The 2014 Whiskeython took place last Sunday. “Whiskeython? Whoa, what’s that?!” Put simply… 2 laps of the lower loop in which the winner takes home a bottle of booze. For all you non-runners, 2 laps of the lower loop is just over 3 miles.

The race is put on by the infamous New York Rogue Runners. These folks put on crazy races throughout the NYC area (normally on the ‘off season’ so more runners attend). The races are free and they welcome anyone and everyone to attend, regardless of athletic ability.

Abbe and I showed up at the 72nd Street Transverse with about 30 minutes to spare. It was quite cold out and I was jealous that I had decided not to run as it would clearly be a warmer option then cheering.

Soon, people started approaching and putting on the specially made bibs, sans timing chip. The group of (now 30 plus) were very excited. A lot of my good friends popped out to run the race too (Doug, Danika and Eissa to name a few). Some race announcements were made regarding the course and a few future races like the New York Hot Dog Challenge and Galway Bay Gallop. The New York Rogue Runners also thanked TimeoutNY and Blood, Sweat and Cheers for featuring the race in their publications. Our friend Claire had volunteered to help guide runners at the bottom of the loop so she set off for that location. Everyone lined up and then set it off, it was anyone’s game as far as I was concerned.

As lap one came to a close it was a guy named Eric followed 30 seconds by Doug and Ryan. The women’s race was very exciting as Mia was followed by Eissa by a were 5 paces! All other contestants were gunning it, running their own races and doing very well.

As lap two ended Eric had pulled ahead of teh guys by a minute or two, securing his win. Doug, followed by Ryan trailed behind him. They were running between 6 to 7 minute miles and hauling.

As the women came around Mia was in front of Eissa in almost the exact same position as the first lap! Both women are experienced runners and both women had punched it in the end, cancelling out a reversal.

Once all our runners had come in there was an awards ceremony in which the male (Eric) was awarded a bottle of Dewar’s and the female (Mia) was awarded a bottle of Copper Fox.

After the awards we all headed to Dive 75 on the Upper West where we celebrated the race. It was great seeing a bunch of strangers all come together, mingling and chatting about the race. Mia even opened her prized whiskey and was pouring people samples! I made quite a few new friends who I’m sure I will see at future New York Rogue Runner events.