Run Eat Drink Podcast
Welcome to the Run Eat Drink Podcast! This is the podcast where we embark on exciting adventures, combining our love for running, delicious food, and tasty beverages. Whether you’re an elite runner aiming for victory or just starting your “Couch to 5K” journey, we’ve got something for you. Let’s dive into the three pillars of our show:
Accomplish (Run): Accomplishment is deeply personal. Are you eyeing a race series win, planning your next “run-cation,” or hoping to set a personal record in your next half-marathon? Each week, we feature fantastic destination races from around the country. Discover scenic courses, learn about the charities they support, and get inspired to lace up those running shoes. And when we’re not on the road, we share interviews, training tips, and insights from our own running journey.
Explore (Eat): Running and traveling go hand in hand. As we explore new places, we also explore local cuisine. We seek out hidden gems—the eateries that locals rave about. Bold flavors, interesting dishes, and passion for food—that’s what we’re after. After each race, join us as we wander the city streets, discovering post-race refueling spots. Whether it’s a gastropub, a food truck, or a cozy café, we’ve got dining options to satisfy your cravings.
Indulge (Drink): When the running is done, it’s time to unwind. We raise our glasses to celebrate our accomplishments. Local breweries, coffee shops, speakeasies, and watering holes—these are our destinations. From craft beers to artisanal cocktails, we explore the beverage scene. Cheers to a well-deserved drink after crossing the finish line!
Join us on this journey of accomplishment, exploration, and indulgence. Whether you’re a seasoned runner or a curious foodie, there’s a place for you at the Run Eat Drink Podcast.
Run Eat Drink Podcast
RED Episode 300: 'Tis the Season to Give Back
RED Episode 300 SHOW NOTES
SHOUT OUTS
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Thank you to EVERYONE in the Runcation Nation. We could not have made it to 300 episodes without your support, encouragement, and listening to us banter on and on for the last 300+ shows. Thank you. It means so much that we can’t even put it into words.
Thanks to all our patrons and everyone in the Runcation Nation for your support and encouragement. Because of you, we have kept the show going over the last two years, so thank you!
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Thank you to Dean Gerber, Associate Producer of our show, and Josh Ozbirn, Executive Producer of the podcast, too!
Support the Moffitt Cancer Center!
In this episode, we talk with Bill Manley, Sales and Marketing Director for Foothills Brewing, and Nikki Popovich, Marketing Director for 311 Endurance Events. They were so generous with their time that they donated an entry to an event made for Runcationers like us… the CraftHalf!
Find Mike and great beer from Foothills here:
https://www.foothillsbrewing.com/
Find Nikki and other awesome events here:
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THAT’S A WRAP!
Thank you for listening! Because of your support, we are in our eighth year of the podcast! Don’t forget to follow us and tell us where to find you next on our website, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Also, check out our store on the website and get some swag, thanks to Pure Creative Apparel. Thanks to www.PodcastMusic.com for providing the music for this episode, too!
Hi everyone, it's Mevka Flesgahi, the Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon champion and Olympic silver medalist and you are listening to the Run Eat Drink podcast.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Run Eat Drink podcast. We feature destination races from across the country and after the race, we take you on a tour of the best local food and beverage to celebrate. So, whether you are an elite runner or a back of the packer like us, you'll know the best places to accomplish, explore and indulge on your next runcation. Hey, welcome to episode 300. It's finally here. We made it. It's episode 300 and we can't thank all of you enough Runcation Nation for your support, for listening to this podcast for 300 plus episodes. We have little ones in the feed that are quick bites and little messages from hurricanes and whatnot, and we just don't know how to thank you enough for helping us build a wonderful community and for coming along on this crazy ride for the last 300 episodes.
Speaker 2:This episode is going to feature one of our auction items from this auction that we have going on online for Moffitt Cancer Center, which ends tonight. We are supporting Moffitt Cancer Center and all the way up through tonight they will match, match. It's a two times match for Moffitt Cancer Center and, as most of my father has received life-changing and life-saving treatments from Moffitt Cancer Center and we're so grateful to them. One of the auction items happens to be a race entry, so if we have any 50 staters trying to get a half marathon in there, we have Nikki Popovich on our show and also a very special guest from a brewery on this episode to give us a little bit of a chat about entry to the craft half in Winston-Salem, north Carolina. Without further ado, we are going to celebrate this New Year's Eve episode with a lovely chat from amazing people. Here's Nikki and a very special guest and we hope you enjoy, have a happy new year and you all can still bid on items up through tonight and we hope that you do. And thanks for 300 amazing episodes.
