Dave Keough’s ultimate challenge
Age: 55
City: Phoenix
Family: Married to Lucy for 30 years, two sons Patrick and Kevin
Ever since he was a kid, Dave Keough has had a passion for the outdoors, adventure and physical challenges. He grew up on the east coast, sailing boats in the ocean and swimming in open water. When he was 12, he hiked 450 miles of the Appalachian Trail alone. And he wasn’t even running away from home.
For the past couple decades, Keough’s completed numerous marathons, ultramarathons, century bike rides, open water swims and Ironman triathlons. Often finishing near the top.
“I never started a race I didn’t finish” is his motto.
Recently, Keough completed the Race Across America (RAAM) as part of an 8-man team. It is considered one of the toughest endurance challenges on the planet, even for Tour de France riders.
Keough completed it with one lung and while undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. Cancer hasn’t killed his passion.
Keough’s heroes are the great explorers of the past few centuries. He’s inspired by how they overcame hardships and their willingness to venture into the unknown.
“In a weird way, having cancer has been a kind of journey into the unknown,” Keough says. “This journey’s been hard and arduous, but it’s brought me closer to the things I love. It’s an incredible experience. You focus on every part of your life that’s important and that’s what matters.”
Keough doesn’t look like he’s sick. He’s fit and moves with confidence. His smile lights up a room. He talks with energy and enthusiasm. Shaved heads are in style, so it’s not obvious his baldness is from chemo. But it is.
“My endurance training — the ‘toughness’ it takes to get through the mental and physical pain — is what gets me through. I know that as soon as the spark is snuffed out, you give up. I’m keeping that spark alive as long as I can.”
The Race Across America (RAAM) is a 3,005 mile, coast-to-coast bike race that passes through 14 states with more than 100,000 feet of climbing. The route goes through the desert, over mountains, through desolate terrain in hot, dry, wet, humid and windy weather. It’s known as “The World’s Toughest Bike Race.”
Teams average 350 to 500 miles a day. Three riders from each 8-man team ride daily in 8 hour shifts, trading off throughout their shift. Dave rode some of the toughest legs, including the steep climb up the eight percent grade over Wolf Creek Pass in southern Colorado.
“I wanted it,” Keough said. “I got my wish.”
The race started on June 12 in Oceanside, California and finished in Annapolis, Maryland. The team Keough was on, The Friar’s Club, finished on June 20. Their official time was 7 days, 14 hours and 55 minutes. Just 2 minutes behind the team in front of them. If it wasn’t for a red light, The Friar’s Club would’ve beat them. The teams had been battling for position for the last few hours of the race.
“It added extra excitement to the race,” Keough said smiling.
Keough is Telecom Manager for SRP. When SRP President David Rousseau invited him to join the RAAM team in April this year, it took Keough less than two minutes to accept. That invitation came almost exactly a year since he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Back in the spring of 2009, Keough wasn’t feeling well while attending avalanche mitigation training on Red Mountain near Silverton, Colorado. He thought maybe he had a bad cold. Or at worst, pneumonia. A chest x-ray showed a tumor. On April 1, 2009 he found out he had lung cancer. It was a shock. He had never smoked.
The doctors weren't optimistic, but Keough has proved them wrong.
“Even for someone with no health issues, in a race like this, your resolve is tested,” Rousseau said. “Your turn seems to come up a lot faster than you think, and the natural reaction is hoping the guy out on the road can stay out there just a bit longer. But Dave, with much more consequential things to deal with, he never took a pass. There aren’t a lot of people who would be able to do that.”
That kept his teammates from complaining about their aches and pains. Nothing they had could compare to what Keough was going through.
“About midway into the race, the entire team’s focus shifted to the success of Dave’s race,” says Rousseau. “It was more about the adventure than the race. It was a real team-building experience.”
Keough’s activities haven’t ceased since his diagnosis. In the past year, he’s gone on a 10-day river trip with his son, mountain biked in Crested Butte, Colorado, took a trip to New Zealand with his wife, rode on the RAAM team and spent two weeks fly fishing and hiking in Wyoming.
“Every athlete has to deal with adjustments,” Keough admits. “You can’t always perform at your peak. There are some things you have to give up and take a different approach. You come to grips with what works for you. The basic elements and joy of the activity are still there. It’s an important part of my life.”
Keough credits the Wellness Community for helping him deal with cancer. The Wellness Community is a non-profit organization that provides support and education to anyone touched by cancer free of charge. In appreciation, Keough raised over $4,000 for the organization through RAAM.
“Cancer has changed me,” Keough admits. “Mainly spiritually. Things I took for granted before, I don’t. It’s caused me to reflect on my life and my experiences.”
“So if life is a race, and the finish line is a life well-lived, “Keough concludes, “I’ve won.”
— Geri Kilgariff is an endorphin addict living in Phoenix, Arizona. A former ultrarunner and ex-ultra Race Director, Geri is currently into hiking and trying to learn the definition of "Moderation."