Meet Keely: Thrifter, Trail Runner, and LJW's Resident Wealth of Random Knowledge
Hello and welcome back to the LJW Mini Podcast! Today we're getting to know Miss Keely — a wealth of knowledge about all random things, country girl through and through, and now, apparently, a runner.
"There's a whole lot of thoughts and things up here."
We were warned.
The Thrifting Episode That Needs to Happen
Before the first question was even asked, the conversation had already arrived at thrifting — because that's how well the LJW community knows Keely.
"You already know that I love thrifting."
Leslie's prediction for the question submission form: "They're going to be like, 'Keely, how do I thrift?' And then you're going to be like, 'Let me tell you.'"
Which led to an idea that got floated — and is apparently now on the table.
"That could be an LJW event. Keely's running a thrifting event. Someone is watching this and they're like, 'Please do it.'"
"Yeah, we'll do a Google Form. We'll see how many bites we get."
Consider yourselves warned. Drop your vote in the comments.
Current Hobbies: Running and a Little Turkey Hunting
Keely recently started turkey hunting — though she's quick to clarify it hasn't fully earned the title of hobby yet.
"I can't really say it's a hobby because I'm not really good at it yet and I haven't really dug in."
Her biggest hobby right now is something she's taken much more seriously: running.
"I've recently got more into it. And it's fun doing it the right way, because I've been slowly building each week. Like the old me would have been like, 'Let's send it.'"
Old Keely learned that lesson the hard way.
"The first time I even did a half marathon, I only ran maybe three times and then went and I literally died. Like my body just shut down."
Now she builds deliberately — week over week, mile over mile. This past weekend she ran 16 miles for the first time ever, a night run.
"Afterwards I'm like, 'That's awesome. I think my body might actually be capable of more because I didn't just punish myself.'"
The Bali Hope Ultra — And Why It Got Her in Her Feels
Keely had been training for the Bali Hope Ultra, a race in Bali in November. Then on Monday evening — 8:30 p.m. — she got the news that it was no longer happening this year.
"Dang, I got really upset for crying. You know, imagine that, me crying. I was just really in my feels because it felt like all the training I had done was for nothing."
Why did this race matter so much to her?
"I originally got the opportunity to do the Bali Hope Ultra and I've been training for that. It's November. And then I'm a big feeler."
The race is the 10-year anniversary of the Bali Hope Foundation, a charity that works to fight child malnutrition in Bali. Families there are making a couple hundred dollars a month to feed a family. The money raised through the ultra goes directly to those villages.
"All the money that you fund raise on your team and in general, you're saving those villages. You get to go to the villages, meet the kids, all the lives that you're saving. When you're running across the islands of Bali, you're seeing all the villages that you've impacted. It's very spiritual."
"I just constantly watch the YouTube clips of it. It's 15 minutes long. I get such a high from one — the runner's high, but also knowing what I'm doing is not just for myself."
She wanted this race specifically because it represented something much bigger than fitness — a theme that runs through LJW too.
"That's what I really like about running and LJW. It's always a bigger impact than ourselves."
The Plan Going Forward
Rather than quit, Keely recalibrated. She's signed up for a local St. Joseph race to complete her first ultra — smart choice, given that the Bali race had 6,000 feet of elevation.
"For my first ultra, doing a 6,000-foot elevation hill — I'm not there yet, guys. Good old flat Missouri is not training you for that."
She tested the elevation waters this past weekend and hit 1,000 feet.
"I was huffing and puffing. You would have thought I smoked like a pack. The stair master is not prepping me for this."
The local St. Joe race has 200 feet of elevation. A much kinder starting point.
"I'm just going to be cruising."
And the Bali Hope Ultra is still on the calendar — just for next year, not this year.
"I'm excited for it. I have more time to prepare. That won't be till May. And then November, I get to do my first — do it the right way. Slow and steady."
A Note on Why She Really Wanted This
"I wanted to for the last year of my 20s do something hard. I remember I never thought I'd be able to do a HYROX. Lexi was like, 'Just try it.' And I was like, 'Okay.'"
She's also not taking good health for granted.
"I'm just grateful to have good health. I haven't always been like having good health."
Other Hobby: Rodeos
Keely is a country girl, and her newest obsession is rodeos — something she somehow never attended growing up, despite coming from a very small town.
"I can't believe I never went to rodeos, but I come from such a small town that a rodeo is not even possible."
Turns out there's one in the town over.
"It is really cool watching bull riding and just seeing people be really brave out there. I remember I was like, I don't know what to wear, and you look around — there's literally people of all walks of life. You can wear whatever you want as long as you got clothes on."
Ultras 101 — Because She's Very Excited You Asked
Keely could not have been more thrilled to break down ultra running for the uninitiated.
"Okay. Okay. I'm so glad you asked."
The key to finishing an ultra, especially a 50-miler? Pacing down, not pushing up.
"It's not about who's the fastest. You actually go very slow miles and build up for a 50-miler. If you play your cards right, you will be able to actually beat others who just get so anxious because the first 25 miles you just want to go, go — and then you're like, I've hit a wall. I went too fast. I got nothing left."
One Unorthodox Thing You're Grateful For
Without hesitation: toe socks.
"I'm very grateful for toe socks."
"These are my latest greatest. I know they're weird. I ran 16 miles on Saturday night and I don't have a single blister."
Keely made a compelling case that goes well beyond blisters.
"It's really good for your feet, your pelvic floor. The list goes on. But I really want to get the toe shoes — that'd be a little weird like wearing those with a dress and stuff, but I just care about longevity of feet."
Toe socks and toe shoes. Coming to an LJW event near you.
There's plenty more where this came from — Leslie confirmed Keely's episodes are going to be saved for other episodes because there is simply too much content.
"There's going to be lots of episodes."
Have a question for Keely or anyone on the LJW team? Drop it below.
Submit your question here: https://forms.gle/8j4upDAAuuH7sSi67
