The fastest 10K ever run on Key Biscayne's Lighthouse Run course is 29 minutes and 35 seconds, and it has stood since 1982. Runners get another shot at it on Saturday, Nov. 14, when the 49th annual Key Biscayne Lighthouse Run starts and finishes near the base of the Cape Florida Lighthouse in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Registration is open now at $40 for either the 10K or the 5K.

The 10K starts at 7:40 a.m. and the 5K run and walk follows at 7:50 a.m. Both routes wind through the state park's trails and then out onto the streets of the Village of Key Biscayne before returning to the lighthouse.

Records that have outlasted decades

The race keeps course records going back to 1979, and it splits them two ways: open records for anyone who has run it, and separate records for Key Biscayne residents. Several of the marks posted on the race's site are more than 40 years old.

  • Men's 10K, open: Benji Durden, 29:35, set in 1982
  • Women's 10K, open: Darien Andreu, 34:49, also from 1982
  • Men's 10K, Key Biscayne resident: Mike Mahoney, 32:30, from 1984
  • Women's 10K, Key Biscayne resident: Lisa Dorfman, 39:30, from 2000
  • Men's 5K, open: Ronni Holassie, 15:25, from 2002
  • Women's 5K, open: Sanya Davis, 17:41, from 1994

One name turns up again and again in the age-group tables. Bill Springer holds four of the men's 10K open age-group records, set in 1986, 1999, 2006 and 2010, covering every bracket from 50 to 54 through 70 and over except one. The race also lists a wheelchair record in the men's 10K, 30:54 by Ted Bridis in 2000.

There is one gap in the books. A problem with the timing software in 2014 meant no race records were kept that year.

Who can win what

Plaques and gift certificates go to the top male and female finishers overall and the top male and female Key Biscayne finishers in each race. Those winners are left out of the age-group standings, which award medals to the top three open finishers and the top island finisher in every age group. Every runner who crosses the line gets a finisher's medal.

The 5K has age groups for 8 and under, 9 to 11 and 12 to 14, so children can compete in their own brackets. The 10K starts at 14 and under. Both races then run in five-year groups from 15 to 69, with a 70 and over group at the top.

The 10K is a running race only, with a time limit of one hour and 20 minutes. Walkers are welcome in the 5K, though walkers are not judged separately and only win awards if they place in their age group.

After the finish

Runners get free admission to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park on race day and may stay in the park for the rest of the day. The post-race party includes complimentary massages for runners, food, water, adult beverages and music.

The race gives its net profits to local groups and causes whose members volunteer on race day. The list on the race's site includes KB Presbyterian School, the KB Soccer Club, the KB Rugby Club, the Key Biscayne Girl Scouts, Academy Athletics, the Michael Rides On Foundation, iPads for Soldiers, the Michael Schultz Memorial Fund, the Eileen McCaughan Memorial Fund and the Dr. Robert Kemper Award for Professionalism in Medicine Scholarship Fund. The Key Biscayne Community Foundation is among its sponsors, and the Village of Key Biscayne carries the race on its community calendar.

How to sign up and get there

Registration is online only through the race's RunSignup page and closes at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13. There is no registration on race day. The fee is $40 for the 5K or the 10K.

Packet pickup, with race numbers and T-shirts, runs Wednesday, Nov. 11 through Friday, Nov. 13, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Key Biscayne Community Center, 10 Village Green Way. Packets that are not collected there will be handed out at the park starting at 6:15 a.m. on race morning.

Plan the drive carefully. The park entrance at 1200 S. Crandon Blvd. opens at 6:15 a.m. on race day and closes to race traffic at 7:15 a.m., and parking attendants direct cars to open spaces. Drivers coming from the mainland pay the Rickenbacker Causeway toll, listed by the race at $2.25.

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