Microbrewery launches win-your-weight-in-beer 5K

“Worth its weight in beer” might be an apt slogan for the Shawn & Ed 5K Beer Run, and inaugural event was held on a beautiful evening last week in downtown Dundas, Ont. In a twist on the traditional beer race, the male and female winners were rewarded with the equivalent of their weight in beer. 

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Co-owner Leanne Till (and spouse of Shawn) says, “We’re all about community, and a 5K is a great way to get people together. Runners, non-runners, anybody that just wants to be part of something.” The race also served as a fundraiser for Ronald Mcdonald House.

The first male to cross the finish line was Canadian two-time Olympic marathoner (and local Hamiltonian) Reid Coolsaet. Coolsaet is currently in Edmonton, and about to race that city’s inaugural Edmonton 10K, a Canada Running Series event sponsored by Lululemon that takes place this Sunday.

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The female winner was runner, cyclist, climber and Ph.D. student in neurophysiology Robyn Mildren, who told us her sister egged her on to do the race, knowing she could not return to Vancouver (where she is studying) with all the beer she would most likely win, nor could she consume it all before leaving town. “This was her whole strategy,” she laughs.

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After returning to B.C. on Friday, Mildren competed in the Red Bull 400 on Sunday, a gnarly 400m race up a ski jump in Whistler. She won that race, too. Take a look at our coverage, here. 

The race was a natural fit for the Shawn & Ed’s, since Leanne Till has experience directing kids’ triathlons and partnering with charities that benefit children with cancer.