Gulp and Gallop

The Gulp and Gallop is the kick-off to the annual Oktoberfest held at Mt. Snow, VT.  It’s literally what it sounds like… drink and run.  My dream 5k!  I had planned to run this event last year, but I was laid up with a torn hip-flexor (silly kickball tourney).  But this year, nothing was gonna hold me back.

 

 I had heard that the 1st fifty people registered would receive a free T-shirt.  Even better!  My girlfriends and I were up and attem at the crack of dawn, cuz there was no chance in hell we were going to miss out on a Gulp and Gallop shirt.  We were so overzealous and so early, that not only did we arrived before it opened, the workers hadn’t even showed up yet and there wasn’t a single car in the parking lot :(

The idea is you drink a beer and run a mile x 3.1   And I’m not talking a little dixiecup of beer, I’m talking legit 12oz’ers.  So there we were on a crisp fall morning, drinking our 1st beer (or maybe 2), taking in the foliage, and gearing up to go running around mountain. 

Now I’m not sure if it was because I was already tired from the night before, or if it was those shots of Fireball we took prior to our start, but I’d be doing you all a disservice if I didn’t warn you to “be careful what you wish for”.  Drinking after running is a great idea, as it should be.  But drinking while running is NOT FUN!  General consensus; it should be outlawed.

1.

1.  Drinking impairs your judgment:  We flew out the gate like Olympic contenders.  Sprinting up the mountain cheering and high-five’ing every passerby.

2.

2.  Drinking causes loss of coordination: Hello?? Running on rocky mountainous terrain with a solid buzz?? NOT SAFE!

3.

3. Drinking enhances acid reflex:  Belching while running is no fun.   Beer belches while running... WAY WORSE!

Needless to say I couldn’t finish.  Ultimately it was #3 that got the best of me.  My stomach became increasingly unsettled and I needed to stop before something drastic happened.  So disappointed.  I had such high hopes.

Lessons learned for next year?    Get a good night sleep the night before.  No need to show up 2 hours before start time. Pre-gaming is NOT allowed.  And maybe wait until the race is over to drink your free beer. But hey, at least we got the first 3 shirts out of the box… mission accomplished there :)