Mari Latimer / Submitted photoParticipants of the St. Patrick's Day Dash start the course at Deschutes Brewery & Public House in 2014. This year's race will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Beer has been a celebrated pastime of Bend residents for decades, and so has running. It seems only natural to combine the two, leading to the tradition of beer runs, growler runs, keg legs and more.

St. Pat’s Day run

The St. Patrick’s Day Dash, taking place at Deschutes Brewery & Public House (see “If you go”), is one of the many runs in town with a beer focus, featuring a party at the finish line with plenty of brews to choose from.

The dash is put on every year by the Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club in partnership with Deschutes Brewery . Anna Robbins, of Mt. Bachelor Rotary Club and co-chair of the event, estimates that the number of participants for this year’s race will grow by at least 200. This year the race is benefiting the KIDS Center. Last year’s beneficiary was the The Bethlehem Inn, which received $25,000.

Five years ago the club was looking for a partner and Deschutes Brewery stepped forward, saying it didn’t have a “St. Patty’s Day thing yet.”

“I think that Deschutes (Brewery) is such an integral part of this community … when you think of Bend,” said Robbins. “They are significant community participants, both as individuals and as a company.”

The 5K dash starts at 10:05 a.m. Saturday and ends with a bash, featuring live music by Five Pint Mary and chili and beer for race participants, with soda available for kids. The brewery will open up before the dash to offer a shot of stout, a breakfast cookie and a cup of coffee for all racers. Prizes will be awarded for best costume and fastest female and male runners.

Beer Chase

The Bend Beer Chase is another huge event in Central Oregon, featuring a 70-mile course dotted with beer tasting stations from 16 Central Oregon breweries and several beer-themed competitions. Courtney Drewsen, Chief Communications Ninja (yes, ninja), at Cascade Lakes Race Group, says she is expecting more than 700 participants this June (the race in October 2014 drew 400 participants). With relay teams of six, the race starts at Worthy Brewing Co. in Bend and finishes at Crows Feet Commons, but not before the participants travel to Redmond and Sisters and back. This event features a “keg leg,” similar to a pub crawl, in which the whole relay team runs together from the finish at Crows Feet to Bend Brewing Co. to Silver Moon Brewing and finally finishes at Crux Fermentation Project for a brewfest and bash. Drewsen believes it’s a great opportunity for people to do “two things in one.”

“People experience brewing and get some exercise … (with) amazing views of the mountains. In a way it’s similar to the concept of the ale trail,” said Drewsen.

Growler runs and more

Peggy White and her husband Scott, co-owners of Fleet Feet Sports, have been participating in the “running with beer boom” for about a year now. They offer growler runs on the last Thursday of every month. A group meets at the shop, located at 1320 NW Galveston Ave., and goes on a three- to five-mile run, after which the group gathers at Fleet Feet to sample beer donated by Growler Phil’s. It started with around two to three people and steadily grew to a consistent group of 15-20. White believes this running-with-beer phenomenon can be attributed solely to Bend; “Everybody loves to run, be outdoors … (and) people love beer in this town. When you say free beer, all types of people come.”

White mentioned that Fleet Feet is currently partnering with Hola!, to have a Cinco de Mayo run in Bend featuring margaritas and tequila tasting.

Cascade Lakes Race Group has also partnered with FootZone, located at 845 NW Wall St. in Bend, to offer pub runs on the first Monday of every month. FootZone has been offering the runs for three or four years, including a three- to five-mile run to a local pub. They have a pretty consistent group that shows up every month. Michelle Poirot, marketing and events coordinator at FootZone, said, “It’s a gentle introduction for people who have just moved here, to run with all these people and then chat over a beer.”

“There’s so much community around us and so many people enjoying each other,” said Poirot. “It’s much more about community than running and drinking beer.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0351; swilkins@bendbulletin.com