Featured Athlete: Jessica (Sorry!) Kehoe

* Name: Jessica (Sorry!) Kehoe
* Website:
* Age: 36

* What is your day job, and do you have other hobbies?:
By day I am a Registered Nurse on a very chaotic all-male (mostly) psych unit where I break up fist fights, sprint down hallways to chase the wanderers, and give hugs when needed.  I am also finishing up my BSN at UMass Boston and just signed up for an art class at a local fine arts school to tap back into my creative side.  Oh, and did I mention that my time is also taken up by a 13 year old mini-me?
I am also a swing dancer and have been dancing off and on for about 10 years.  In the last year I haven’t been dancing much but every time I hear an old tune I am just itching to get out on a dance floor!

* When did you start obstacle course racing? Tell us about your first race
My first OCR was the Ruckus Fearless Fall 5k in November of 2012.  I had been interested in these types of races for a while, as some of my friends across the country were doing them, but never had the courage to actually sign up for one.  That is, until my boyfriend Robert (aka Bonzilla) nudged me to try Ruckus.  It was cold and I was nervous but I had a ridiculous amount of fun.  The obstacles were fairly easy and the terrain mostly flat so it was a great introductory course.  I was hooked!

* What was your biggest accomplishment at an obstacle course race? What made it your biggest accomplishment (overcame a fear, injury, disability etc?)
So far my biggest accomplishment during a race was getting to the top of the rope climb during the Hurricane Heat at the Spartan Sprint in August.  I had struggled with that damn thing every time I tried it and always failed.  I am also terrified of heights so being up top makes me start to panic a bit.  Despite my fears, now I look forward to the rope climb at races.  There’s no guarantee that I will be able to reach the top but there’s no way I will walk away without trying.

* What attracts you to obstacle course races? Why do you keep coming back?

* What are your training and/or diet routines? Do you have other athletic pursuits?
My training routine goes something like this:  Run a few days a week in the Arboretum in JP/Roslindale (about 10-20 miles a week) and maybe a long run in the Blue Hills, do pull ups in my house, and throw some burpees in occasionally.  I am trying to be more deliberate about training to see some different results, as this is all still new to me, but my current job not not allow a regular schedule.
I don’t do anything special diet-wise.  I generally stay away from red meat, fast food, and soda.  I make mostly vegetarian/pescatarian meals at home and love cooking in general.  I do have a tendency to eat quite a bit but I am on my feet all day for work so I burn a ton of calories.

* Were you always athletic? If not, what athletic changes have you made to keep up the obstacle course race lifestyle?
I was always Athlet-ish.  I loved playing sports when I was younger, and was pretty good at most of them, but I never excelled at one in particular.  The sport I was best at was Volleyball, which I played for 6 years.  It remains my favorite sport to this day.
To keep up this OCR lifestyle I have had to make the biggest change: Becoming a runner.  I LOATHED running for nearly my entire life.  I only really started in late October of 2012, and I just started to enjoy it around February.  Now it is something that has a very therapeutic effect on me and I really value my time on the trails and road.

* Who, alive or dead, would you invite to run an obstacle course race with you?
I would love for my 13 year old daughter to do a race with me.  She and I have been through so much together and I think that this kind of race would bond us even more.  She has shown some interest and has even started going on runs with me during the week.  In January she impressed me quite a bit when she completed a winter trail 10k just minutes behind me.  Now I have to get her to climb some ropes and jump over walls…

* Tell us a fun fact about yourself that we may not know!
I have an identical twin sister!  Someday I hope to get her out on a course with me.

* What are your goals? Next race, next season … what’s in your future?
I have one main goal for 2013 and that is to complete a trifecta.  I had never even done a Spartan race but when I saw that you could get a special medal for completing the 3 races I was sold!  I am actually terrified of the Beast but I am really looking forward to conquering my fear.  I am not going to run it competitively but just plan on making it to the finish line.
I think next year I want to train more deliberately on the trails and possibly work toward an ultra.