Event update with our Brand Ambassador Kat - who wouldn't want to head to Key West for a last minute trip to the beautiful Florida Keys!? Congrats to Kat who not only had a a ton of fun, but also took 1st place in the event for the women.
A last minute trip to Key West is always a good idea! Signed up Thursday, packed Friday, left Saturday and raced Sunday morning.
I signed up the moment I saw one of my friend’s Instagram stories featuring a race where you take a catamaran offshore and race back. How cool is that?!
To me, Race the Reef was one of the most unique, organized and cheapest races I’ve ever done. It’s put on by the Lazy Dog crew in Key West and just so well done! They also put on the famous Key West Classic race that takes you all the way around Key West.
The race was on Sunday, Sept. 9, but lets rewind to Saturday. They had an organized board drop off at 8:30 p.m. that night so you could secure your board on the catamaran. I actually waited to do this until early Sunday at 6 a.m. because I wanted to make sure others loading their boards didn’t damage mine. I didn’t hear of any boards getting damaged so that’s good! They did have a lot of foam noodles to help protect boards from hitting each other.
Sunday was race day! All 62 of us (plus, 2 dogs) arrived to the boat and we were all packed to head out at 6:30 a.m. SHARP! The boat ride was absolutely stunning. It was a great to chat with other racers, take some pics, and just enjoy a sunrise on the water. You also wanted to use this time to pick a landmark near the finish, which was at Higgs Beach.
When we got to the GREAT FLORIDA REEF, we helped each other toss our boards over the rails and jump off! It was so much fun! When we were all in the water, we linked arms and Lazy Dog lead a blessing. Then, it was time to race back to shore! We started a little after 8 a.m.
It was roughly 5.5 miles for us to shore. We waited for all racers to finish and then, enjoyed a delicious brunch followed by awards. We were done with everything around 11 a.m. so we had time to enjoy the rest of the day and head home. They also had transportation to take you to your cars.
So for just $50, you got:
- An hour catamaran boat ride at sunrise with breakfast
- An exhilarating jump off the boat
- A beautiful paddleboard session
- Brunch, with homemade banana bread (So good)
- A goodie bag with a hat, coozie, and lip balm
It was well worth the lack of sleep and long drive!
Happy paddling,