Speaker 2:Runcation Nation Enjoy Happy new year. It's the Run Eat Drink podcast and this week we are highlighting what I think is the perfect event for us, and today joining me we have Nikki and Bill. Nikki Popovich, your brand development for Junction 311, endurance Events, and people will know your face from previous episodes and when you hear her voice, you will hear her and recall her from Big Beach Marathon weekend and talking about what we can't wait to do in January of 2025. But today we have a brand new guest joining her Bill Manley, who's Director of Sales and Marketing for Foothills Brewing. You all welcome and good morning on this fine Sunday morning.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2:We're so excited. Good morning, Nikki. And so thank you for coming on back and thank you for bringing Bill with you. I really appreciate you all coordinating this, the craft half. When you sent me a message about that and you were willing to donate a free race entry to that weekend and I got to look in on the website and seeing the connection between foothills and everything in that race weekend, I can't. I was like we are, we run and then we eat and drink to celebrate our accomplishments. You know, sometimes it's coffee, like this morning, Sometimes it's delicious craft beer. Bill, are you having coffee right there?
Speaker 1:This is beer. No, it's actually coffee. It's still a little too early.
Speaker 2:I almost spit out my coffee. It's too early, are you sure? I mean because Well.
Speaker 1:I mean it's never too early, but I stayed up late, too late last night getting Christmas stuff together.
Speaker 2:And so today it's too early.
Speaker 1:Of course you know craft half day. You know start drinking early and often.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because you have to replenish the calories that you run right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:In a premier event. Now, nikki, can you? Just the last time you were here, we introduced you and we haven't introduced Bill yet. Here, we introduced you and we haven't introduced Bill yet. So let me just dial it back a notch, because I'm so excited to get to the running, the eating and the drinking and the destination that you have. Nikki, who are you?
Speaker 3:My name is Nikki Popovich. I actually enjoy running, I enjoy drinking beer, I enjoy drinking coffee as well, but my primary job, other than caretaker and mother with my family, is marketing and brand development for Junction 311 Endurance Sports. And I'm very happy to be joining you, and last time we were together we talked about Big Beach. Yes, and this time it is an honor to talk about Kraft Half.
Speaker 2:I am so excited when you said that to me. Yes, it's perfect, bill, introduce yourself to the Run Case and Nation. If you would Tell us who you are, and we already know you're drinking coffee, but Sure yeah, I'm Bill Manley.
Speaker 1:I'm the Director of Sales and Marketing at Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem and, along with Junction 311, we're the sponsors of the Kraft Half.
Speaker 2:Speaking of the craft half. So your brewery is in Winston-Salem, that's North Carolina.
Speaker 1:Yep.
Speaker 2:And can you start off by telling us, like how long has this event been in existence? What's the history behind it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good question. Actually, I'm not sure when the first craft half was. I've been with Foothills about two and a half years. Okay, I don't think I was on the job more than two weeks when I first met Nikki to say we got to talk about the craft half and I was like what's the craft half? And so learning by doing it. What's it been, nikki? It's seven years 2016.
Speaker 2:2016? Yeah, eight years.
Speaker 1:Eight years, 2016?.
Speaker 2:Yeah, eight years, yeah, eight years.
Speaker 1:So you're coming up on a big one Like 10, right, so it'll be nine in 2025.
Speaker 2:Yeah, math, I can't do math. That math is my sister's expertise and specialty, my older sister, she and I don't know what happened. I'm the young one, I lost all the math. But it's going to be in April of 2025. And you said so. It's eight years. And, nikki, can you talk a little bit about the history of the event?
