Great Alabama 650 paddlers depart Saturday from Weiss Lake
Twenty-three paddlers — 15 solo and four two-person teams — will depart at 10 a.m. on Saturday from Weiss Lake in Cherokee County on the fifth annual Great Alabama 650.
It’s the longest paddle race in the United States, according to organizers with the Alabama Scenic River Trail. The course is made up of the core of that trail’s network, which runs from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.
The race covers 650 miles, 10% of that network, and will take participants through riverfront cities such as Gadsden, Pell City, Wetumpka, Montgomery, Selma and Fairhope. Competitors will likely encounter whitewater conditions and difficult currents, and will have to negotiate around nine dams.
Locally, they’ll move through Centre, Cedar Bluff, Leesburg, Gadsden, Rainbow City and Southside, before heading south into Calhoun and St. Clair counties.
There are checkpoints at Coosa River Adventures in Wetumpka (8 p.m. Oct. 3 cutoff) and at Miller’s Ferry Campground near Camden (10 a.m. Oct. 6 cutoff).
Between those, the participants will move through Montgomery and Selma, then through more rural areas like Gees Bend. They’ll then head through places like Lower Peach Tree and Claiborne, before the final stretch from Stockton to Spanish Fort, Fairhope and the end point at Fort Morgan in Baldwin County.
Participants have 10 days to reach the finish line, but past winners have easily beat that deadline.
They are allowed to use kayaks, canoes or stand-up paddleboards and can interchange them during the race.
“We don't confine racers to one type of craft because we have such a variety of water," race director Greg Wingo said in a news release. “This means that it really comes down to the type of individual rather than the type of boat used.”
The record times were all established in 2021. Paul Cox and Joe Mann set the overall and team marks of four days, 17 hours and 2 minutes in claiming their second straight overall triumph. Salli O’Donnell, who placed third overall (and has competed in the Yukon 1,000, the world’s longest canoe race), posted the top women’s solo time of four days, 22 hours and 39 minutes. Fourth-place finisher West Hansen owns the men’s solo mark of five days, 19 hours and 9 minutes.
O’Donnell, a retired Army officer from Virginia, is back for the fifth straight race. She placed second overall in 2019 and 2022 and posted another third-place finish in 2020.
Also back is defending overall champion Bobby Johnson of Dunedin, Florida, who also won the inaugural event in 2019 and was second in both 2020 and, in a team with Rod Price, 2021.
They’ll be competing for the top prize of $2,000 in each division: men’s and women’s solo, and team.
A live map offering immediate updates on each participant’s progress will be posted during the race at https://bit.ly/3tabF6J. There are also official Facebook (https://bit.ly/3Pxx9lC) and Instagram (https://bit.ly/3PCxfbk) pages for the event.
According to its website, the Alabama Scenic River Trail seeks to create, improve and promote Alabama’s river trails; to connect adventurers with opportunities to explore and appreciate the state's waterways; and to promote safe, fun, and welcoming paddling experiences. Visit www.alabamascenicrivertrail.com for more information.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Fifth annual Great Alabama 650 paddle race starts Sept. 30
