Rainy run at the TBT 3k Beer Dash

This past weekend my boyfriend and I decided to be adventurous and sign up for a race together! I was thrilled since I love races and my boyfriend is not a runner. I was excited to run together since it is something we have never done before. :)

We signed up for the Gasparilla Criterium 3k Beer Dash -- we mostly signed up because there would be free beer at the end of the run. I am not a beer drinker but my boyfriend likes beer, so we decided to put in the 1.8 miles to grab some at the end!

After checking the weather on Friday, it seemed like it was probably going to rain ALL day Saturday, or most of it. I was bummed because I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to get the run in and I had really been looking forward to it.

The 3k was part of a larger event where a bunch of cyclists rode around downtown Tampa in a "lap" process for different amounts of distances/times. I learned THAT'S why the event was called a "criterium." Sorry, I don't know a whole lot about cycling!

What a day for a run -- it was basically a monsoon outside. The 3k was supposed to start at 4:30 but since it had been pouring outside -- and yes, there were cyclists riding around IN the rain -- there was a bit of a delay. A lot of people must have been deterred by the rain too since there was basically nobody running the race.

We walked to pick up our shirts and bib numbers and after a lot of waiting (and watching the awesome cyclists do their races) it was time to run! The weather had actually cleared up around this time too. Woohoo!

The 3k was only three laps and I ended up going a lot slower than my usual pace since my boyfriend hasn't run in a long time. I'll admit, my feet were itching to go faster sometimes but I wanted to be there to support him and have us do the race together so I kept pace with him.

The crowd really loved him, by the way. While we were on the second lap somebody gave him a beer and everybody started cheering for him as he drank it while running. Some people use Gu, some people use Sports Beans, and some people use beer, I guess!

There was a horrible headwind going to the finish line but eventually we made it!  It seemed like it was over so fast. The crowd and our fellow runners were awesome and gave us high-fives at the end. I love the running community. Everyone is always so supportive, regardless of how fast you're running. :)

We stuck around to watch some other races, including a crazy relay race which seemed super fun.

After watching that, we headed home and then got dinner at the Mermaid Tavern, which was super tasty! Overall, it was a great day and I'm glad I was able to run it! 

Have you ever done a "beer run?"