Introducing: Run Eat Play RVA Running Food Tours!

I am so excited to finally reveal a new project that I have taken on with my good friend and running buddy Katie - Run Eat Play RVA Running Food Tours! A bit of a mouthful, right? (Punny!)

This blog was my first attempt at combining my love of running, food, and Richmond. For a while now, I've been trying to develop a scheme to bring these three things together in real life. Then, one morning on a run, Katie and I were talking about what we'd like to do if we could quit our day jobs and just run for a living. The first thing we both said was "do running tours in Richmond!"

One strategy session (at Lift, naturally) later and Run Eat Play RVA Running Food Tours was born. The idea is simple: runners love to eat; Richmond has a lot of great places to eat. So, we put together a series of 5k running tours that explore different culinary themes around the city to hopefully introduce you to some new places where you can gain back all of those calories that you work so hard to burn.

Each run will begin and end at a selected eatery, where we will nosh on the house specialty post-run. (Your registration will include at least a portion of the post-run nosh.)We are trying to strategically pick spots that are located throughout the city so that each 5k route will take the group through a different distinct Richmond neighborhood, giving you the opportunity to not only get to know a new place to eat, but also a new part of this awesome city.

Right now we're starting small, so each run will be led by me and/or Katie.

So let's get to the fun part: the theme of the first series.

In case you live under a rock and somehow didn't know, today is National Donut Day, making it probably the most appropriate day ever to launch the first ever Run Eat Play RVA Running Food Tours Series: The Summer Donut Dash!

This summer, we are going to check out three different donut styles made right here in the RVA. First up is Sugar Shack on June 22, 2014.

 

Since opening just one year ago in June 2013, Sugar Shack has taken the Richmond donut scene by storm and has since opened a second location in Downtown with a third Manchester location on the way. This place is so hot that just days ago, Sugar Shack was named by USA Today as one of the 10 best donut shops in the country!

Having eaten more than my fair share of Sugar Shack donuts since they opened last year, I can guarantee that you will love this donut experience. The selection, which USA Today describes as "whimsical" but I can only describe as delicious, includes everything from classic glazed, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate iced varieties to house specialties like maple bacon, samoa, caramel apple cake, and Baby Ruth style. This is but a sampling; the menu is augmented almost daily by creative new taste sensations like kettle corn, bourbon walnut, red velvet cake, and cookie crumble.

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The Sugar Shack run will take off at 8 am from the original location at 100 N. Lombardy Street, Richmond, VA. Although the Shack does have a small parking lot, we ask that you find street parking in the vicinity and not use their lot.

Your registration fee of $20 will include one house or specialty donut, coffee, and water along with your 5k guided run.

Check out the "Running Food Tours" tab for more information, FAQs, and the rest of the scheduled tour dates and locations.

We encourage you to check back often for updates, contests, and more as things continue to develop.

Be warned: we are runners, not web gurus, so we are still working on getting the fillable registration form and waiver up. If you are interested in participating on June 22nd, please give me a shout at reprva at gmail.com and we'll get you signed up.

Hope to see you there!