Every Thursday evening, the members of my running group meet to work up a thirst, which we then quench at a bar. People are often bemused when I tell them I have a running club based at a brewery. ‘Doesn’t that undo all your good work?’ they ask.
I can see why people might view running and beer as uneasy bedfellows, but the ever-improving fitness and performance among our regulars would suggest that the two can go hand in hand. One of the biggest determinants of progression is consistency, and Emma, one of our members, says she’s not sure she’d come to the weekly sessions as regularly without the prospect of a drink and a chat after. Others say it’s unlikely they would’ve joined at all were it not for the brewery connection. ‘It seemed less intimidating,’ says Ben. ‘More fun,’ adds Beckie.
Jeff (my husband and co-coach) and I first stumbled (no pun intended) across brewery-based running clubs in Denmark in 2015. Brewers Mikkeller, which now has more than 70 running groups across Europe, had launched its first club the previous year and we fully embraced the concept. It pitched running to a different demographic, making it all a bit more rock ’n’ roll than meeting at a clubhouse, which is more commonly associated with a running group, and created an ideal opportunity to exercise and socialise in the same hit. When Curious Brewery opened in Ashford in 2019, we jumped right in.
The attendance has been remarkable, especially given that we started just months before the first lockdown, which made the first couple of years sporadic.
It could be because alcohol – when drank in moderation — can foster social cohesion. That’s according to a report by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. It certainly feels that the bond between our members is strong. Despite a wide range of ages and abilities, everyone supports and encourages each other. While running and drinking both have a social element, it seems that by putting them together, the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
But have the naysayers gota point? Of course, alcohol can have significant negative effects on health, both in the short- and longterm — including reducing the benefits from the session you are quenching your thirst after. However, many studies on the effects of alcohol use very high amounts — the equivalent of as many as 24 drinks. In terms of more moderate drinking, research from Massey University in New Zealand suggests that a ‘low dose’ of alcohol (equal to 0.5g alcohol per kg of body weight) is unlikely to affect repletion of glycogen, rehydration or muscle recovery. So, for someone who weighs 75kg, a ‘low dose’ would amount to 4.6 standard units, the equivalent of one and a half pints of a 5% beer or two pints of a 3.6% beer.
And, of course, you don’t even have to choose alcohol for your post-run tipple. There’s a growing market of non-alcoholic beers geared towards runners and other athletes, including Athletic Brewing (I love their Run Wild IPA) and Erdinger’s alcohol-free ‘isotonic’ beer. This perhaps goes to show that the beer itself isn’t the glue that bonds us on Thursday nights, but rather the act of toasting our collective effort with a drink. Cheers to that.
THE TAKEAWAY…
Research published in the British Journal Of Sports Medicine suggests that the longer-term health effects of alcohol on the body are mitigated by the kind of regular physical activity that a running club promotes. The study found that 150 minutes of physical activity a week cancelled out the health impacts of drinking within the suggested guidelines; it also significantly lowered the risk with levels of consumption higher than the recommended guidelines. It didn’t include anything about the perils of getting chips on your way home from the pub, though.
Source: Runners World, June 2022