jake VanLue were neck and neck for a good portion of the race, but VanLue stalled some in the Mobile Bay allowing Thomas to pull away.
VanLue finished roughly two hours after Thomas to take home second place in the male solo category.
Later that evening, Mississippi natives Jeb Berry and Susan Jordan made it to Fort Morgan to claim third in the two-person tandem team category.
There are still seven paddlers working their way to the finish line.
As Action 8 reported earlier this week, two two-person tandem teams with Alabama ties, Matt Taylor and Bobby Johnson, along with Trey Reaves and John Wellens, finished first and second, respectively.
The annual paddle race started Saturday at Weiss Lake in Northeast Alabama.
Action 8 News partnered with the Alabama Scenic River Trail to bring you exclusive coverage of the annual event.
Spectators can follow virtually at AL650.com, where a live map will report up-to-the minute updates on the racer’s progress.
In addition, this year’s event features an app where you can follow along using your mobile device.
To download the app, search Endurance HQ in the Apple and Google Play stores. The username for the app is “alabama650@trailrunnerhq.com” and the password is “Alabama650!” The password is case-sensitive.
For more information, click here.