Speaker 3:Well, one of the most special parts of it and it's actually an honor that people don't think it's our race they think it's Foothills, and so the biggest pride piece is that we're okay with that and we want to continue to do an amazing job because we don't want to disrespect anything that they are about. So foothills is a staple in wins in salem and in the beer community, the beer world, and part of the history of the race and inviting the other breweries is that they wanted to give people that were smaller the opportunity to showcase themselves. So it was a platform to allow participants and spectators to meet smaller breweries and to sample who and what they are.
Speaker 3:So our job is just to do what we do and produce the race and foothills is the one that brings the fun and showcases everyone else, of course, bringing the fun.
Speaker 2:okay, the running is the first of the fun and then you get to the beverage later with the medal and the celebration and you get to be introduced to other breweries. So it sounds like Foothill's paying it forward to some smaller breweries who are trying to get off the ground too, and that's always been the tradition For the running. Can you just what's the course like?
Speaker 3:Okay, if you've never been to Winston-Salem, there are hills, so we don't hide from it. Amy, you just accepted it, I know.
Speaker 2:We've had this discussion before. I'm a Florida girl. We're like I don't know 11 feet above sea level, so we have to train.
Speaker 3:The thing is, the hill for you is no different than it is for the person beside you, so you just got to get over it. You're at the finish.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you have let me dial it back. You have a 5K, which may not be as hilly as a half, because a half is longer, right, yeah, yes, yeah, does the 5K follow the same course as the half? What is that all about? It does Okay.
Speaker 3:The half is an out and back. We start in downtown Winston-Salem and one of the coolest parts is 4th Street. Where Foothills is located is the longest city block in Winston. So we close that block for the party and then the run takes you out and we go on some greenways and then you come back for the party.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, okay, and so the start is where you end up, and so you get to see where you're going to arrive, back at the party to have the beer, all the beer that Winston-Salem has to offer, including foothills. But so is there, and of course there's a challenge. You can do what the 5k? And then there's a what a fast one mile.
Speaker 3:There is.
Speaker 2:Yes, there is Okay so you can do both races.
Speaker 3:So for someone like you coming from out of town, maybe you don't want, maybe you want to get your bang for your buck right, so you can do both of them if you want and then for a lot of people that are local to here we, the race is a part of a race series, and so by participating in both, you can get double the points and double the races oh, somebody who is bling driven.
Speaker 2:I imagine there's a bonus medal involved in that too, and there's a party and there's a party. Okay, so for those of us who might be back of the Packers, then the 5k and one mile challenge might be the way to go, but the half has got like a three hour time limit. Is that what I read on the website?
Speaker 3:Yes, it's typically three to three and a half hours. Yes, and we like our walkers, we like our fun runners. Yay, always use the sidewalks as well. The city of Winston is very strict about keeping the roads safe, but because so much of it is on a greenway and then you can transition to the sidewalk, we're pretty flexible.
Speaker 2:That's good to know because back at the Packers they look at that 13.1 miles and thinking, yeah, OK, I could really earn the beer and earn the party, but I don't know about that time limit. So that's good to know that. It seems very reminiscent of the Jeff Galloway half marathon that we used to do in Atlanta, where you can transition to the sidewalks and it seems very run Walker friendly type of race weekend.
Speaker 3:So we leave the start lineup and finish lineup as well. We can track who's still out there and we always have the sleeper behind and we're in constant contact, so we make sure that everybody still gets the finished time and the same quality experience.
Speaker 2:My back of the Packer heart is full now. That is it. That is it People Runcation Nation. You have to do it. You have to do it when we come into. Oh, look at the bling too. We're very bling driven, is this? It's a bottle opener. I was going to say it's a bottle opener, not that you have to use that at the after party Bill, I imagine.
Speaker 1:No, that's a save for later.
Speaker 2:That's a save for later. And look at that. That's great. You got the hops on the metal. Is that what I'm seeing For anybody who's listening audio wise? But yeah, and we'll have the picture of the metal in the episode artwork. So you get the metal. You get some kind of after party which we need to know about more, about Bill, and you get a I imagine there's a shirt involved, so yeah which we're going to see. Look at this.
Speaker 3:Oh, this was last year's.
