The Sea to Sea Expedition Race in Florida isn’t your standard start-to-finish adventure race — it’s a grueling journey designed to test the limits of all its participants.

Stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean, the Sea to Sea adventure race is anything but straightforward. Racers are required to navigate over 300 miles of rugged Florida terrain, from one coast to the other, using only a compass, a map, and their wits to get them to the finish line.

Keith, Jon, and Tyler — retired military veterans with over 40 years of combined service — decided to take up the challenge of The Sea to Sea Race as Guardian Champions and spent months rigorously training to ensure they were up to the task of tackling everything this race had to throw at them.

About Sea to Sea

The Sea to Sea Expedition Race is an adventure racing event that takes racers on a multi-day adventure from the Gulf of Mexico on the west coast of Florida to the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast.

The race covers a distance of over 300 miles and requires participants to navigate the rugged terrain of The Sunshine State by trekking, mountain biking, and paddling.

The race course is not marked, and teams must navigate using only a map and compass, testing their navigational skills as they try to find their way to the finish line.

Sea to Sea is a true test of endurance, navigation skills, and teamwork. Teams must work together to overcome obstacles and complete the course, pushing themselves to their limits in order to succeed.

Map courtesy of 2024 Sea to Sea Expedition Race

Why They Race

Keith, Tyler, and Jon are a tight-knit group bound by a shared past of military service and a drive for high-stakes challenges.

Keith, a self-proclaimed “adrenaline junky by trade” with 20 years of military service, found a rush in adventure racing that gave him a similar feeling to the thrill he used to experience when jumping out of airplanes during deployments.

It wasn’t too long before he pulled in Tyler, who, after 12 years in the army, was eyeing the sport, intrigued by the intense demands and camaraderie that it offered.

For Jon, the grueling nature of adventure racing wasn’t just a sport but a necessary challenge. He recalled searching for something new after injuries forced him out of the military, “I needed to suffer and struggle in some way, shape, or form”.

Jon introduced the team to Guardian Revival, where he teaches fieldraft and survival skills, aligning their racing endeavors with a calling to help other veterans and first responders. They decided to compete in Sea to Sea as Guardian Champions, helping break stigmas & raise awareness about mental health.

As Keith puts it, “Because of Guardian Revival, we’re here — this race means a lot more because it’s for a higher purpose.”

Training & Preparation

As they prepared for the challenges the race would throw at them, each team member trained in their own way, but all of their training methods shared some common threads.

A pivotal aspect of the prep process was mastering nutrition — understanding how to fuel their bodies under extreme physical exertion. They also implemented rigorous physical training regimens that included adding stressors that would ensure their bodies could handle the intense demands of the course.

Functional fitness routines, zone training (exercising within a monitored target heart rate), and resistance training were integral to enhancing their agility and stamina to ensure the group could keep going when the going got tough.

The Race

A Seemingly Easy Start: Running the First Leg of the Race

The adventure began without any fanfare — no starter pistol, no announcements, no cheering, just a quick “Alright, go.” from the race organizers, and the team set off on their journey.

As the group warmed up with a brisk 3-4 mile run that kicked off from the area of St. Mark’s Island, they made short work of the initial phase of the journey, making it to their first transition station in under 50 minutes.

Gearing up and getting ready for the next leg of the race, the team was in good spirits and excited for the rest of the journey, but this easy run was just the calm before the storm.

The Real Challenge Begins: Paddling in the Open

Once the team cleared their checkpoints and finished the initial running leg of the race, they secured a canoe and hopped into the water for what would become an eight-hour ordeal.

Paddling through the river was already challenging enough, but the team discovered pretty quickly that the canoe was taking on water, and would continue to do so for the duration of their time on the water.

Paddling from the river and into the ocean, the team had to use bottles to bail the water out while simultaneously battling the elements. The cold was relentless and the team edged toward hypothermia, shaking violently whenever they got out of the water to find a checkpoint.

