Red Oak Brewery to host 5K relay on Aug. 14
Jake Grondy, the social media and marketing director for Red Oak Brewery in Whitsett and a speedy runner himself, will also serve as race director for the upcoming Red Oak 5K Relay.
The event, timed by Junction 311 Endurance Sports, will take place at the brewery. And if you not checked out Red Oak's Lager Haus and Bier Garten, you've been missing out.
Here's what you need to know about the relay and more:
About the race
When: 10:30 a.m. Aug. 14.
Where: Red Oak Brewery, 6905 Konica Dr., Whitsett.
Entry fee: $15 per runner.
Format: Teams of three runners each cover 1.033 miles for 5K total. Walkers are welcome, too.
Winning team: Free entry into Red Oak's Oaktoberfest from noon to 10 p.m. Oct. 1 (entry fee is $20).
Also: A free tour of the brewery will be offered as a raffle prize.
More information: Click here to sign up; Facebook entry; lagerhaus@redoakbrewery.com.
How this race evolved
"Last November we did the Red Oak 5K. We were thinking about a way to get more runners involved and have a good time and kind of a wrap it all in with our Oaktoberfest celebration on Oct. 1." – Grondy.
The race course
"There are going to be left turns, kind of like NASCAR. It's 12 laps for a 5K, so we pretty much have a track, accidentally, and we use that to our advantage. We're going to have a little bit of an infield party as well after the race, near the gate." – Grondy.
The charity partner
Sales of a Red Oak running shirt will benefit the Humane Society of Alamance County.
"People that are affiliated with them come into the Lager Haus. Even before I started working there, we had a jar where people who wanted to donate could drop a dollar or two into this Alamance Humane Society jar. People bring their dogs to the Red Oak Run Club; we're really a dog-friendly environment. It made a lot of sense, once or twice a year, to do a benefit for the Alamance Humane Society." – Grondy.
About the Red Oak Run Club
"If you come, hang out, you will get to enjoy a beer, a 12-ounce pour of one of our beers of your choice. If you come seven times, you get a prize. There are incentives to come every time. We raffle off a bratwurst every Sunday as well. People seem to have a really good time. And all of that happens while you have the brewery kind of to yourself. We open at noon, but we start the run club at 10:30. So when everyone's done around 11, 11:30, there's about 30 minutes where it's just the Red Oak Run Club in the Red Oak Lager Haus."
About the beer
"What I like about Red Oak's beer is not only is it authentic Bavarian lager, so it has a rich history as far as the style, but it also has a rich history in Guilford County. It started out in 1991 (as Spring Garden Brewing), 10 to 20 years before a lot of these breweries even got going. Because of that, we stand out in flavor as well. We make all lagers: No ales, no IPAs. I would say a more drinkable beer. When you're done with a run or you're at the lake or you're doing something active, I feel like this beer is smoother and goes down easier than something that's a little more dry or a little thicker."
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