Annual run raises

funds for BFD fire-

fighter scholarship

     BLOUNTSTOWN, FL – Nearly 150 runners crossed the starting line of the 12th Annual Blountstown Fire Department Catfish Crawl 5K Race this past Saturday, Nov. 9.

      Runners, walkers and crawlers from the Tri-State area and as far away as New York, Nevada and California came to run our greenway and help raise money for the BFD Scholarship Fund, which provides an all expenses paid scholarship to fire academy for a BHS graduating senior.

     For the third year in a row, Leonardo Canete was the men’s champion, running the 3.1 mile course in 17:42.

     Stephanie Lines-Weyant bested the women’s field for the second year in a row with a time of 19:40.

     “Catfish Crawl has really turned in to a regional event.  We are on the Gulf Winds Track Club Grand Prix points schedule, which brings runners from the Tallahassee area.  We also bring runners from Panama City, South Georgia, Dothan and we even had a family from New York who were visiting th beaches and came to Blountstown to run with us!” says Fire Chief Ben Hall, who has organized and directed the race for the past 13 years.

     “I really have to thank not only our runners, but also our great sponsors and our awesome crew of volunteers, who are mostly members of BFD and their families.”

     A new award for this year was the Lt. Col. Heber Meeks Top Finishing Veteran Award, named for US Army Veteran and runner Heber Meeks, who tragically passed away shortly after crossing the 2023 Catfish Crawl finish line.  Dominic Milner earned the award for this first year.

     Complete race results can be found at www.catfishcrawl.itsyourrace.com  Mark your calendars for November 8, 2025 for the 13th Almost Annual Catfish Crawl!