Run clubs CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6
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Cooper River Bridge Run Fun Guide 09.22.2021
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grams for $115 (including the race fee). “If there’s a local race that we can encourage them to participate in, that’s typically what we do. It’s another way to also have that accountability,” said Minkel, who brings in local experts to make the programs. “For the bridge run, everyone is typically training for a 10K. It’s just a great way for us to support such a great local race.” Like the pub runs, many local group runs end with a shared beer or cocktail with fellow runners, adding a social element to the exercise. The Charleston Beer Runners start at Hampton Park before finishing at a different bar or brewery every week, while breweries like Frothy Beard, Low Tide and Estuary Beans & Barley host their own runs. For runs that conclude with a cold beer, make sure you pack a large water, and some may want to consider bringing along a spare shirt to change into (this City Paper writer recalls a muggy outing with Charleston Beer Runners that ended at Recovery Room). A little perspiration didn’t stop Amy Embry from meeting her future husband, Aaron, at Taco Boy after a 2017 Charleston Beer Runners meetup. Amy, an O.G. member of the 7-year-old group, says joining “was one of the best things I ever did.” “[Aaron] started running with us every week, and then he proposed to me during a run,” Amy recalled. “I think back then there were maybe 10-15 people in the group — other than that, I’ve never been in a running group before. I used to be a very shy person. I didn’t like to run.” Now married, the couple still attends Charleston Beer Runners regularly, and Aaron works as the point person for the group’s cultural and community initiatives. He says CBR makes a concerted effort to make the group a place for everyone. “Because so much of running is about community, I think running groups need to make sure that they’re diverse and inclusive,” he said. “It’s all about community, and it’s all about building each other up.” The local running community has, of course, been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, said Griffin, who has yet to restart Jimp, which normally runs a 5-mile route that starts at The Aquarium parking garage. For now, Griffin meets a group of four at 5:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Colonial Lake. They run the bridge once a week, and Griffin plans to complete the Bridge Run. He looks forward to restarting Jimp when the time is right. “It was always fun meeting new people. Every time we’d meet, we would never know who was showing up, so it was always good to introduce Charleston running to them,” he said. “I miss that for sure.”
Charleston area run clubs THE OUTSIDERS! Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 6 a.m. This new group meets three times a week at a location disclosed the day before the run. Follow The Outsiders! on Instagram @outsiders.charleston. JIMP RUNNING CLUB
(temporarily suspended)
Mondays and Wednesdays, 5 p.m. When the group restarts Monday and Wednesday runs, it will meet at the Aquarium parking garage. FLEET FEET RUNNING CLUB Mondays, 6:30 p.m. Meet at stores in Mount Pleasant, Summerville or Carnes Crossroads every Monday night for a 3- or 5-mile route. FROTHY BEARD GET FIT RUN CLUB Mondays, 6:30 p.m. Frothy Beard’s Get Fit Run Club is free, and no sign-up is necessary. Go at your own pace and stay for a beer or two at the West Ashley brewery, where runners will get $1 off each pint. PARK CIRCLE PACERS Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:15 p.m. Sundays, 8:30 a.m. Park Circle Pacers meet twice weekly for runs hosted by Commonhouse Aleworks. The group’s Thursday beer runs feature 1-mile and 5K routes, and on Sundays, the Pacers meet for longer runs (5- or 8-miles). The Pacers meet Tuesdays for speed workouts at the Danny Jones track. CHARLESTON RUNNING CLUB Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. The Charleston Running Club meets outside Bar Mash at the Cigar Factory on East Bay Street. There’s a walking group, pace jogging group and 9-minute pace run group up the Ravenel Bridge and back. AD ASTRA ENDURANCE PROJECT Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m. Ad Astra Endurance Project hosts a Wednesday night run with 2- and 3-mile options at Low Tide Brewing. ETHOS ATHLETIC CLUB Thursdays, 5:30 p.m. Owner Joey Welling organizes a weekly run that starts and ends at 311 Huger St. CHARLESTON BEER RUNNERS Thursdays, 7 p.m. All-levels of 21-and-over runners meet at the Hampton Park gazebo, running 3-5 mile runs to different bars. OUR SUNDAY RUN Sundays, 9 a.m. Meeting in the Hampton Park parking lot, the 8-mile route loops the peninsula.