MovemBEER mile at Cowhouse Market is a blast

Runners at event must drink beer before and during the 1.6km race.

Eliot Mahlase

November 23, 2019

Dale and Roxanne Harley.

About 150 runners had to finish at least a 330ml craft beer before running a one-mile race (1.6km) race for the 2019 MovemBEER mile at the Cowhouse Market in the east of Pretoria on Saturday afternoon.

Each runner then had to stop every 400 metres to drink a beer before continuing the race.

There were four such “beer station” stops along the way to complete the mile, according to event organiser Marius Botha.

“Beside the run, there is plenty of food, drinks and crafts during the market from 9:00 to 16:00.”

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Botha said the run has attracted a lot of people since its inception in 2016.

“We started with only 45 people. All we wanted to do was get together as a community and drink beer. Over the past three years, we have had people messaging us wanting to be part of this event.

“We are a local brand and we want to grow and get everyone involved. This is a small but fun event,” he said.

Botha, who’s a trail runner, said one of the most important things was to feed the participants.

“This is a purely Pretorian event; anyone who lives in Pretoria and wants to be a part of it can follow us on our Facebook page.

“Since November is men’s health month, we also wanted to dedicated this one to all the men here and urge them to get their medical check-ups,” he said.

“Everyone here feels welcome and at home – and that is a good thing.”

Brendon de Beer won this year’s MovemBEER mile.

“The start was quite easy but I started to feel a bit tired towards the end probably because of all the beers I drank during the pit stop,” he said,

“This is my first time taking part in the race and my time of eight minutes and 24 seconds is pretty impressive.”

De Beer said he could recommend the race to anyone.