DRAFT Magazine

Congrats to Brian Yaeger and Derrick Peterman for organizing and running a beer run during the recently wrapped-up San Francisco Beer Week.

“Since we both love beer and both love running,” Brian said, “we figured, why not organize an actual beer run?”

The 5K run went into Golden Gate Park and started and ended at Magnolia Pub & Brewery.

“Now that we’ve earned a pint, I’m going to get a pint of Dark Star Mild,” Brian said in this interview. “That’s my rehydration trick”

Now I have to figure out where I can find me some of these socks.

Brian Yaeger set out to visit 14 breweries across the country to cover 1% of the  1,400 American craft brewers.

The results was the beer road trip travelogue “Red, White and Brew.”

Like most journeys of discovery, this one turned out to be a journey of inner-discovery. To his own surprise, Yaeger became a Beer Runner.

“I hated running and would not say I love it now,” he said. “But now it has a hold on me.”

On Facebook, you list beer as your religious views. What is your holy trinity of beer?

Good beer, good food, good people. Can I get an Amen?

How did you get started running?

I found myself substantially upping my beer intake since I started ‘researching’ my book. I needed to burn it off. Setting out to write a book is daunting, and I kept in mind that the project was a marathon, not a sprint. So I told everyone I would run the L.A. marathon, just to ensure I wouldn’t back out. I decided to do it all at once. Burn calories. Get in shape. Raise money for the AIDS marathon. And turn the metaphorical marathon of writing a book into a literal marathon to prove to myself that all it takes is commitment.

You’d never run back-to-back miles in your life before this. How did it go?

I’ve always enjoyed cycling, and I did the California AIDS Ride from San Fran to L.A. But I felt running was something you did if a lion is chasing you, or if the ice cream truck is driving away. I knew zero about it. Then I heard about a running group that met early Saturday mornings — my favorite time because I could sleep through it — and I joined them on a 5-mile run. Miraculously, I kept up. I had no clue I could ever run that far (within a month). I was incredibly sore the next few days, but undeterred. Tragically, I discovered the following Saturday that the 5-miler was a recovery run for them! On just my second outing, I ran 10 miles.

How did you recover from that?

I took my first ice bath after the 10-miler. Imagine me explaining to the clerk at my store who was accustomed to me buying beer and muffins that I was buying two bags of ice to soak in. The 3rd week out? 14 miles! Needless to say, I did serious injury to my body. I had fewer than 4 months to train and basically had to take November off. Quitting was never an option. It was one of my greatest physical challenges and accomplishments.

Are you hooked on running now like you are with beer?

That’s the funny thing. In high school, I could nearly do a 6-minute mile. Today I can hardly do an 8-minute mile. And my half marathon times are getting slower, not faster (with the exception of 2:05 at last year’s Santa Cruz Half, which is an easy and beautiful course). So I’m neither graceful nor speedy. The hardest part is getting my running gear on. But once it’s on, I kinda, sorta love it. Essentially, as long as I drink this much beer, I need to run.

You visited 14 breweries in researching your book. Did you find many Beer Runners in those visits?

On the road trip that led to the book, I did a ton of walking around each town, but never had time for a run since I created a tight schedule. What pains me is that when I drove around the country again — this time to drink beer while promoting a book about driving around the country drinking beer — I planned to run every morning in a new city. Sadly, I broke my ankle–while running–2 weeks before the tour. I didn’t encounter any Beer Runners on crutches. But I’ve read about several brewery-sponsored races so I know there are tons of Beer Runners out there. I’d love to run in as many as possible.

Your chapter on New Belgium started with Tour de Fat in Ft. Collins. What were the highlights?

New Belgium kindly provided me with one of their Fat Tire cruisers and along with thousands of other riders, we set a Guinness world record for largest bike parade/ride. It was crazy fun. There were so many home-made bicycles including one family that turned a patio table and four bikes into a bar and grill on wheels. It’s an excellent way to promote the virtues of healthy exercise with healthy beer intake. Crazy costumes help.

In a glowing review of your book, Playboy called you “a great drinkin’ buddy.” If you could pick one drinking buddy to have a beer with, who would it be and what would you drink?

Tom Jones. No foolin’. The first time I saw him in concert I went as a joke, but the joke was on me. A dozen concerts later, I’d love to sit in a dark, Welsh pub with him and just chew the fat about his nearly 50 years in music. Any British (or Welsh) cask ale would do the trick. He just turned 69 and is pretty fit because, I kid you not, The Voice is (or at least was) a Beer Runner. Now he’s a Beer Ellipticaler.

