What do food trucks, breweries, baseball and running have to do with one another? On the surface, probably not a whole heck of a lot. But when you put five childhood friends together in Minnesota on their annual guy’s weekend away it starts to make a lot of sense!
My four best friends growing up and I pick a different city to meet up in once a year to take in a baseball game, to eat what some might call a “less than healthy” variety of food, tour some breweries, pass gas without being shamed by our significant others and tell the same jokes we have told each previous year and find new bits to work into our routine. A couple of us also try to find a race to partake in to partially help offset the amount of BBQ we have consumed and to work up a good thirst for the next brewery visit.
Last weekend was our annual trip and this year we ticked Minneapolis, Minnesota off the list of cities to check out. Added bonus this year is that our hometown Boston Red Sox were in town for a series against the Minnesota Twins so we were able to take in a game and cheer on the Sox.
When looking for races to do we located the Minnesota Brewery Running Series race being held at 56 Brewing. The MBRS is a series of fun runs hosted by local breweries and entry comes with a free pint of beer and a pint glass, handmade coaster, running belt or other offering. There was a healthy amount of raffle prizes given away post run, as well.
The run is not a timed affair and the course was just an eyelash short of 3 miles. The open course had runners and walkers of all speeds mixed in and the route started and ended at the brewery. Runners made their way down a relatively flat first mile before hitting a bridge that spanned across the Mississippi River. The up-and-down running of bridge added a little bit of some hills into the mix as runners ran across one side of the bridge, crossed the street and then ran back on the other side of the bridge. After coming off the bridge it was across a street and then into a residential neighborhood before making your way past a grain mill and back toward the brewery. I felt quite strong on the course despite dealing with some medical challenges of late and finished the race with a well below 8 minute mile pace.
After making your way into the finish line, runners were handed a wooden token for a free beer inside 56 Brewing. The brewery literally was only a day old in this new location and couldn’t look better. A well-crafted wheat beer hit the spot post-run and the new brewery location had a great vibe going.
Kudos to Sean and Matt for tackling the race alongside me. Next year, Nick and Justin, we’re getting you to run, too!
