If You Like to Drink Beer After a Run, Check Out These Free Run Clubs

Photo: Alexander Gates

If your New Year’s resolution is to get healthier but you need moral support, try a run club—especially if you like craft beer. Run clubs around O‘ahu bring together regulars and newcomers for a run followed by a well-earned pau hana beer. They’re free, and you can join many just by showing up. All the run clubs offer friendly post-run social time at different local bars and restaurants.

Some groups run around town in funky colors and bright lights. Each has a different personality and focus: Some are more socially oriented, others focus on training for your next serious race. On a recent evening with a scarlet sunset, I showed up for Run. Drink. Run’s weekly Thursday meetup. Since it was the third Thursday of the month, Naomi Morita, coach and Lululemon Ambassador, led a friendly competition (these are usually trivia or balancing games) with Lululemon gift cards as prizes.

Photo: Alexander Gates

RDR’s main organizer gave me some background. “I started running and meeting people. These people became close friends, island-hopping partners and a community,” Scott Dillon says. “The club was already going when I took it over, but it grew during the pandemic.”

Attendance varies, but 50 to 100 people usually show up at RDR’s meeting spot at Howzit Brewing in Kaka‘ako. After a run of about 3 miles, this is also the ending point, and the place gets flooded with people wearing that post-run glow. “Those nights, we try to warn other customers it’s about to get really loud and busy,” manager Grant Mills says. “We have an assembly line of beers and get them out as quickly as we can.”

Photo: Alexander Gates

What styles of beer sell the best? “The Schwarzbier was really popular, and whenever we have a Pilsner on, it goes quickly. Not all the runners like [traditional] beer, but love the sours and slushies,” Miller says. Many runners also get in line for food—Howzit Brewing partners with food trucks, and the latest, DC Caterings, offers steak or ‘ahi nachos, chicken wings and healthier grilled options on run nights.

If run clubs sound like something you’d enjoy trying, check out the one that’s right for you!

SEE ALSO: Howzit, Honolulu’s Newest Brewery, Opens in Kaka‘ako

Run. Drink. Repeat.

When and where: Thursdays 6:15 p.m.; loops of around 3 miles start and end at Howzit Brewing in Kaka‘ako
Info: @run_drink_repeat

DoHo Run Club

When and where: Thursdays 5:30 p.m., 102 S. King St. at the Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox Statue
Pau hana: Currently at Black Shamrock Tavern; later this year also plans to celebrate at Forté Downtown, the new indoor pickleball facility in the former Fort Street Walmart
Info: @doho.runclub

Kaka‘ako Run Club

When and where: Tuesdays 5:30 p.m., Kaka‘ako Waterfront Park at Cooke and Ilalo streets
Pau hana: Village Bottle Shop, Aloha Beer, Howzit Brewing
Info: @kakaakorunclub

SEE ALSO: Aloha Beer and Waikīkī Brewing Trade Places, Honolulu Beerworks Is Moving and More Local Beer News

O‘ahu Run Club

When and where: Friday mornings at Koko Head, Saturday mornings at Ala Moana Beach Park
Pau hana: Join the private group on the free Strava app for specific times and locations
Info: @oahu.runclub

Honolulu Runners

When and where: Tuesdays 5:30 p.m., Runners Route Kapi‘olani store. Different 4- to 7-mile routes in Waikīkī, Ala Moana Beach Park and Downtown
Info: run808.com/pages/hr

North Shore Run Club

When and where: Wednesdays 5:15 p.m., ‘Āweoweo Beach Park in Hale‘iwa
Pau hana: Teddy’s Bigger Burgers or Maya’s Tapas & Wine
Info: @northshore.run.club

Runners at Mānoa / UHM Running Club

When and where: Various dates and places. Primarily University of Hawai‘i students—check out their social media for times and locations
Info: @runnersatmanoa

There are more clubs of various sizes across the islands, including Hapalua Run Club free coaching sessions and Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club with a focus on competitive races, so see if there’s one near you.