BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – How do you take the sizzle out of a Space Coast summer day?
Try sipping a pint of cold craft beer. But only after earning it with some exercise.
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Since 2016, the Running Zone, Melbourne’s retail center for all things running, has hosted the Summer Brewery & Running Tour, with weekly stops at craft breweries across Brevard, according to News 6 partners Florida Today.
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Last year’s free tour was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Denise Piercy of the Running Zone Foundation said she was eager to revive the tradition.
“We couldn’t wait to be able to continue it,” she said. “The breweries are so excited about it, too.”
The six weekly runs and walks start Tuesday at Bugnutty Brewing Co. in Cocoa Village and end July 6 at Dirty Oar Beer Co., also in Cocoa Village.
It’s free to participate. The Running Zone team sets up the three-mile route at each location and provides water. Each brewery offers specials for participants.
While there’s no cost to participate, and registration is not required, Piercy said this year the Running Zone is offering a VIP package. For $30, runners and walkers will get a commemorative T-shirt and a pint glass. The shirt features a map of Brevard highlighting the location of each participating brewery. The dates of each run are on the back of the shirt.
“We thought it was kind of a fun idea,” Piercy said, “like a concert tour, with all the concert dates on it. Because we all missed it so much last year, we wanted to make it extra special.”
Runners who register can check in each week to receive electronic badges.
Shirts and pint glasses can be picked up after June 2 at the Running Zone, 3696 N. Wickham Road, Melbourne.
More than 100 runners have already signed up.
“I’m so excited for the Summer Brewery Tour,” said Kevin Charles of Suntree. “I have done it previously and it was very nice. It’s a great way to support our local breweries, re-connect with old friends and find new friends.”
Shelley and Scott Sutherland of Rockledge will be participating for the first time this year.
“Summer running can be brutal, but when you add a cold beer from one of our local breweries…it’s not so bad,” Shelley said. “My husband and I have been looking forward to the Summer Brewery Tour. Run, beer, friends. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
The Running Zone hosts races most weekends the rest of the year, so the fun runs give people a chance to get together during the summer and take advantage of the season’s later sunsets, Piercy said.
“The mix of heat, beer, sweat, beer, friends, beer is what I’m looking forward to the most,” Sutherland said. “Oh yeah, and the run too.”
Summer Brewery & Running Tour schedule
The events are at 6:30 each Tuesday, June 1-July 6. Here’s the schedule:
- June 1, Bugnutty Brewing Co., 225 King St., Unit B, Cocoa Village
- June 8, Intracoastal Brewing Co., 652 W. Eau Gallie Blvd., Melbourne’s Eau Gallie Arts District
- June 15, Playalinda Brewing Co. — the Hardware Store, 305 S. Washington Ave., downtown Titusville
- June 22, Hell ‘n Blazes Brewing Co., 1002 E. New Haven Ave., downtown Melbourne
- June 29, Carib Brewery (formerly Florida Beer Co.), 200 Imperial Blvd., Cape Canaveral
- July 6, Dirty Oar Beer Co., 329 King St., Cocoa Village
To register, visit runsignup.com/Race/FL/Melbourne/SummerBreweryTour2021.