The Boilermaker!

Races are one of my favorite things about summer. There are some in other seasons, I'm well aware, but 90% of the time those are too cold for me. You can tell right from the name that the Boilermaker is my kind of race.

I'm not alone. Thousands of people seem to agree! It's the largest 15k in the county. I saw a sign that said "The Boilermaker is a party where a race breaks out" and it's apt. Along the route, there's nonstop music and people cheering. At the finish, more of the same, plus tons of beer. 

My friend Stephanie and I went together. After the expo, we checked into our hotel and walked down the street to grab dinner.

With ridiculously full stomachs, we went back to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening watching Outlander. It was a really good decision.

Early the next morning, we grabbed a shuttle to the starting line...

...which this is not. Oh no. This is the line for the porta potty. We waited half an hour and there were a ton of people still behind us.

This is the starting line. Ahead of us...

....and behind.

We met up with my friend Heather, who introduced me to the Boilermaker eight years ago. Here's this year:

...and here we are at the starting line eight years ago!

Stephanie had a mishap with her phone and we couldn't find each other at the finish for a while...because literally thousands of people. We found each other, we found beer, and here we are after running 9 surprisingly fun miles!

Celebrating with Heather!

We went to Heather's parent's house nearby for a party, and I only thought to take pictures of the really important stuff:

Most races give you race shirts. The Boilermaker gives you a pint glass instead. After a fun, hot weekend with good food, good friends, and about 15 kilometers of running thrown in for good measure, I ended the weekend like this.

Ah.

If you're ever considering running the Boilermaker, DO IT! Every runner should try it at least once!