Runners hit the road in 2018 Ross Bridge 8K to aid Alabama Teen Challenge
About 125 runners and walkers took to the streets in Ross Bridge Saturday morning for the 10th annual Ross Bridge 8K & Health Expo.
The event was a fundraiser for Alabama Teen Challenge, which provides residential low-cost drug and alcohol recovery programs for people of all ages. All proceeds went to the organization’s women’s training center in Hayden.
Turnout was much lower than last year, when about 360 runners participated, said Rachel Roberts, an Alabama Teen Challenge life coach who served as race director. However, this year’s event raised more than $20,000, which was about $3,000 more than last year, because of generous sponsors, Roberts said. Only about $3,000 came from race registration, she said.
The 4.97-mile race began in the Ross Bridge Village Center, and wound through numerous neighborhoods in the Ross Bridge community, including some trails, before finishing back at the village center.
James Lawson, a 26-year-old resident in the Ashby at Ross Bridge apartments, was the top finisher in the race, with a time of 30 minutes, 54 seconds. Lawson, who is pursuing a doctorate degree in accounting from the University of Alabama, said he moved to Hoover two years ago from North Carolina, and this was his third time to run the Ross Bridge 8K, but his first time to win it.
“It’s a great race,” he said. “There’s definitely a great running community in the Birmingham area, which is nice.”
Elizabeth Stacey, 34, another Ross Bridge resident, was the top female finisher, with a time of 35 minutes, 13 seconds.
The Health Expo was held on the grassy area in the village center along Ross Bridge Parkway and included organizations such as Advocare, Fleet Feet Sports, Ultimate Edge Sports Medicine, American Family Care, Gardendale First Baptist Church and the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation. City Bowls and Urban Pops had treats for sale as well.