Running 100 Miles in the Florida Keys
Keys 100 - My second 100-Mile Race
Oh yea, this has me written all over it.
Self-supported race, with beaches on both sides, run in 90+ degrees, heavy humidity, treacherous running environments, with lots of potential hazards and multiple possibilities for real danger…
Yummy.
I registered with enthusiasm.
But you love the trails, why run a road ultra?
I dunno really.
I do love the trails. Every ultramarathon I’ve run this year {2008} has been mountain trails and I enjoyed each and every one of them; but I’m interested in branching out in 2009, tossing in some ultramarathon variety.
I love ultrarunning and want to try everything that sounds cool to me. I want to taste all aspects of the sport from point-to-point races, to timed races, to trail races, to road races and everything in between.
You only live once, ya know.
Planning the 2009 Race Schedule - Some new, Some old
So far, 2009 is shaping up with three 100+ mile races.
- Across the Years - To ring in 2009, I’ll be running the 72-hour track race at ATY outside Phoenix, Arizona. My goal is to log 175 miles over the 72 hours. Will I sleep? Maybe not.
- Keys 100 - Simple enough. Start at the highway mile-marker 101 in Key Largo and keep running until you fall off the continent at the edge of Key West. I love it. Unique in many ways.
- Superior Sawtooth 100 - Quite simply the most difficult challenge I have ever encountered. Naturally, I must go back and do it again, right? This race changed me as a person in ‘08.
Now, of course, in between these 2009 marquee events, I’ll sprinkle in some 50-milers, 50Ks, the usual marathons, and lots of 5 & 10Ks. I’m certainly running the annual Peachtree Road Race, the ING Marathon, the Atlanta Marathon, the Sweetwater 50K, Mountain Mist 50K, Laurel Valley …and a bunch others, so if you’re down, come get your running groove on with me.
Need a place to stay in Georgia to run some local races? - hit me up - just make sure you’re ok with dogs, ’cause we got’em and they’re big ol’ boys and girls.
2009 is going to be a great year!
