With sneakers on their feet, competitors in the upcoming Gainesville Beer Run 5K will race to the finish line for a cold, frothy prize.
Runners and beer enthusiasts will gather at the Gainesville House of Beer today at 6 p.m. to run a 5K to benefit nonprofit organizations A Walk in My Shoes Inc. and the Pledge 5 Foundation. Race director and event coordinator Dan Phillips said 200 people have already registered.
Mayor Craig Lowe plans to attend and will fire the starting gun.
The race will start at the Gainesville House of Beer and will make a circular route through Midtown. At the end of the race, each competitor will be given a mug to taste craft beers, such as Bold City and Yuengling Oktoberfest.
Not all who sign up intend to run. Some paid $15 to spend the event drinking beer.
While some health enthusiasts will attend, the focus of the run is craft beer, Phillips said.
“As soon as I cross the finish line, I’m gonna go get a beer right away,” said Cady Sandler, a 22-year-old UF public health master’s student.
Caryn Barry, CEO of A Walk in My Shoes Inc., said the event aims to target people from various walks of life.
“Beer is going to be a popular thing anyway,” she said, “which is what we’re learning towards.”
A Walk in My Shoes Inc. collects lightly worn shoes, cleans them up and ships them to Haiti, according to Barry. It started gathering used footwear in 2007.
The organization will be collecting shoes for donations before and after the Gainesville Beer Run 5K.
Phillips said Gainesville’s culture fits with the mission for the run.
“Everyone likes to give back to charities and Gainesville is known as a heavy running town and also as a very well-known party town,” he said. “So I figured why not combine all three?”