Speaker 2:And it looks like it's a maroon color background within that metal. Can you tease us, though, what the color might be, or you don't know? No, okay, all right, fine, you just have to come do the race, people. You have to come Runcation Nation. You have to come do the race. So we've seen the swag. Can you talk about the after party Bill?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, that's what we're here for, right. We've got music, we've got beer, we've got excitement, we've got all sorts of stuff and I think that's a big piece. So every runner that comes gets they're run number, obviously, and each on those they have little tickets and you can get a pint of Foothills beer and a pint of a beer from any of the guest breweries that are there, and we usually have about a dozen breweries in addition to Foothills. So there's lots of beer, lots of community. Yeah, it's pretty fun, and then, if you feel like two is not enough, you can get some more tickets and keep the party going.
Speaker 2:So two are included in the race entry fee and then you can go beyond that and I imagine this long block that you close off for the party is like a wet zone, if you will, so you can walk around and there are booths set up to indulge, since our tagline is accomplish first, then explore and indulge in the breweries.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, that's exactly right, yep.
Speaker 2:Okay, and I, of course. I've seen on your website they're up to 12 breweries and involved in that. But now do we want to tease anybody else aside from Foothills? That's coming or not yet?
Speaker 1:A lot of breweries in in the area that all have real active run clubs and are part of the running community and so we always have some perennial favorites that are local, that have really great run clubs. So I think so far this year we have Wise man Brewing and Filling Fish and Four Saints out of Asheboro, North Carolina, that are already signed up. But the call just went out last week and so usually it takes a little while for everybody to get signed up and everything.
Speaker 1:I mean we usually have a pretty good cross section of a lot of different breweries from all over the area and everybody brings cool beers and a lot of times they'll bring their run clubs and get all dressed up and everybody has a really good time. It's just a great party.
Speaker 2:Costumes are welcome on the run and in the after party it sounds yes and I imagine food will be available.
Speaker 1:We do have food, yep, and we had some food sponsors last year, and then Foothills provides some food, and then we're right in front of our pub and restaurant in downtown Winston too, and many folks will finish up and go on into the pub and have some lunch.
Speaker 2:I have to say that some of the best half marathons I've ever finished and gone to an after party. There there was your team. Bill sent a picture of a burger and oh, mouthwatering burger that I would just. There's nothing like a beer and a burger after a run.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you need some motivation, that's a pretty good motivator.
Speaker 2:Oh, so in checking out and I will link to the menu the brewery and it sounds like we can just like. The running and sampling of some quality craft beer seem to always go hand in hand. If we're coming you've talked about locals and things around there If we're coming from out of town, which clearly if we're coming from Florida, what airport do we need to fly into?
Speaker 3:First of all, so I PTI, yeah, piedmont, triad International.
Speaker 2:OK.
Speaker 3:It is the easiest airport you have ever gone to in your entire life.
Speaker 2:We like that.
Speaker 3:Parking is right there, Ubers are right there. It's very close to Winston, High Point and Greensboro. Okay so it's super easy Then right on the block of where Foothills is. One of our sponsor hotels is Marriott and it's right next door so you literally could roll out of bed to the start line.
Speaker 2:Does that mean we can roll out of bed or like just roll on over from the airport to the expo?
Speaker 3:So we do two packet pickups, we do one. We tend to steer away from expos. We think a lot of people are getting over. That depends. If you're new to that experience, maybe you enjoy it, but a lot of people, everybody's trying to sell you something, so you just blow by it unless you need it, like unless your luggage has you've forgotten something in your luggage, and that kind of thing, right, yeah you do two pickups.
Speaker 3:One is that foothills tasting room, so that is where they do all their beer production and also where Run Club takes place. So you can pull up to Packet Pickup and carb load with food and beer.
Speaker 2:Oh yes.
Speaker 3:Three days prior, and then we do another pickup at Fleet Feet so you can get gear, shoes, gels, whatever you need feet, so you can get gear, shoes, gels, whatever you need.
Speaker 2:So you can have a tasting and get all your gear or all your expo, your race pickup, your bib and that kind of thing. Or you can go to Fleet Feet if you've forgotten something, or you need nutrition or anything like that. That's perfect. That's perfect, absolutely perfect. Same day packet pickup or no.
