Key West's Drag Race

Participants in the Key West race put the "drag" in drag race--- running on foot in false eyelashes and sky-high heels.

Running gear doesn't usually include body-hugging mini-dresses, big hair or stilettos, but that's what contestants of Key West's Great Conch Republic Drag Race wore Saturday.

The race featured 16 high-heeled female impersonators navigating across an obstacle course filled with automobile tires and scantily-clad passengers in shopping carts.

According to the Florida Keys News Bureau, the race was hosted by the republic's Bourbon Street Pub Complex, where contestants raced down Duval Street, or the fittingly nicknamed "main drag."

The wacky drag challenge has been held annually since 1982 as part of Key West's independence celebration. That's the year the Florida Keys seceded from the United States, when a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint was erected at the head of the island chain.

This year's celebration runs through April 29th, filled with other events to look forward to such as a reenactment of the secession, a fun sea battle with tall ships, and an open-air bed race that's said to be "the most fun you can have in bed with your clothes on."

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