Remembering Keys 100

With Rocky Raccoon 100 complete, the next morning I was eating breakfast in the hotel lobby. I got to talking with a guy name Scott D’Angello, his crew member Jen Vogel and a couple of his other friends. After talking about RR100 and swapping war stories, they mentioned that in May there is a race down in the Florida Keys and that I should swing down and run it.  I told them I would check it out and maybe see them down there.  It was a very pleasant conversation.

With some investigation, I found the race he was talking about: the Keys 100 Mile.  I liked the course description especially the part about it being hot and that its nickname was the “Little Badwater”. Since I wanted to do the real Badwater 135 some day this would be good practice and also help me learn to deal with extreme heat. 

Ryan Stimers: Team Irvan crew mate .

So in mid May, Denise and I traveled to Key Largo, Florida where the Keys 100 Mile road race was set to start. After arriving late to our very nice hotel (Denise got an amazing bargain), we unpacked and went to sleep.  The next morning we meet up with our friend Ryan Stimers, a local wire artist who works at the Mallory Square Sunset Celebration in Key West. He was going to help Denise with crewing duties.  

Unlike other ultra-races we have done, this one was point to point and also self-crewed.  This meant that there were no aid stations along the way and you must provide your own support. Denise and Ryan would be following me along Route 1 all the way to Key West. In other races crews got a break, but not this one. When the race meeting, packet pick-up and pre-race planning was complete, we all went to sleep. The next day would be a long one.

Once we were up, we finished packing the car, with supplies including lots of ice. It was going to be hot. Real hot! We drove over to the starting area which was along route 1 in Key Largo for the 6 AM start.  This race had a lot going on with 100 milers, 50 milers and relay teams all out on the course all day.  It was dark and the sun had not yet risen. I was ready to race and travel down to Key West with Denise and Ryan’s help. As the gun went off all crews sprinted to their vehicles.  I saw that Jen Vogel was running in this race so when I saw her at the pre-race meeting I planned on pacing out with her for at least the first half of the race. As far as my crew was concerned, our plan was fairly basic. They would pogo ahead every 2 miles to make sure I had enough food, water, clothing and other supplies that I needed.

Keys 6AM start

The race went smoothly. Every two miles I would see Denise and Ryan and they would give me a new water bottle full of Gatorade or new gel flasks as I asked for them.  Iced towels, dry shirts, more suntan lotion, more food, my crew was doing a great job! I use a 13 and 2 strategy when I race any distance 100 miles or more. This means I run for 13 minutes and race walk for 2 minutes.  This helps keep my legs fresh and prevent lactic acid from building up in my muscles.  Once 10 am hit, I switched to my long-sleeved Rail Riders Eco-Mesh shirt which would give me better protection from the blazing sun overhead.  I also had a running hat with a neck cape when I started the race. What life savers these pieces of clothing were.

Denise and Ryan were busy planning stopping points and preparing future supplies for me while I continued to run.  They even had to cross the highway in order to get to me on some occasions risking their own lives. Route 1 is a bit crazy to drive down let alone run along side.  Crossing it could be deadly. I ran with Jen Vogel for a long time. Back and forth we went. As we raced the day was getting hotter.  I kept taking my salt tablets and making sure I stayed hydrated, but it was tough.  At one point Jen collapsed on the ground. The heat was affecting us both. I hope she was going to be okay. I found out later that her crew had her lay down and they put ice bags on her to help cool her down.  It worked like a charm, because she flew past me when I was taking a bathroom pit stop.

Islamorada, Layton, Long Key, and Duck Key, we passed through all of these little towns and communities all the while heading to a town called Marathon. I thought  “How appropriate”.  Once we got to the Marathon mandatory check-in me and my team were half way through the race.  The folks at the check-in table commented on how fresh I still looked.  I didn’t feel so fresh and with the sun blazing overhead I really had to manage my fluid intake much better.  With Jen Vogel long gone and feeling weary after a long first half of the race complete, I needed to regroup. We stopped at a small rest stop and visitor center in Knights Key.  I had a chance to use a real bathroom and get out of the sun for a moment. Sitting outside on a bench for a moment after the bathroom break I assessed the damage to my feet so far. I had two blisters forming under the balls of my feet. They were deep and tough to get to with a pin.  I choose to leave them alone and change shoes and socks and put more powder on my feet to keep them dry.  I was really wet from all the water and ice I was using to stay cool. It was at this point I needed to change from using my water bottle belt to using my Nathan’s Water backpack. 

