Sports

Pink Tutu Marathoner on the Run in New York

Malvern's own Keith Straw, known for his frilly pink race outfit, was spotted by a Long Island Patch editor.

There were hundreds of runners completing 25K and 50K treks through Caumsett State Park on Long Island, NY, over the weekend, but likely only one doing so while wearing a pink tutu. 

That would be Keith Straw, of Malvern, who is well-known in the endurance running community for his frilly pink skirt.

Huntington Patch (NY) spotted Malvern Straw in his trademark outfit and chose chose the attached photo for its Picture of the Day on Sunday.

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Straw is known to attract attention. Last year, a RunStylish blogger caught up with him during the Boston Marathon:

Don’t let the 57 year old in the pink tutu fool you.  Keith is a highly competitive runner at distances over 100 miles!  Keith as even run the notorious Badwater Ultramarathon twice.  Tha’ts a 135 mile race from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney!  And, he regularly competes multiple marathons per year with times ranging from 3:10 to 3:30.  When I looked him up on www.athlinks.com he has over 200 races listed.

The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about the stylish runner in 2008:

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Keith Straw of Malvern ran the Philadelphia Marathon yesterday in pink tutu and leotard.

"They sure as hell don't pay me, so I might as well have some fun," Straw, 52, explained, dripping with sweat and holding a pink wand. Asked why he didn't dance across the finish line, he replied, "There's no dance left in me today. I can't feel my legs."

For the record, Straw completed the 50K in Caumsett State Park on Sunday in just over four hours, seven minutes (04:07:47.66, to be precise).

We tip our hat to him in admiration of his endurance and style, and to Pam Robinson, Associate Regional Editor of North Shore Long Island Patch sites, for sharing the great photo.


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