If your New Year’s resolution is to get healthier but you need moral support, try a run club—especially if you like craft beer. Run clubs around O‘ahu bring together regulars and newcomers for a run followed by a well-earned pau hana beer. They’re free, and you can join many just by showing up. All the run clubs offer friendly post-run social time at different local bars and restaurants.
Some groups run around town in funky colors and bright lights. Each has a different personality and focus: Some are more socially oriented, others focus on training for your next serious race. On a recent evening with a scarlet sunset, I showed up for Run. Drink. Run’s weekly Thursday meetup. Since it was the third Thursday of the month, Naomi Morita, coach and Lululemon Ambassador, led a friendly competition (these are usually trivia or balancing games) with Lululemon gift cards as prizes.
RDR’s main organizer gave me some background. “I started running and meeting people. These people became close friends, island-hopping partners and a community,” Scott Dillon says. “The club was already going when I took it over, but it grew during the pandemic.”
Attendance varies, but 50 to 100 people usually show up at RDR’s meeting spot at Howzit Brewing in Kaka‘ako. After a run of about 3 miles, this is also the ending point, and the place gets flooded with people wearing that post-run glow. “Those nights, we try to warn other customers it’s about to get really loud and busy,” manager Grant Mills says. “We have an assembly line of beers and get them out as quickly as we can.”
What styles of beer sell the best? “The Schwarzbier was really popular, and whenever we have a Pilsner on, it goes quickly. Not all the runners like [traditional] beer, but love the sours and slushies,” Miller says. Many runners also get in line for food—Howzit Brewing partners with food trucks, and the latest, DC Caterings, offers steak or ‘ahi nachos, chicken wings and healthier grilled options on run nights…