By MtnMama of UpaDowna.com

Actually, they are supposed to be squat thrusts as I was told while performing them wrong. Oops!

Welcome to Southside Johnny’s Running Club, run by CrossFit SoCo. Every Wednesday at 6pm, the run starts out at Southside Johnny’s, near the parking lot. Sign a waiver, get your beer ticket and you’re ready to run. The crowd was at it’s largest yesterday, with about 30 new runners totaling around 120 people. Their goal is to get 200 runners by the end of June.

The loop run is around 3 miles and crosses through America the Beautiful Park and southeast along the Fountain Creek. They do a great job taking the gym to the streets! This urban fitness run had about 6 short stops along the way. We performed reps of various exercises like lunges, frog push-ups, one-legged hops, squat thrusts, and of course a “surprise workout” inside the CrossFit SoCo gym itself. Then, a little jog up a hill and home free to Johnny’s for our beer!

Here are my thoughts about the run:

First-timer friendly? 2 out of 4. I came from McCabe’s Tavern (another UpaDowna event on Wed nights) so it was hard for me to see where the runners were meeting. It was a little embarrassing walking into the place in my running clothes but after asking a waitress where the runners were, I found my way. Tips: get there early, 5:45pm should be good, go in the south door in the parking lot, not the main entrance. Waivers for first timers can be found on the back tables. Wear something that has a pocket to hold your $1 beer ticket from one of the CrossFit guys.

Surface/atmosphere of run: 3 out of 4. Mostly asphalt, cement sidewalks, some grass. Urban then scenic. Hot and sunny then mostly shady. The start of the run is on road, after America the Beautiful Park it is cement sidewalks along the creek then back to road after the gym. Pace was decent, it took me 45min to complete the whole loop. Options are given at each station for the amount of reps you can do. Tips: wear comfortable running shoes that are cement friendly, cool clothes if it’s hot and bring water.

Drink/food specials: 1 out of 4. Beer and food specials available. (?) I’ve been back and forth with this “free beer” issue. As a proud UpaDowna member, FREE BEER screams VOLUMES to me! When I commented on how excited I was for the free beer on their facebook page, the “Free Beer” post was deleted and “beer specials” was put up instead. I still didn’t quite understand what the “beer specials” were, but tickets were handed out and I kept hearing it was only $1 for beer. I was due at McCabe’s for FREE BEER so I passed on the beer debacle. Tips: So far, they are not checking ID for the ticket, but bring it and some cash just in case for the bar.UPDATE: Drink/food specials are: $1 for your first beer and $2/beer thereafter. Plus 20% off your food

Overall: 3 out of 4. How do I know it was a good workout? I’m sore as hell that’s why! I found the run very fun, friendly people, and the CrossFit team were super supportive and encouraging! If they are trying to get me to join their gym, it’s working!

Adventure On!

~MtnMama