I Won The Hops & Grain 5K Beer Run!

….and it will probably be the only race I will ever win in my life. I just don’t see a 10k or half marathon victory in the cards for me. But a 5K with beer at the end? SIGN. ME. UP.

This race was part of the Brewery Running Series. There are a bunch of these little races around Austin (and other cities/states), and I can highly recommend one as a fun way to hang out with friends, get a little exercise, and enjoy a cold pint of beer at 11 am… 😉 Check out the schedule of races in Austin here.


I had an Austin Symphony concert the night before which had me going to bed later than usual (11:30 pm instead of my usual 10 pm bedtime), so I slept in a little on Saturday morning before the race. Nate and I made some coffee, and I had a couple bites of a packet of instant oats on the drive to Hops & Grain brewery in east Austin.

Check in was at 9:30 am and the race started at 10:00. I ordered t-shirts when I signed up for this race a couple months ago. I love having a little keepsake from the races I run! The Brewery Running Series t-shirts are really soft and have fun slogans, so I’m glad I got them.

They had a bunch of colors/styles at the race, and we could pick our own shirts. I chose the pink(ish) “RUN FOR BEER” shirt:

Nate got the blue “RUN FAR, DRINK LOCAL” shirt. I told him that if he gets a shirt that says “run far,” I’m going to sign us up for a 10K next time…

He said no.

We’ll see…

Instead of race numbers (because this was a very informal, un-timed race), we were told to write our favorite beer as our name. I chose Oasis London Homesick because I think it’s one of the yummiest beers, it won a 2014 GABF gold medaland it’s brewed in Austin! ,

(I didn’t remember the name correctly and wrote “London Calling” instead of “London Homesick.” Oops.)

Ready to run! While we were signing in, we ran into our friend Hailey and her group of friends.

The Brewery Running Series 5K races are aren’t officially timed, so I just used my apple watch to keep my pace.

Since the roads weren’t closed to cars, participants had to follow traffic patterns. That meant a couple rest stops along the way when I had a red traffic light.

The weather was overcast, humid, and 70 degrees. Not my favorite for running, but not the worst either. I’m in the middle of training for a half marathon (doing the OKC half in April with my three sisters), so this 5k was a nice way to do a 3(ish) mile pace training run.

I felt good and held about an 8-minute mile pace throughout the run. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was given two tokens to exchange for an ice cold BEER! I sipped on that while I cheered on the other contestants.

I was the first female to cross the finish line, so I got to sign the Golden Growler. Haha! I’m telling you now: this is the only time I’m going to be a first place finisher at a running race, so I enjoyed it for all it was worth.

Also, full disclosure: I was running 8 minute miles. That is not really the fastest for a 5k, haha. That’s why I’m saying that a beer run is literally the only thing I’m going to win. But hey, I’ll take it!

Hops & Grain awarded the top male and female finishers with a $15 gift card, which I used on a couple pints in the tap room and a 6-pack of Lupulin Rodeo IPA to take home.

Ha! I just had to laugh when I saw what was in my swag bag: a whole bunch of flavored sausage snacks. I will NEVER eat these. Nate got some Kind bars and other snacks, and all I got was these?!

Such a fun weekend event in Austin! If you’re ever visiting ATX and want a way to get a little exercise while experiencing some of the best breweries in Austin, this is a fun way to do it all.

You can check out all the complete schedule of Brewery Running Series here. There are some good ones coming up at Black Star Co-op, Adelbert’s, Celis, and more!

Happy Monday, friends!

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
terra @ terragoes.com
6 years ago

I love little races like that!! The only time I’ve ever placed in a race was when it was tiny, but still – it feels pretty great!

1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x