Will Run for Beer 5K
Hampton, NH
- 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Raise a glass at New England’s pitcher perfect beer run with the return of the annual Will Run For Beer 5K this June. Experience a taste of Hampton, New Hampshire as you run through this flat and fast 5K course. The course traverses the quiet, tree-lined streets of beautiful Hampton. … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jun 15):
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
| H (°F) | 84 | 77 | 73 | 71 | 69 |
| L (°F) | 63 | 57 | 59 | 60 | 48 |
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Great Time!
Note: This was my first “official” 5K race, so my review is based solely on the experience of this race without comparing it to any others. Production: The volunteers were … MORE
Note: This was my first “official” 5K race, so my review is based solely on the experience of this race without comparing it to any others.
Production: The volunteers were very friendly and helpful. Parking, sign-in, swag pickup, and gear check were all easy to find and smooth, quick processes. Plenty of port-o-John’s. A funny, friendly MC. Well-marked starting area, finish line, and finish party area. Volunteers handed out medals and a cold bottle of water to runners immediately upon crossing the finish line. The medal was a nice, heavy bottle opener on a pretty patterned ribbon. There was minimal “bunching”/chaos at the start/finish lines given how many participants there were. Finisher photos were uploaded to the official race website (which you could get to by scanning the QR code on your bib) within a few hours of the conclusion of the event.
Course: The race itself was as described on the event site: relatively flat through woods-lined paved country roads. It was well-marked and there were volunteers every half-mile or so cheering and pointing the way. Residents cheered from their front yards. The Mile 2 aid station was staffed with volunteers handing out cups of water. My GPS said that the race was 3.17 miles, which impacted my finish time a little.
After-Party: BBQ burgers/hot dogs/veggie burgers and a taco truck, a local band playing live music, friendly fellow participants to chat with on the long food/beer lines. You could choose lager or pale ale. The beers were pre-poured into plastic cups and were ice cold. Winners were awarded a wooden coaster with the event logo on one side and their place/category on the other AND a pretty branded beer bottle cozy. To learn your results, you had to scan the QR code on your bib after the race concluded, then claim your prize yourself; no winners’ names were announced.
Overall Impressions/Summary: I had a great time at this race. As a first-time 5Ker, I appreciated the laid-back, friendly atmosphere. While there were advanced racers there, this was a chill, non-competitive event. With my time of 30m59s, I finished in the top 44% overall. I’ll definitely run this race again next year! Highly recommend.
Will Run For Grilled Cheese
I definitely do not run for beer but I was looking for a short race in NH to run with my dad for Father's Day. We were initially going to … MORE
I definitely do not run for beer but I was looking for a short race in NH to run with my dad for Father’s Day. We were initially going to do the equally unappealing RibFest 5 Miler by Millennium but when that ended up being one of the only races Millennium canceled this year, we decided to do this race instead. This race is produced by Loco the other big running company in NH. However Loco just announced last week they were bought by some new, big nation-wide running company called Ventures Endurance so I wasn’t sure how that might affect this race but it seemed to be a non-issue. It will be interesting to see how it changes things in the future though for Loco races since I am doing Rockfest this Fall. This race is in Portsmouth at the Smuttynose brewery. You signed up for waves. My dad and I signed up for the earliest 8am wave since we were going to a baseball game this afternoon. Parking and packet pick-up were easy the day of the race. The packet included a really, nice technical 3/4 length baseball style shirt that says “Will Run for Beer” very large. I will wear it ironically. You also get a beer Koozie. Start was organized well and waves left every 15 minutes. Course was sort of a lollipop with a few short out and backs around the brewery. It was an okay course. It was mostly wooded and shaded which was nice since it was hot. There was nothing too exciting to look at but it was pleasant. There was a busy street right along a lot of the course so lots of car noises so I’d recommend listening to music. I should have looked at course elevation more. I presumed it would be pancake flat as it was near the seacoast but it had some little rollers. About 100 feet of elevation gain. Flatter than most NH races and normally I’d hardly notice them but it was hillier than I was hoping for since I was so sore today from the 3 half marathons I did in 8 days. My biggest issue with the course is it was again slightly short at 3 miles (although I didn’t care so much today as I again was so sore). I’m pretty sure everyone is too drunk at these alcohol themed races to measure properly lol. I was actually shocked by how well I finished. I felt terribly sore coming into this race and I was actually able to run the entire race at a slow but reasonable pace. At the finish line there was water bottles and bananas. There was also a beer garden where you could redeem your 2 beer tickets and meal ticket on your bib. There was a barbeque with hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers and a gourmet grilled cheese truck! I did not redeem the beer tickets but I couldn’t say no to gourmet grilled cheese and it did not disappoint.