Sneaks and Drinks

There are many ways to relax and cool down from a three-mile jog, but for one group of runners, half-price burgers and pitchers of beer are the way to go.

Since March of 2006, Thursday nights at O'Doherty's Irish Grille in downtown Spokane have been the gathering place for the Flying Irish Running Club.
"We wanted to start a running club in Spokane," said runner Brendan Dowling, in his second year with the club. "We modeled off of a running club in Florida, another Irish club, got in contact with them and formed a proposition with the owner of O'Doherty's. We got together and realized it was a good proposition not only for the running community, but also a good proposition for the business."

Like any new club, the Flying Irish started small, seeing about 30 runners show up per week in 2006, with around 100 people total being signed up with the club. The next year, more people joined and approximately 100 runners were turning out each Thursday. Now in 2008, with 1,500 people signed up and 20 joining each week, the club has roughly 150 people meeting at 6 p.m. each Thursday to run the three miles.

"Usually most people who join are already runners, but they're also looking for a good running community to relax," Dowling said. -It's more of a social aspect with the runners. We get runners that are very competitive all the way to walkers. Everyone is able to fit in and have a great time.

"We have people do the Ironmans," Dowling added. "We've had people get started from the running club and decide to do their first marathon. One female in particular in her late 30s does five to six marathons a year and we have one guy who's almost 70 and he's done close to 200 marathons."

The club started with six routes, but now have more courses to mix up the runs. Upon completing the course, participants usually return to O'Doherty's to enjoy each other's company and grab some refreshments.
"Mostly everyone comes back to chitchat," said Dowling. "If it's 150 people, we usually have about 75 people staying afterward, grabbing something to eat and drink and socialize."

Experienced runners have extra incentive to go back to O'Doherty's following their jaunt. For individuals who have run the three miles six times and followed it up by standing on the bar and telling an Irish joke, they receive the official Flying Irish Running Club shirt which, when worn after the run, entitles them to half-price burgers and pitchers of beer.

"About 20 minutes after we get back, we do the ceremony," Dowling said. "Usually, everyone quiets down, listens to the joke, encourages the people who are doing the joke, cheers them on and congratulates them so it's a pretty laid back attitude with a lot of socializing."

The camaraderie has spread within the club, with not just friendships forming, but relationships as well.
"We've had a few relationships start through the running club," Dowling said. "But it's just a boyfriend and girlfriend type of thing. We haven't had anyone get engaged or married yet."

The club typically runs from March through the end of November because of the cold, but that doesn't stop some of the runners from continuing their weekly tradition. Last year, about 12 people ran through the winter, but with the expansion of the club, Dowling said there might be approximately 20 this year, reflecting the dedication many of the members have toward running.

"It's a hell of a lot of fun," said Dowling of the club. "We're basically drinkers with a running problem."

Story by Dylan Kitzan. You can reach him at dylan@htsports.org.