Denise peruses the course map.

With 47 miles to go I needed to cross the 7 Mile bridge. Denise and Ryan would not be able to get to me and I knew it would take me more than an hour to cross the bridge.  This would give them a chance to eat a real meal and have a break while I crossed 7 miles worth of dangerous highway.  Before I get into how dangerous crossing this bridge was I want to comment on how beautiful the entire race was especially when crossing bridges. I could see miles of crystal, blue, green water, palm trees and other amazing sights that I never saw before on a run like this. Truly inspiring!  

Now back to the dangerous crossing. With only 3 feet of narrow shoulder to run on and cars, trucks and motorcycles whizzing on past me at 50 plus miles an hour, I was worried about being hit. This is the only bridge that crosses this section of ocean and it is only one lane each. One going south and one going north.  At one point an impatient driver of a black Ford F250 came up from behind me to pass slower cars and nearly hit me.  There were only a few people on this bridge making the crossing and I wanted to be off the bridge as soon as possible!  About halfway across nature was calling. I had to pee and badly!  This was no time to be shy and the amount of liquid I was consuming didn’t help matters.  I turned to face the cement barrier before me, turned my back to on coming traffic and did what I had to do. Not very subtle and I got a few honks, but I felt better. I caught up to to another runner on the bridge. A woman wearing purple running clothes and her pacer.  She looked horrible. Glassy eyed and not all there. I felt bad for her as I went by.

Thankfully Denise and Ryan were waiting for me at the end of the bridge with dry clothes, my water bottle belt and my lights for night time running. We had 40 miles left and I was starting to feel the strain of running in the heat all day.  I was glad the sun was going down even though the humidity didn’t let up.  The sunset was beautiful, but I knew that would be the last of that. Nothing but darkness ahead.

Denise and Ryan still kept me motivated and helped me though the night even though they to were starting to tire. Our ice supplies ran out a number of times during the day and they had to keep stopping to replenish. At the 70 mile mark my stomach had it. I threw up in the bushes.  After that my neck cramped up and I had to stop to work out the kink. That was the first time I ever puked in an ultra. Not pleasant! Not pleasant indeed. I was slowing down. Through the night I ran, but it was getting tough. I was hurting and the heat of the day beat me up pretty good. 

The last 16 miles was much harder than I anticipated. My blisters on the bottoms of my feet were much worse and I still couldn’t gain relief by draining them with a needle. So for the most part I race walked and occasionally ran when I could much of the last portion of the race.  My feet felt like someone was taking a hot knife and stabbing them with it.  Once I got to the Keys I had about 4 miles along Roosevelt Blvd.  I could see the lights of the finish off in the distance and I wanted to be finished so bad. My body was also suffering from being sunburned. Although my upper part of my body was protected my legs only were protected by sun screen. Even with some reapplication it wasn’t enough. Blisters had formed on the tops of my thighs and made my legs sore to the touch.

I saw my crew one last time on this stretch and they wished me good luck and I would see them at the finish line. Once I had the finish line in sight I picked up the pace and ran across it with a finish time of 21:52:20 and placed 7th overall.  I sat on the nearby concrete wall admiring my belt buckle award and ate some fried chicken provided by the race organizers.  I smiled and kissed my wife Denise.  Ryan got some ice bags to help me cool down from the event. Later I hobbled to the car and we went back to Ryan’s house for a well-deserved rest.

Josh, Denise & Ryan eat good meal after a tough Keys.

The next morning my crew and I went to a restaurant and debriefed about the race.  It was a good effort by all and a lot of fun. My crew was awesome and helped me accomplish the goal. I learned a lot about running in the heat which will help me in my future races and my goal of running the Badwater 135. Just to let you know Jen Vogel got 2nd over all.

Some things I should have done differently during the race:

1. Change my socks and shoes more often.
2. Figure out a more effective way to drain blister forming deep under the skin
3. Wear white, light weight running pants during the day to prevent sun poisoning on my legs.
4. Find some other strategies to deal with nausea other than my standard (ginger ale, pepsi, or Pepto)