If you were downtown May 5, 2008, perhaps you witnessed a strange sight: more than 100 people, dressed in running clothes and sombreros, sprinting around town between the Clevelander, a taco stand, Tower 230 and the Blind Pig. It’s easy to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a margarita and a rousing ole!, but Hermes Cleveland organizers banded together with the Blind Pig to raise the bar on toasting Mexico’s independence. In this year’s inaugural event, Run for the Border, runners paid $12 (or $15 at the door) for T-shirts and the privilege of a free-for-all, approximately 3-mile scavenger hunt that involved two shots of tequila, Mexican hat dances, fake mustaches and free Coronas at the finish line. Look for next year’s event to be even bigger and better, and totally caliente.
Vs.
You’re not alone. No, I’m not singing Michael Jackson tunes. It’s just something I have to tell myself when the jeers of OSU fans get to be too much. As a University of Michigan alumna living in Ohio, football season can be a bear. So maybe it’s masochistic pleasure I derive from running Hermes Cleveland’s Pigskin Classic 5K. Hermes director Neal Neroni figures the fan base is divided about 80-20, but when I toe the line sporting my maize and blue that 20 percent sure feels puny. The Classic hits downtown each year on the day of the OSU vs. U of M football game, and runners who preregister can choose which school’s colors they want for their T-shirts. Oh, and did I mention West Sixth Street is closed down and a beer tent is set up? You can thank me later. Go blue!
Amber Matheson
