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