The Big Lick Run
Mar 29, 2022 | Roanoke, VA
Let me first say that for some reason Roanoke used to be named "Big Lick" back in the 1800s, so a lot of places still like to use that suspicious-sounding name for various purposes, one being Big Lick Brewing which is right next to our apartment. So with that explained, in Erika's research for things to do around here she found out that every Tuesday BLB has a running event in partnership with Fleet Feet where people run either a 3 mile or 5 mile track around Big Lick Greenway (yep, there it is again. No relation to the brewery though.) We were a little unsure as to if we wanted to go because we were afraid it was going to be a big bust like the Twisted Track pop-up, Twisted Bazaar. We were like, "how many people seriously turn out for athletic events in a place like this?" But since it was literally a 1 minute walk to find out, we marched on over and were greeted with an actually impressive turnout. Most people were way more serious than us, wearing their running person gear and all that.
It was a little awkward in the beginning because the situation got turned on its head for us, with tons of people milling around looking all decked out and a few tents that were confusing us because we needed to get to a specific one to check in. Erika was a bit nervous that we weren't going to know the route well enough and get lost, so she downloaded an app that showed it for her. I figured I would just follow people, but she's a slow runner so she wanted to prepare for the situation where no one was around her to help.
One of the tents was featuring a brand of running shoe called Altra. They were letting people try out their shoes for the run and our shoes are worn out garbage, so we took them up on it and laced up some snazzy new Altra shoes.
The run went well for Brian. He traditionally runs 1 or 2 miles rather than 3, but apparently he had been doing enough VR cardio recently that 3 ended up feeling fairly easy despite some hills along the way. He maintained a slow steady jog for the whole route and came in at 33 minutes for the 3 miles. Erika, on the other hand, had a less smooth time. She was already nervous about staying on the proper course since we aren't super familiar with the town layout, so she downloaded an app that shows the route on your phone. But despite having the app, and despite visually watching everyone (including her boyfriend!) make a certain U-turn on Wells Ave, she decided that they must all be either dumb or taking the longer 5 mile route and went off on her own little way. After finding herself alone and eventually coming up on some runners that were coming at her, she turned around and eventually made it around the whole route and back to camp after her own custom 3.25 mile journey. But despite this hiccup they both had a lot of fun and are excited to go it again next week.
Another thing that turned out well at this event was that we met a couple people to have good conversation with. First we talked for a while with the guy promoting the shoes. His name is Kyle and he had long hair, a mustache and a beer gut. Not exactly a visual model of "a runner", and he made several references to this very fact. He was very frank and talked to us about doing therapeutic ketamine and other psychedelics while insisting on standing really, really close to our faces. He was a fun guy though.
The other person we met was Clay. He ran in the event and Brian struck up a conversation with him while waiting for Erika to finish. After having 3 beers at the brewery where the event took place, B&E got in Clay's car and went downtown to Fork in the Market to watch people do karaoke and have a couple more. We'll probably be hanging out with Clay a bit more before we take off to NYC.
While sitting at the bar with Clay, there was an older gentleman who was eager to communicate with all of us and had a cute little border collie dog with a name that sounded like "Loogie" but apparently wasn't. Erika wanted to pet the dog so that obviously meant having to sacrifice herself as his victim of communication. He rattled on forever about who-knows-what and Erika told him a bit about our trip. He said he lives in Boston and gave Erika his phone number and his wife's website. He hopes greatly that we will come visit him when we are in Boston. We'll see.
Here's the crew. Better turnout than we expected.
Here's the crew. Better turnout than we expected.
Here's the whole group
Here's the whole group
Here's the route. Well, my route. Erika's was a little different!
Here's the route. Well, my route. Erika's was a little different!
Here are my Altra shoes I borrowed for the event. They have kind of a funny boxy toe area on them. Felt good to run in though.
Here are my Altra shoes I borrowed for the event. They have kind of a funny boxy toe area on them. Felt good to run in though.
Colorful houses we both love, a great view from the run
Colorful houses we both love, a great view from the run
A photo from one of the few moments Erika was still running with other people
A photo from one of the few moments Erika was still running with other people
A photo from when Erika was done being lost and was almost back to the brewery. A train was going by.
A photo from when Erika was done being lost and was almost back to the brewery. A train was going by.
"Beer is food"
"Beer is food"