St. Patrick's Day Brooks Beer Run (Interview/Go to Event)

            On March 17th, 2016, Can’t Stop Running Company hosted their third annual St. Patrick’s Day Brooks Beer Run. This run, in Piqua, Ohio, is a 5k where all participants must drink a cup of beer or root beer after each mile. This event was open to competitive runners, non-competitive runners, and walkers.

            The course of this race was a one-mile loop that was repeated three times. After each loop, every runner would go into one of the three designated bars, depending on what loop had just been finished, and drink his or her beverage. After the competitors finished their third loop and third beer or rootbeer, they would then exit the bar and run the remaining 0.1 miles of the race to the finish line.

            I spoke to Mike Conley, a two-time participant in the Beer Run, about what it was like to run this 5k as opposed to other 5ks. “This race is more challenging because of the fact that you have to drink a beer after each mile. The drinking is more difficult than the running, because it makes you to feel bloated, and you’re normally out of breath when it comes time to drink the beer.” said Conley.

            This is event has grown in popularity dramatically since its inception in 2014. There were 480 competitors in this year’s race. The first-place male participant was Tyler Roeth, who finished with a time of 17:31. The first-place female participant was Logan Ernst, who finished with a time of 22:54.

            Conley, who has been running 5ks for over 20 years, said that he looks forward to this 5k more than other 5ks. “I like this 5k because it’s more challenging than your typical 5ks. Plus I like beer. I will add roughly a minute to my time per mile in this race. So I’m typically about three or three and a half minutes slower than my normal finish time.”

             There was a wide variety of participants at this race. There were serious racers who were trying to run their best possible times, and there were people there just to have a good time. People could be seen wearing green tutus, green shirts and shorts, and green hats. There was one competitor in particular who was wearing a green full-body skin suit.

            The bars that were used in this event were 311 Drafthouse, Mulligans Pub, and Z's Sports Bar.

            This was a very fun and exciting event for the competitors and the spectators and it was a great way for many people to start their St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

            When I asked Conley about whether or not he was planning on participating in the Beer Run next year, he said “Absolutely. It’s my new yearly tradition. And it makes St. Patrick’s Day more interesting.”

             - March 17th, 2016

Homemade (Brand) Chocolate Milk Review (Review)

            Today’s review will be over Premium Homemade Milk’s Serious Chocolate milk. This is a 1%, low fat milk.

When I first saw that it was low fat, I was a little disappointed because, in my experience, low fat means that the milk will not be very creamy. I was very surprised to have my assumption that it was not very creamy be proven wrong. Despite the low fat content, this milk is very creamy. Not too creamy, but just the right amount of cream to give it that delightful level of thickness.

What I did not like about this milk was that it had a bitter taste to it. It tasted as if there was chocolate powder used in this milk that was not mixed properly, or there was too much powder added. I find that this leaves a not-so pleasant after-taste in the mouth so that I have to get something else to drink to wash it out.

The nutritional benefit from this milk is that it is a good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Calcium, Vitamin D, and protein.

A 16 ounce bottle of Serious Chocolate milk costs $1.69 at United Dairy Farmers. This is a decent price compared to a lot of the other types of milk.

I would give this milk and overall rating of 3 ½ out of 5 stars, losing a star and a half for the bitter taste.

-       Apr. 26, 2016

U.S. Presidential Primary Race

The 2016 United States Presidential Campaign is highlighted by unconventional candidates Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina in the Republican Party, while Hillary Clinton still holds the lead for the Democratic Party.

Leading the way for the Republican Part is a candidate with a very different background than you would typically see. Donald Trump, a multi-billionaire businessman and one-time reality show host, has been leading most polls since his announcement of candidacy in early June. Despite his success so far, it has not been all smooth-sailing for Trump. He has been criticized for his past bankruptcy declarations, his derogatory comments toward women, and his overall demeanor. Despite all of these criticisms, Trump still finds himself as the front-runner for the Republican Party.

 Second in most polls for the Republican Party is Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon who was the first to ever separate a pair of conjoined twins. Carson declared his candidacy for president in May, but it was not until August that he found himself rising in popularity. This came after the first debate of the Presidential election hosted by Fox News, despite only being asked a small number of questions.

            Adding to the list of non-career politicians running for president in the Republican Party is former Hewlett-Packard (H.P.) CEO Carly Fiorina. Fiorina was relatively unheard of as a candidate until her performance at Fox News’s “First Debate” on August 6^th. The “First Debate” field was comprised of candidates that were outside of the top ten in the polls. After Fiorina’s performance in this debate, she rose in the polls and found herself debating with the top ten in CNN’s Republican debate in mid-September.

            Along with these three candidates, there have been numerous other candidates who have fluctuated in the polls for the last three months. According to RealClearPolitics.com, the average of the polls for the republican party are as follows: businessman Donald Trump (1^st in the polls); neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson (2^nd); U.S. Senator for Florida Marco Rubio (3^rd); U.S. Senator for Texas Ted Cruz (4^th); former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (5^th); former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina (6^th); former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee (7^th); New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (8^th); Ohio Governor John Kasich (9^th); and U.S. Senator for Kentucky Rand Paul (10^th.)

            The Democratic field, on the other hand, is very small in comparison with only three candidates. Leading the way is former U.S. Secretary of State, and former First Lady Hillary Clinton. Clinton has been viewed as the frontrunner for the Democratic Primary since President Obama won his 2^nd term as President in 2012. Clinton’s place as the Democratic candidate for president seemed like a lock until ongoing scrutiny of her email activity really caught fire this year.

Allegations of Clinton’s use of her private email account to access classified government documents have been talked about for a while, but as her campaign for the presidency picked up, so did the questions about her email activities. As more and more questions were asked, Clinton’s answers became more and more inconsistent. In August of this year, the FBI finally became involved by taking custody of Clinton’s server. This scandal that Clinton is now facing opened the door for other democratic candidates to make a run for president.

Standing second in most polls for the Democratic nomination is United States Senator for Vermont Bernie Sanders, who is a self-described “socialist”. Sanders, who is the only other democratic candidate with significant poll numbers, saw his numbers more than double as Clinton’s scandal grew this summer. Sanders’s running in the Democratic primary marks the first time that he has identified himself as a Democrat. Previously he described himself as “third-party” or “unaffiliated.”

Last in the polls for the Democratic race is former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. O’Malley is behind Clinton and Sanders in the polls by a significant margin, but with a field as compressed as the Democratic Party’s, a surge back into contention could easily happen for O’Malley’s campaign.

While we have a long way to go before we see who the final candidate will be for each party, we can be sure that it is going to be a very interesting road to get there. 

- Sept. 28, 2015