Speaker 3:We try to steer away from that. Just for ease of execution. We do allow it. So if you're coming from out of town and your flight gets in late, yeah, but we really ask people that are local to step up their game.
Speaker 2:Get it. Get it so you can focus on the enjoyment of the event.
Speaker 3:And so I don't have to get there at four.
Speaker 2:I can get there at five. Oh wait, okay, so all of the events in this they take place on Saturday of the race weekend. And what did I? It was April, april 5th, okay, and what time do all the events start?
Speaker 3:Okay, so the late packet pickup and those things start at 7. The races start at 9. Okay, and then the party and the block is closed until noon.
Speaker 2:Ah, so all of the races they start at 9.
Speaker 3:We do the 5K a little bit after the one mile after that.
Speaker 2:Okay, okay, yeah, but the longest one is yeah First Okay.
Speaker 3:But the longest one is yeah, and you could just roll out of bed at the Marriott and just saunter on down and cross the start and get to the beer, and so the finish line is the same as the start line. Is there any finish line tradition or any new kind of thing that happens that's coming up this year? Mainly so, bill is always an advocate for making sure we get a beer in the hand of the first place finishers, which is hard because they're fast. Yes, that's so true, and we are lucky to have some really great partners and sponsors, so we usually have some mascots from some local groups, like the Winston-Salem Dash, and we also have the Winston-Salem Open Silly mascots are there.
Speaker 3:They hide if the kids are afraid, aw.
Speaker 2:Aw, okay, you try to get a beer in the hand of the first place finishers Definitely the mid and the backpackers are coming up for that Bill. What is this beer that we should have from Foothills?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we usually do a specific beer, a craft half beer, every year and you can only get it at the craft half.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, is that a canned version that we?
Speaker 3:might be able to take.
Speaker 2:It is. It's a tall boy.
Speaker 1:It's a tall boy, right, that's a 19.2, so you get a little bit extra.
Speaker 2:Extra, Extra for the effort, especially if you do two events right. I'm thinking a 5k the one. Yes, you got to do it, you got to do it. So what's your flagship beer, Bill.
Speaker 1:Our flagship beer is Hoppy MIPA and it's been around for a long time. This coming year is a big year for Foothills in general. It's our 20th anniversary of breweries, so we were one of the first breweries in Winston-Salem and a very early brewing company to start in North Carolina and now North Carolina has got a ton of breweries, hundreds and hundreds. But yeah, it's nice to be one of the OGs that's still around and I think that's one of the important parts about doing this race and having the community built and having the other breweries around and it's just, we've been around a long time and I think it's important to build that community.
Speaker 2:For sure, for sure. So you are. Are you at always? Is it an IPA forward brewery?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we are. Yeah, probably two thirds of all the beer we make is some form of an IPA, although we have a bunch of different other beers that are super popular. We make a big imperial stout called sexual chocolate and then a barrel aged version of that also. It's really famous. We have people that come and wait in line to get it every year and it's a big party that goes around that I saw that in the photos that you all sent over, I was like this is so hysterical.
Speaker 2:Maybe not the one that I'll start with at the finish line, because it looked like it might be a little bit higher in ABV than, say, some of your. It's a lot higher in ABV.
Speaker 1:But if you're worried about muscle cramping, that's the one to do. That's a full body relaxer.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's good to know. Yes, yes, okay, okay, other than I don't want to talk about are there other sites or places to eat and drink around that finish after the running. The eating and the drinking is done at the event proper. If we're making it into a true runcation and we relax in the days after, are there places we should go, things we should do?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so we're right downtown Winston-Salem. So you know, obviously 4th Street and Foothills has a couple of locations on 4th Street there, but we're right in the central business district. So there's tons of bars and restaurants and lots of places people can go, cool galleries and shops and all sorts of stuff. That's all within walking distance because we're right in the thick of it here in Winston-Salem.
Speaker 2:Oh yes. So is there anything else that the Runcation Nation needs to know? Let's see, we've talked about the after party. We've talked about how to get there. Should we Uber car rental? What is your feeling about that, the two of you?