Despite being soaked through and freezing, our champions made it through this leg of the race with all checkpoints accounted for and prepared themselves for the next leg of this incredible challenge.

Battling the Darkness: Biking Through the Wilderness

After getting out of the freezing water, the team dried off and prepared yet another test of endurance — a nighttime mountain bike ride through the wilderness.

The biking leg was anything but an improvement over the ordeal that the team experienced on the water. The darkness of the course transformed what would be a simple ride during the daytime into a nightmarish odyssey that saw the team lost in the night for over twelve hours.

Riding through the elements on almost no sleep, the team was collectively hallucinating through the last leg of the ride as they battled on their bikes.

Sheer exhaustion caused Jon to fall asleep while riding his bike at one point, and he later sustained a knee injury that would plague him for the rest of the journey.

No Rest For the Wounded: Transitioning to the Trek

The team made it to the next transition at around 7 am, just as the sun was coming up, providing them with a welcome respite from the cold night on the trails that they’d just endured.

After just an hour of quick shut-eye to get back on track, the team started a 35-mile walk that would push them to their absolute limit. Cold winds and a constant downpour of rain pushed them once again toward hypothermic states, and Jon’s knee took a turn for the worse.

Once they reached the next checkpoint, the team managed to steal another hour of rest before getting back to the race.

The Final Push: Another Round of Biking and Paddling

Once the team finished their trek, they set off on yet another midnight bike ride and tried to navigate their way to the next checkpoint. At 2 am, Saturday morning, Jon was pulled from the race due to his injury but came back to push through on the last paddle and bike ride.

Having lost so much time during the race due to the first bike ride and dealing with Jon’s knee, Tyler and Keith had to blaze through 120 miles of the course to get back on track to finish the race in time.

With 30 minutes remaining by the time they made it to the final transition area, there was no time for rest. The team pushed off for what would be their most brutal challenge yet — paddling on the river with just 2 hours of sleep after having traveled for 300 miles.

The final night was the toughest, with the team attempting to navigate 20 miles of river in pitch-black conditions, with Keith running a fever near the end of the race and both teammates hallucinating again in the darkness.

The Finish Line: An End to an Epic Adventure

“The three of us are battered, beaten, and bruised, but we have survived the journey across the great state of Florida.” - Keith

The team crossed the finish line 48th out of 225 teams that competed. Of all the teams that entered the race, about half didn’t finish, illustrating just how tough the Sea to Sea expedition race actually is.

In the end, our team’s endurance in the face of all the trials and tribulations they experienced during this adventure race was a testament to their teamwork, mental toughness, and a refusal to give up in the face of adversity.

Hear the team recap their race:

Become a Champion for Guardian Revival

Inspired by this story of our champions and interested in making a difference while pushing yourself past what you thought was possible?

Champions compete under the Guardian Revival banner to raise awareness and break the stigma surrounding mental health so we can improve the lives of our guardians (veterans & first responders).

Our Champions range from first-time competitors to professional athletes, all dedicated to raising funds and awareness for this important cause.

If you have an existing race, event, or competition, you’re welcome to partner with us and represent Guardian Revival as a Champion. Guardian Revival is also a charity partner with entry slots available for these upcoming races:

Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego Marathon | Sunday, June 2, 2024
Marine Corps Marathon | Sunday, October 27, 2024
TCS NYC Marathon | Sunday, November 3, 2024
Philadelphia Marathon | Saturday, November 23, 2024
Honolulu Marathon | Sunday, December 8, 2024
Berlin Marathon | Sunday, September 28, 2025

We’re currently looking for athletes of any level to join us as Champions. Whether you’re looking to enter your first distance race or you’re a seasoned athlete looking to push yourself to the absolute limit, your participation can help make a difference in the lives of our guardians. Join us today!

Apply to Run

For more information on how to apply for our running entries for 2024 and beyond, or to see how to partner with us for events you find on your own, check out our Champions page.