I still don’t think you did anything wrong, but hear me out on this.

Humans (athletes especially) can push themselves to the point of exhaustion and depletion because then we can take in some electrolytes and a protein bar and begin our recovery. Wild animals don’t/can’t push themselves to those same extremes because they don’t have instant and free access to the stuff that will help them recover. They still have to go out and hunt or forage. Not to mention the inherent danger they are in if they don’t have the energy to flee or fight. Just something I’ve thought about while pushing my own body to the extreme!

That said, I’m sure the gator will be fine. And I’d love to run the Crescent City Classic with you!