DRAFT Magazine

“I realized that to fully enjoy the true essence of beer,” says Doug Bertram, “I had to first get my ass kicked a bit.”

Doug (left) with the Beer Runner, post 26.2-mile ass-kicking

Doug has kicked my own ass a little bit while we occasionally trained together for our first triathlons this summer. Later we both ran the Lakefront Marathon, where this post-finish line photo was taken.

He’s also an acupuncturist — married to my other acupuncturist — who worked miracles helping me recover from a traumatic skiing injury to my knee this spring.

He’s definitely the kind of guy you’d love to talk with about life philosophy over a beer or four. Here he talks to the Beer Runner about Zen Buddhism, balancing yin and yang and drinking Lone Star and Belgian ales.

What’s an acupuncturist’s take on beer?

Look, I treat mostly spinal injury. So as long as you don’t lift heavy things and twist after drinking beer, you’re good!

A foot of snow + running + beer = a good day

What are you Beer Runner credentials?

The Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh wrote in “The Miracle of Mindfulness” about washing the dishes to wash the dishes — not for the cup of tea afterward. He was suggesting the importance of a present mind. One should take pleasure in the simplicity of the mundane, and I do enjoy the conversations I have with myself on a long training run or mid-race about my breathing, my alignment, or the illusion of space and time. But my true guiding force is knowing that this process earns me heightened enjoyment of my favorite fermented beverage. You could say I enjoy washing the dishes — but I do it for the beer afterward!

How did you get into both beer and working out?

The beer came first! Then I thought, how can I make this last? I figured out that just beer made me feel kinda puffy and like the yin without the yang! Kinda like getting a hooker or something. Not yet being a runner, my yin/ yang, beer/ workout thing started with backcounrty skiing in Colorado and Fat Tire. Then it turned into canoeing in Minnesota and Minnesota Brew, or climbing in the dessert  in J-Tree and drinking Pabst. Now as a runner it’s evolved to high octane Belgian ales, which both reduces post run soreness and restocks the carbo shelves the fastest.

What’s your favorite post-run beer?

That is completely proportionate to how hard my ass gets kicked. If I lose enough fluid I need beer volume with something like a Lone Star. If I burst through most of my lunch, I might chew on a Guinness or a Terminator Stout. But just for pure sit back and enjoy the finer goodness it’s off to Cafe Hollander for a Hennepin Ale.

Do you have a favorite place to run in Wisconsin?

We have great trail running in Kettle Moraine, which I like to hit on the weekends, but for a good midweeker- you can’t beat the Beer Line Trail in my own back yard along the Milwaukee River! 6.5 miles of sweet trails that keep you coming back for more. And of course the lakefront was host to hundreds of miles for me over the summer.

What about a favorite bar or brew pub?

I have to go a bit nostalgic here and say that there is no better place on earth to sip on a frosty friend then the Union Terrace in Madison on Lake Mendota.

Any other words of wisdom you’d like to add?

Everything in moderation- Including moderation!