Beer and running: A health & fitness odd couple

I like to think my blog touches on topics that go beyond your garden variety health & fitness topics.

In the past, I've blogged about everything from snowshoeing to plasma donation to an ill-fated bike trip to Pizza Hut. However, one topic I've been somewhat reluctant to write about is beer.

I touch on the topic from time to time (including my still-favorite stop on RAGBRAI that featured free beer and hot dogs). But for the most part, I try to keep my content relatively newspaper-friendly, seeing as how my blog is through the Free Press and all.

In that regard, I guess the Beer Runner need not worry about offending his employer. At least as far as beer is concerned.

For those that are unfamiliar, the Beer Runner is a blogger through Draft Magazine, a bi-monthly publication dedicated to -- you guessed it -- beer. However, unlike other beer-related bloggers, the Beer Runner also has a legitimate health and fitness aspect to it.

The blog's author (Tim Cigelske) happens to be an avid runner who is currently training for the Catalina Island Marathon and the Chicago Lakefront 50K, both taking place in March. In honor of World Running Day (which took place on November 7), he wrote an entry titled "50 Reasons to Love Running."

Of course, as the namesake would suggest, the Beer Runner also posts plenty of entries about beer. He is currently trying to complete a year-long challenge of running at least a mile and drinking at least a beer everyday (at present, he is at 124 days). He also has entries about how running is the perfect cure for a hangover and how beer tastes so much better after running.

Are these topics you're likely to find in an average health and fitness publication? Probably not. But are they topics that many -- including exercise junkies like myself who enjoy a good beer from time to time -- find interesting. You betcha.

Kudos, Beer Runner. You have a new fan.