Fitness Swellness: Famous Canadian Beer Run recap

I don’t think I’ve ever run a “fun run”, as in a race that isn’t timed, but I guess there’s a first for everything, and my first fun run was the Famous Canadian Beer Run held on September 18, 2016.

Having run the RBC Race for the Kids 15k the day prior, I wasn’t gunning for a fast 5K time anyhow (that plus the fact I haven’t been training consistently). The weather was very hot and humid that day, which always brings me down in speed by a ton. but I wasn’t focused on pushing to go fast by any means anyhow. But I did in small stretches find myself pushing myself to go a little harder, motivated by the mere factor of just wanting the race to be over with (I was uncomfortable in the sunshine, and I had a puppy I was sitting for the weekend waiting for me at home). I ran most of the race with my running pal, Shawna, who was pacing the last wave of the race, I lost her a few times as I kept stopping to take photos, but I could always hear her shouting how close we all were to beer at the finish. And she was always easy to spot given her fun run pacer outfit:

There was a frustratingly slow race kit pickup (which was only held on the day of the race) but there were lots of positives to this run including the drumline along the route, being able to see the city from Ontario Place, and of course, the beer, cider and vodka cocktails at the end of the race. The “medal” being the plastic beer stein was a fun touch, too. I didn’t get to hang out at the finish long since I had to get back to puppy-sitting, but I’d consider running the race again if the race kit pickup is improved (I should add that the organizers sent an apology email immediately after the race, and a survey for feedback recently, so they are making the effort to improve from their inaugural race this year, which goes a long way in my books!).

For more of a recap, check out my post on the iRun website here.

Leave a Comment September 28, 2016