Lear Runs 100 Miles in Key West Marathon

CAPE MAY — Chris Lear ran and he ran and he ran, day and night for 100 miles over bridges, past the steamy marshes and under the palm trees of the Florida Keys.
Lear, 22, formerly of Cape May, a graduate of Cape Christian Academy and Rutgers University, entered a 100 mile ultra marathon from Key Largo to Key West May 15-16 and competed the grueling run in 27 hours, 15 minutes. He had just finished his college final exams days before and had a graduation ceremony to attend May 21.
As a senior at Rutgers in the sports management program, Lear interned during his final semester at Equinox Fitness Center in Manhattan.
His father, Cape May Police Lt. Chuck Lear and his mother Karen, followed along in a van as a chase vehicle for the entire event providing water, food and a second pair of shoes.
The race started at 6 a.m. in Key Largo and finished the following a day after 9 a.m. Lear ran all night. He saw the sun rise, set and rise again before he was finished.
What makes the feat of endurance more amazing is the fact that Lear had leukemia beginning at the age of two. He obviously has made a full recovery.
The Keys 100 was run along US Highway 1, known in the Florida Keys as “Overseas Highway,” until approximately the last three miles. The race benefited Prostate Cancer research.
Lear said he used a combination of running, walking and jogging over the course of 100 miles.
While 60 folks entered, he was one of 30 or so that finished. As one would imagine of the Florida Keys, it was hot and humid, in the mid 80s. He put a bag of ice in his hat during the heat of the day.
There were five and ten minute breaks and a couple of catnaps in the van, said Lear. At checkpoints, he cooled his feet in a bucket of ice.
He estimated he ran across 20 bridges including a seven-mile span where there was no walkway. The top of the bridge arched high in the air to accommodate a shipping channel below.
He munched on pizza, beef jerky, power gels and drank water with electrolyte tablets and carried three pounds of water in a fanny pack equipped with a flexible drinking tube.
By 4 a.m. with about 15 miles left to finish the race, he was experiencing deep pain from his legs and his feet were blistered.
It was more difficult to run alone during some portions of the race, said Lear. He ran alongside participant Robyn Flores for a period of time. Talking with her took his mind off the enormity of the event, he said.
Lear said he walked more than ran the final 25 miles but ran as fast a he could for the final quarter mile. After the race, he could barely walk. Recovery from the race took Lear two to three days, he said.
Lear ran a marathon two months before the Key West event and said he would like to run more including an event on trails in the Virginia Mountains and in Europe.
He participated in a number of races in the Cape May area including the Ocean Drive Marathon and Cape May Point races.
Lear has moved to Miami where his twin brother also resides and is working as a fitness trainer. He said running a long distance is a battle of mind over matter when it comes to dealing with leg and foot pain.