DRAFT Magazine

Not all races are created equal.

Some are hyper-competitive. Some have rampant nudity. Some have an epic beer-filled finish line. Some run out of water at aid stations.

But you don’t always know what you’re going to get until you sign up, plunk down your entry fee, and toe the starting line.

Racevine wants to change that.

Greg Lou

“We wanted to make it simple to search and find a race,” says co-founder Greg Lou. “And also easy to review positive and negative race experiences.”

Racevine is kind of like a Yelp for endurance races, combining easy searching and user-generated reviews.

In fact, I urged Greg to create “beer prominence” as its own race category, just like location or distance. (He was non-committal.)

“I do think it would be a very cool and funny feature,” he added.

I’m holding out hope. In the meantime, I talked with him about what to expect from the new, very cool site.

Did you have beer at the Racevine launch party?

We did! We went with Fat Tire, Stella, Pilsner Urquell, and Beck’s. We’re taking requests for next time we throw a party.
How did you come up with the idea of Racevine?

The idea was to answer a simple question: Where do you find everything about a race? If you want to find a movie, there’s Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes. For travel there’s Expedia, Travelocity, etc. Yelp or Zagat have restaurants covered. But if someone wants to find a race and everything about it, the answer wasn’t that obvious.

What sorts of races can people look up on Racevine?

Our goal is to support the endurance race community and help raise awareness for these crazy races we all love to do. Right now, we cover half marathons, marathons, and triathlons (all distances) in the US, but we’re planning to add shorter distance running races, and other types of races in the future.

Have any memorable races with beer?

Can’t say I have, but our users have reported beer sightings at a few races. At the end of the Surf City Marathon, for instance, they have the famous beer garden. The University of Florida aid station is rumored to have beer at the Great Floridian Triathlon.

My first Ironman in Florida this past November. Absolutely amazing. If any beer runners out there are contemplating an Ironman, it will one of the best experiences of your life.

How about a review of your favorite beer?

Just got back from Hawaii, and really enjoyed the Kona Longboard Lager. It has a very light, yet solid taste, perfect for relaxing on the beach or after a race. The company that makes the beer is located in Kona, HI, which is where they hold the Ironman World Championship and the Kona Marathon!

Anything else to add?

We hope that someday you can say “I heard it through the Racevine.”