With an East Tennessee afternoon run that began with a couple of beer-loving friends needing to sweat out a few too many from the previous evening, a powerful, ale-induced phenomenon has been born...
Regardless of your level of fitness, overall ability or cardio strength, the Bearden Beer Market most likely has a running group custom fit just for you.
Going on nearly 2 years now, every Monday afternoon at 6:30PM in the BBM beer garden, Bearden Beer Market plays host to a wide array of outdoor enthusiasts needing a positive way to kick off the work week and/or exorcise the vice demons from the past weekend. From a loyal band of mothers and fathers pushing 3-wheeled super strollers down the Greenway, to an emerging group of elite runners and young buck leg-stretchers pumping out 8 to 10 miles throughout the famed loops of Sequoyah Hills, a growing brood of craft beer lovers is quickly taking over the social funrun scene of Knoxville.
It’s become a regular melting pot of active participants: marathon winners jogging 5 and 8Ks, sharing trade secrets with runners new and old to the racing scene… power walking solos and friendly couples looking to get back into game shape… the young up & coming professional class of Downtown Knoxville, pitching expensive ideas and networking to each other as they slowly charge up the famed Mellen Hill of Death... and then of course, the average Jack and Jill running crew who, for enough miles to break a sweat, “just do it” for the end-of-run beer recovery sessions at the finish line.
Our codes are firm: Earn Your Beer and have fun. Headphones are discouraged, as an important goal of ours is to socialize, network, and make new friends. Leave the distracting music to your own private vision quests and early morning jogs.
A recent Monday this month yielded over 70 runners, walkers and stroller-pushers who showed up to get their social funrun on, and (of course) take advantage of the beer specials postrun for any and all participants. There is no longer an average run. What started out as two friends staving off head-pounding hangovers suddenly morphed into 25 participants, which even more quickly turned into a 50-plus posse sprinting across Kingston Pike, private golf courses, and random neighborhood trails. Regardless of the chosen course, it's always fun, and (usually) safe --We haven't lost a single runner yet!
Beer specials vary from $1 off premium pint selections to growler fill discounts. It’s always good to ask ahead of time and find out what the specific offer of the day is. The gracious beer slingers of the Market have also been known to invite all funrun participants (prior to the run) to a tray-filled platter of Power Ale shots.
See you next Monday!
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