Speaker 3:Honestly, if you're coming from the airport Ubering, especially if you stay at the Marriott and then after the race, everything is right around Foothills. Foothills really created downtown. It followed Downtown, followed Foothills yes, but if you did get a car, obviously there's a ton of parking right around there and that would allow you to explore a little wider outside of the downtown. It would really be up to you. If you're going to imbibe on the cocktails, I would say just Uber.
Speaker 2:Everything's super close, that's good to know, yeah, that Uber and Lyft are readily available around there, readily available around there. And the way that you say that, the way that you say that Foothills created that downtown, it is very, it's very reminiscent of here in Cape Coral. I have to shout out Nice Guys Pizza. They are, if you ever come to the Cape Coral area either one of you. You should go there because they created our downtown afterlife and everything built up around them they have now. They wouldn't be competitors. They would bring in your beer bill.
Speaker 1:If you, just if you distribute it if you distribute it, and they have.
Speaker 2:They love to make the craft cocktail game really strong, but they are downtown, built up around them. Which beer in your stable should they bring to Nice? Guys Pizza? If they, if you do distribute and do you distribute?
Speaker 1:You know we actually don't distribute to Florida. We're really only in North and South Carolina, unfortunately, but yeah we just got to go to the.
Speaker 2:Yeah, say that again, nikki. I'm so sorry you got a packet Suitcase.
Speaker 1:Yes, this is why I, nikki, I'm so sorry you got to pack it.
Speaker 3:You need to get your suitcase.
Speaker 2:Yes, this is why I need an extra suitcase.
Speaker 1:Yes, okay, but or to drive, you could actually drive and then yeah, and then you load up the trunk, you got everything, and take cans, and take cans, yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, so we've talked about transportation, we've talked about where to stay that Marriott that's right next to everything about the race weekend. Are there any other tips or tricks that you feel would be good for the Runcation Nation to know when traveling to this event?
Speaker 3:recommend going to look at visit winston-salem the website and just seeing what is around, because there really is so much there to do and much like anything. If you just show up, you don't really know. So you can get your full fill with the race and you can get your every meal brunch, breakfast, lunch, beverages at foothills but you can also explore around. There's a local it's called Old Salem, like a Moravian community, that you could go visit. There's a lot of colleges that are in the area, so Wake Forest is right there. Yes, there's Rinalda Village and the Rinalda House that you can go tour. So there's a lot of history, there's a lot of great food, there's a lot of great drinks.
Speaker 2:It sounds like the perfect runcation destination. So I think that we have the entry for the, for the half was about that, but there are events that are less if you're looking at budgeting the race entries or you want to do the multiples right. So, yeah, so I think there's something for everybody there. Do you both run? I'm not a runner.
Speaker 2:unfortunately, you run, you run and you're not a runner. Okay, so here's the question. Here is the post-interview question I have. We've talked about the event. Here's what I want to know. So if you were to run any race, nikki, if you were to have any, to sit down with anyone over a a foothills beer let's just say it like that who would it be and why? So who would you run that race with? Who would you drink that beer with? Is what I want to know. I want to tailor it to what you do. If you're not a runner, then you know who would be the companion to sit down and have a beer to celebrate that 20th anniversary of the brewery. And then, who would you run with? Now, who knows their answer right off. I don't.
Speaker 1:I want to give you, you're thinking, you're thinking.
Speaker 2:It's. Let's play the Jeopardy theme. Yeah, yeah, if I had it on the board I would play it.
Speaker 3:I know for sure. I have a group of friends and we call ourselves the Golden Girls and they are my ride or die. Two of them I work with, one of them is just a friend and our favorite thing to do. So obviously I'm out of a lot, out of a lot of races, but when I'm not working them, we like to travel and run them together, and they would be. So there's four of us.
Speaker 2:Yes, do you want to shout them out on the show, is it yeah?
Speaker 3:Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:It's like how I feel about Dana having, even though he's injured right now. To have him at the finish would normally have him on the race course would be great, but as he's healing, to have him at the finish, waiting with the Foothills beer would be just a plus. Yes, bill, who might you sit down with over a beer?
