Runners will celebrate with suds, ‘Beer Olympics’ after 5K Bristol Brew Run
10 a.m. Sunday at Bristol Brewing, 1604 S. Cascade Ave., $25; rockymountainbrewruns.com
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Whether you arrive at the finish line looking like a “Runner’s World” cover model or like you were drugged and dropped from a great height, beer thinks you deserve to celebrate. It’s egalitarian like that.
With the rise of the craft movement has come an evolution in thinking about suds.
Beer is more than a context for partying and plausible deniability for bad decisions, and its underlying power of unification is being put to far higher (occasionally lower) purposes.
Say, getting you through a 5K race … carrying two full-to-the-brim (with water) growlers.
Welcome to the Rocky Mountain Brew Runs, the Bristol Brewing Company leg of which trots into Colorado Springs on Sunday.
The series pairs two faves of the local outdoor athletic set for a fundraising fun run with post-revelry at a Colorado craft brewery.
“There’s a strong correlation with outdoor activities and drinking beer afterwards – among bikers, runners and all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts. That’s one of the things that makes Colorado so special,” said Kristen Olson, director of events and “Minister of Community” for Bristol.
“It’s really fun for us. It’s a way for us to talk to people that we might not have otherwise met before.”
More than 100 people turned out for the inaugural Bristol run last year, Olson said.
“We’re excited to help support people who have an active lifestyle and to create a space for them to enjoy a beer afterwards,” she said. “It’s fun to keep coming up with new creative ways to engage the outdoors community. Anytime you can incorporate running with fun, it takes the pain away.”
This year’s post-run activities are set to include the first Beer Olympics, a collection of drinking-game-inspired events such as a keg haul relay, a beer balance race and a squat challenge, during which contestants must keep a half-filled beer poised atop their heads.
We’ll be busy balancing our beer on the sidelines, thanks.
Stephanie Earls, The Gazette, 636-0364, stephanie.earls@gazettedev.gazette.com