Anything else to add?

I’m doing my first triathlon! Running long distance is troublesome, but spending an hour on an elliptical is murder. So I’m doing a sprint tri in Santa Barbara this August (and suckered my 67-year-old dad, 66-year-old mom and my girlfriend, aka Half Pint, into doing it, too). I love the cross-training and hope to do the occasional Olympic distance tri. That should earn me a few extra pints!

Photo by Inkyhack

I have been involved in countless races where beer and costumes are a big part of the festivities.

But I can’t say I’ve ever entered a race where police issued the following statement beforehand:

At the May 17 event, police will cite or arrest anybody openly drinking alcohol or appearing to be drunk, and will physically remove floats and any other items on wheels like shopping carts with kegs in them.

Really?!

That’s the annual Bay To Breakers 12K in San Francisco. Now in its 98th year, officials are cracking down on beer and nudity that has become a trademark of the famous race.

My friend Jaeson in New York alerted me to the brew-ha-ha, and word is spreading fast that this new decree will take all the fun out of the event. According to an unscientific San Francisco Chronicle online poll, nearly two-thirds of responders think it will “ruin a great S.F. tradition.”

“It’s one of the most amusing and unique events I’ve ever experienced.” said one woman, calling the new rule “devastating.”

But after checking out some of the 46,763 Bay to Breakers photos on Flickr — which I’m purposely not linking to here — I gotta say this ban may not be such a bad idea. At all.

No word yet on the Bare to Breakers website if they plan on abiding by the new policy.

Of course, I’ve never seen this spectacle firsthand. Have you? What do you make of all this?

Serious about his beer and running

John Frenette has lived in the great epicenters of American beer-drinking and running cultures.

First he went to school at DePaul in Chicago during the rise of the microbrew culture.

“Chicago has a vigorous drinking ethic,” he says. “What else are you going to do when it’s 10 degrees below zero?”

And now he lives in San Francisco where he’s launching his start-up website Hella Sound to make custom running music.

“I have never in my life seen as many runners as in San Francisco,” he says. “They’re absolutely everywhere. I believe this to be one of the great running cities in the country — if not the world.”

You can catch him writing about his workouts on his blog Slow Mofo or on Twitter or right now on the Beer Runner.

Do you have a favorite post-run beer?

Not really, although when I bonked at the San Jose Rock & Roll Half Marathon, my spirits were lifted by someone in the crowd holding a sign that said “5 More Miles Until Beer!” As I trudged along I kept thinking “yeah, a beer would be good.”

What were your favorite bar haunts while you lived in Chicago?

I tended bar in college at The Note in Wicker Park and The Elbo Room on Lincoln. This was the funnest possible job you could have in college. The Note, a 4 o’clock bar, was a crazy experience. You’ll see some antics working at a bar that doesn’t get busy until 2 a.m. I also frequented concert places like The Double Door, The Empty Bottle, Lounge Ax, and a bunch of other places. The Empty Bottle had a good beer selection; at many rock clubs, you’re lucky to get a plastic cup of Miller Lite.

What’s your favorite place to grab a beer in San Francisco?

There’s a place called Chez Maman on Union, a block or two from home. It’s a bistro that’s become our regular drinking hang out. They have fantastic food and Kronenbourg on tap. The owner is a great host and his father was apparently the brewmaster at Kronenbourg for 30 years.

Since you create soundtracks for running, what’s the best soundtrack for beer drinking?

DMB: NOT Beer Music (Thanks to Rasmin on Flickr)

I’ve never been to Oktoberfest, but I’d bet the Germans own the answer to that question. I’ll tell you what’s not beer-drinking music:  Dave Matthews’ “Satellite.” It was on a near-endless loop on the jukebox at a place we regularly drank. Sure, it’s a good song, but it’s a bit melodramatic. By the 40th listen you need a Silkwood shower and a slap in the face to feel normal again.

What’s the biggest difference between Midwest and West Coast beers cultures?

There were more comfy neighborhood bars in Chicago, more variety in the beer available. In the summer everyone is having BBQs and cookouts. My perspective is also affected by my age. I was in my 20s in Chicago — my prime drinking years — and have since gotten older and less interesting. It might be a result of trends, but there seems to be a lot of cocktail drinking in California. Maybe people are worried about calories, forgetting that complex carbohydrates are your friend.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Apparently the first marathoner racers drank milk and beer before running the event. So, beer has been with distance running since its modern inception. You can’t argue with history.