Speaker 1:So I'm going to take a different way with this because I don't think I could limit to one single person. So I mean the whole reason I want to be in the beer business and the thing that I think is the coolest about the beer business is like beer is one of those things that like brings everybody together. That's the whole point of it. And it's supposed to be one of those things that kind of enhances your time and makes those connections stronger.
Speaker 1:And so doing a thing like going to the craft half and I say this every year- it's a lot of work to put it together and there's a lot of kind of stress leading up to it and in the morning, in the dark, when you're setting up everything and you're just like, oh gosh, why are we doing this? And then you get there and there's just thousands of people crowding on the roads, all smiling and happy in the sunshine, holding beers. It's like the best feeling ever because you feel like it's a job well done and you're doing the thing that we, as brewers, set out to do, and it's just like we're providing fun.
Speaker 1:We're providing this free work for people to come together and have a good time and make their memories, and that's the thing that I love about all of this. And if I had to stop in, when the dust settles after the race and you can stand in the road and everything's shut down and you're still drinking a beer with everybody around you smiling and laughing and having a great time like that, that that's the best part about it and I think it's so satisfying, so rewarding.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure that Bill just picked me, yeah, and I think it's so satisfying, so rewarding.
Speaker 1:Oh yes, I'm pretty sure that Bill just picked me. Yes, and Nikki, I think. After the race ended last year we did have a beer. We were standing in the road as everything was being broken down, having a beer just standing in the street.
Speaker 2:It would be great to see your faces after a successful what? Ninth year of the craft half. It would be great to capture that picture, like the sun's going down and you're taking everything down and you're just toasting in the perfect sunlight at sundown for an amazing event that everybody must see. Really, really, what you have described is the perfect runcation and I hope that people will bid on this item, or just how many people normally come to this event.
Speaker 3:So every year it sells out, and every year we increase the number of registrations. So eventually we'll hit a cap that we can't change. But a lot of times we set the cap based on volume in terms of communications with foothills to produce the beer to have the staff. We serve everybody food. We have to order the medals. You have to order the shirts.
Speaker 3:So last year we were over 1500. This year we'll increase it again and but it's still. We have people raise day. Why can't I sign up? And it's ahead of time? Come on, you can do it. So typically there's for every runner there's usually at least one guest, yes, and then the block party is open to the public. So all the funds raised from selling beer tickets goes to charity. Um, and a big shout out to foothills because they um bring the bulk of the beer.
Speaker 3:All the runners get one beer ticket from them and then they get one from one of the guests, and so they really have to step up their game and provide a lot of beer, a lot of food, a lot of staff, a lot of energy.
Speaker 2:Yes, you said that it goes to charity. What have you selected? The charity at this time?
Speaker 3:Yes, we have two charities that we work with. One is Twin City Track Club, so it's a nonprofit locally and they do a lot for the running community. And then the other has to do with clean water, because the number one ingredient in beer is water, so you have to have clean water.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wonderful, I didn't even know it was because we love to run for charity. Clearly, we are running this year for both the Donna Foundation and for Moffitt Cancer Center, as Dana's mother went through, was diagnosed with it and passed away in 2016. And my dad is currently undergoing chemo for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. So to know that you support community organizations and it's just awesome. Another reason why people in the Runcation Nation runners, run, walkers wherever you are should consider coming to this. And you have time to plan.
Speaker 2:It's December people, my runner friends, you have four months to train for those hills. You have four months to have a race plan. You have an affordable race registration. You have a wonderful after party and a medal that can double as an opener a bottle opener for later. Come on, it's awesome that members of the Runcation Nation will join us, either by bidding on the race entry linktreecom slash runeatdrinkpodcast that's where you can see all the items up for bid or, if you miss it and someone outbids you, then you can go to crafthalfcom for details on the race weekend and to register, and we'll have links to both the brewery and the crafthalfcom, as well as anything that we've talked about in today's show. Nikki and Bill, I cannot thank you enough for coming on the show and showcasing runcation for us, and we cannot wait to accomplish, explore and indulge with you in April of 2025.
Speaker 1:Thanks for having us. We'll be glad to see everybody out there. I can't wait for it.
Speaker 2:Cheers.
Speaker 1:Cheers to you.
