Drinking a beer might be part of a runner’s carbo-loading regimen.
But put the two together after a run, and it’s all about creating community.
That’s the driving force behind a new running and walking group out of Tinhouse Brewing in Port Coquitlam.
Andrea MacIntosh, one of the partners in the Dominion Triangle craft brewery, said the group is a way to bring some life to an otherwise “soulless” commercial/industrial part of the city and engage customers and residents in the nearby townhomes.
“It’s a way to activate the area in a new way,” MacIntosh said. “The goal is to get people out.”
The group, which meets every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., is casual.
Everyone can head out onto the nearby dikes at their own pace, then return to the brewery 45 minutes or so later to socialize and reward themselves with a refreshing, light Westland Wheat or Toolbelt Lager, or even some of the non-alcoholic beverages that are also available.
In May, the brewery is launching a series of timed 5-km runs scheduled for the last Sunday of every month, with proceeds from the five dollars it costs to get a bib that’s good for as few or as many of the races a participant chooses to run going to a local charity.
MacIntosh said beer and running have long been linked, much like cycling and beer also enjoy a historical connection.
Not only is beer a tasty way to replenish lost fluids, it’s also the impetus for a global series of races called The Beer Mile that culminate on July 1 with the ninth Beer Mile World Classic in Chicago.
The “ultimate feat of athleticism and drinking prowess” challenges runners to complete a one-mile circuit around a track, chugging a can of beer at the end of every lap.
The competition’s world-record holder is a Canadian, Corey Bellemore, who completed the proscribed course in 4:28.10 after downing four bottles of Flying Monkeys Beer Mile Lager along the way.
MacIntosh said the Tinhouse crew doesn’t aspire to such lofty lubricated goals.
Instead, the group offers a low-barrier, low-cost way for neighbours to meet, maybe make some new friends and enjoy the natural setting of wetlands, woods and the Fraser River that begins just a few strides across the parking lot.
“Breweries are like a third space,” MacIntosh said. “They’re someplace we can go when we need another place to go to that’s not work or shopping at Costco.”
• To learn more about the Tinhouse run/walk group and its monthly race series, go to brewery’s website.
