Texas town hosts 0.5K “race”

If running culture has sometimes been accused of taking itself too seriously, there is now a race–in Texas, where else?–for those who don’t run. Or walk. Who would exercise, but they might spill their drink.

The town of Boerne (northwest of San Antonio), population 14,725, has announced the first annual Boerne 0.5K (yes that’s a POINT five K), to take place next Saturday, May 5, billing it as “a very fun, tongue-in-cheek event that will lampoon the typical 5k.”

The race promises T-shirts, participation medals, finish-line photos, a hydration station/smoking area offering coffee and doughnuts, and finishers’ medals. A local pub, the Dodging Duck, is offering one free pint of beer at the start line. The race finishes at the Cibolo Creek brewery, where finishers will be offered another free pint. Costumes are encouraged. The cost to sign up is $25. For $50, participants may buy a “VIP option,” which involves no running at all. (And a bigger medal).

But sorry, the race is sold out.

The event does have a serious purpose: to raise funds for its charity partner, Blessings in a Backpack, which gets individuals and communities involved in providing food on weekends to impoverished kids who might otherwise go hungry. So far $1,450 has been raised.

Organizers are “as surprised as you are” at the race’s popularity, and expect it to become an annual event.