Carmichael and Holt lead the stampede at Critter Run

Since the inception of the race in 1986, Dothan, Alabama's Critter Run 5K has become a summer distance running fixture in the southeast Alabama / southwest Georgia / northwest Florida tri-state area. Each year the race features a different animal; the "critter" for the 27th annual race on 28 July 2012 was the giraffe. Aside from accumulating a menagerie over nearly three decades, in recent years the Critter Run has been establishing a tradition of tight races. The close finishes started in the 2009 race with Andrew Norton edging out Charlie Johnson 17:13 to 17:18. In 2010 Tommy Heikkinen ran 17:14 to finish just ahead of Brandon Hough's 17:17. Challen Hyman's 2011 winning time of 18:00 just beat runner-up Chase Harris' 18:08.


Pensacola's Caleb Carmichael, a University of West Florida cross-country coach, had witnessed two of those close finishes from behind, finishing 5th (18:50) in 2010 and third (18:20). In 2012 Carmichael was ready to be part of the story.


But in the Saturday evening race, Tallahassee triathlete Charlie Johnson, the 2009 runner-up, took the lead. Carmichael trailed Johnson until the final climb up Whately Drive toward the finish in Westgate Park, where Carmichael decided it was his last chance to make a move. He closed the gap. With less than 200 meters to go, Johnson and Carmichael were running shoulder to shoulder going up Whately. Then the coach pulled away. Carmichael turned into Westgate Park with the lead, then crossed the finish line with his own close victory, 16:56 to 17:03 over Johnson. David Seymour of Enterprise, Alabama trailed the two over the line in 18:16, and Tallahassee's Sean Hudson grabbed the top master spot, finishing fourth in 18:29.


200 meters out from the finish, Tallahassee's Sandy Holt was just a few steps ahead of Kim Likens, but Holt widened the gap before the end of the race, beating Likens 22:46 to 22:57. Tallahassee's Likens was the fastest master woman in the race, finishing ahead of Blakely master runner Debbie Wittmer. Wittmer was the third woman overall, placing 40th in 23:09.


338 athletes finished the race.


Top Ten Men, 2012 Critter Run 5K

1. 16:56 ~ Caleb Carmichael (M, 28) Pensacola, FL
2. 17:03 ~ Charlie Johnson (M, 32) Tallahassee, FL
3. 18:16 ~ David Seymour (M, 24) Enterprise, AL
4. 18:29 ~ Sean Hudson (M, 42) Tallahassee, FL
5. 18:53 ~ Eric Godin (M, 28) Tallahassee, FL
6. 19:04 ~ Myles Gibson (M, 46) Donalsonville, GA
7. 19:14 ~ Brian Johnson (M, 38) Atlanta, GA
8. 19:14 ~ John Rotella (M, 34) Roswell, GA
9. 19:35 ~ Tim Unger (M, 52) Tallahassee, FL
10. 19:57 ~ Timothy Teat (M, 27) Daleville, AL

Top Ten Women, 2012 Critter Run 5K

1. 22:46 ~ Sandy Holt (F, 26) Tallahassee, FL
2. 22:57 ~ Kim Likens (F, 44) Tallahassee, FL
3. 23:09 ~ Debbie Wittmer (F, 49) Blakely, GA
4. 23:55 ~ Kimberly Tompkins (F, 24) Enterprise, AL
5. 24:10 ~ Ami Heath (F, 26) Dothan, AL
6. 24:11 ~ Carla McDonald (F, 34) Tallahassee, FL
7. 24:18 ~ Jamie Harris (F, 35) Tallahassee, FL
8. 24:22 ~ Val Lichner (F, 53) Bonifay, FL
9. 24:25 ~ Caroline Levesque (F, 51) Ft. Walton Bch, FL
10. 24:30 ~ Chynna Dulac (F, 23) Dothan, AL

Critter Run Champions and Critters, 1986-2012
Date	Men	Women	Critters
26 July 1986	15:49 Tom Graves	18:00 Gail Ogle	Moose
25 July 1987	15:26 Tom Graves	17:57 Carrie Boyd	Panda
30 July 1988	15:19 John DeVine	18:27 Judy Weisel	Raccoon
29 July 1989	16:02 Brad Sable	19:17 Jill Faulkner	Beaver
21 July 1990	15:08 David Keen	18:56 Janice Hochstein	Gorilla
20 July 1991	15:54 Matt Parker	18:40 Connie Robertson	Alligator
18 July 1992	16:50 Myles Gibson	19:26 Cindy Cobb	Rabbit
24 July 1993	15:50 Matthew Dobson	20:17 Lou Ellen Eaddy	Koala
23 July 1994	16:34 Sam Graves	20:06 Cindy Cobb	Fox
22 July 1995	15:50 Gary Droze	18:19 Sarah Kramer	Iguana
20 July 1996	16:31 Clayton Tillery	17:08 Suzanne Rigg	Pelican
19 July 1997	15:58 John Detro	18:57 Kelly Wild	Angus Bull
18 July 1998	16:45 Brandon Britton	18:43 Connie Robertson	Shark
24 July 1999	16:28 David Parker	19:02 Anna Pichrtova	Armadillo
22 July 2000	16:50 James Frazier	21:05 Terri Gray	Killer Whale
21 July 2001	15:57 Matthew Dobson	22:22 Jeanne Kenady	Bull Frog
20 July 2002	16:15 James Frazier	20:27 Karen Kenney	Tortoise
19 July 2003	16:31 Mike Lilly	21:20 Taylor Heaton	Barn Owl
24 July 2004	17:08 Ted Leblow	20:01 Kelly Wild	Zebra
16 July 2005	17:19 Sean O'Donnell	21:13 Kim Likens	Menagerie
22 July 2006	16:24 Matthew Dobson	22:13 Kim Likens	Cheetah
21 July 2007	16:48 Andrew Norton	21:30 Liesel Schmidt	Flamingo
19 July 2008	16:05 James Uthmeier	20:26 Liesel Schmidt	Penguin
18 July 2009	17:13 Andrew Norton	19:15 Kara Taylor	Elephant
24 July 2010	17:14 Thomas Heikkinen	19:42 Shannon Coates	Polar Bear
23 July 2011	18:00 Challen Hyman	19:05 Shannon Coates	Orangutan
28 July 2012	16:56 Caleb Carmichael	22:46 Sandy Holt	Giraffe

Links:

• Complete results of the 2012 Critter Run 5K at dothanrunners.com
  http://dothanrunners.com/2012critterrunresults.htm
  
  
• More photos of the 2012 Critter Run 5K.
  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10102168080111923.3371704.5215641&l=c3c7dfb6a0
  
  
• 2011 story, "Hyman wins and Coates repeats at 2011 Critter Run"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/07/critter-2011.html
  
  
• 2010 story, "Heikkinen and Coates are Critter Winners"
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/07/critter-2010.html
  
  
• USATF course certification map for the Critter Run 5K (AL86003JD)
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=AL86003JD
  
  
• Hosts of the Critter Run 5K, the Dothan Runners
  http://dothanrunners.com/
  
  
• Find more races in the Tallahassee region and the tri-state area
  http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1