Page 44 - Flathead Beacon // 9.30.15

EVENTS 46 MOVIE REVIEWS 47 SIDE DISH 50 FACES & PLACES 51 PAWS & CLAWS 52 Arts&Entertainment
OPPOSITES ATTRACT: BEER AND RUNNING Inaugural Craft Beer Relay in Bigfork brings together microbrew craze and fun-run fad
EBY MOLLY PRIDDY OF THE BEACON
xercise and beer: two of the most pronounced and visible aspects in American culture have spent
decades in seemingly diametric oppo- sition, with gyms urging us up off our couches to combat beer bellies, and beer companies telling us to put our feet up and relax with a cold one.
In recent years, however, the wall between the two has crumbled, as beer commercials try to portray a fitter, few- er-calorie option for the athletic, and events like the beer mile – timed races wherein the competitors run four laps around a track, drinking a can of beer at the beginning of each lap – gain popularity.
So it only made sense to Chase Averill and Rob Brisendine to further combine two of the country’s most popular trends at the moment, craft beer and adventure racing.
The end result will take place on Oct. 3, at the first Craft Beer Relay, a 5K, four-person relay race with beer tastings and traditional drinking games involved on a course at Flathead Lake Lodge.
“We were just looking at ideas for some shoulder-season events, an event concept that could be something of a bigger pic- ture,” Averill said. “The whole beer mile has gained a lot of momentum, and so that kind of came into the conversation. We wanted to do something more on the fun, zany side of things and tie in the craft beer movement as well.”
While running the race, competitors
will encounter an obstacle course from a college student’s dream: each station has beer samples from a different brewery, and obstacles in the course include giant flip cup, tire bowling, giant beer pong, keg pulls, hop-sack racing, and water crossings.
There are also non-alcoholic drink options at each station, so competitors
who might want to skip the IPA or Scotch ales still have to stop and take a drink along with their boozier competitors.
It’ll be enough of a race to bring out the competitive side, Brisendine said, but also fun enough to keep it light. Beer consumption from 12 Montana brewer- ies on the course will equal about one pint, so racers don’t end up in danger of
COURSE MAP
inebriated wanderings and injuries. “It’s presented in a responsible man- ner, but it’s going to be really fun and fes-
tive,” he said.
The course is set up to have a central
festival area in the middle, where spec- tators can enjoy a beer garden with offer- ings from the dozen breweries involved and live music. Competitors are highly
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SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM