Check out my race recap on my blog here : http://www.breathedeeplyandsmile.com/2015/02/dogfish-dash-2014-race-recap.html

I had been really wanting to visit Dogfish Head Craft Beer Brewery because my boyfriend are huge fans of their beers so I stumbled upon this race on the day of registration and immediately signed us up before it sold out that day (it was capped at 2000 runners only). The brewery is in Milton DE which is about 25 minutes away from Rehobeth Beach (where they have their brewpub). The packet pickup (not an expo just a small tent) was at their brewpub which was really crowded, but we managed to get a seat at the bar to grab some food and beers after grabbing our race bags. Area hotels were already booked so we ended up camping for the night not too far away. Cheap and efficient! We got to the race start early and parked right at the brewery. Most people don't take the run too seriously, especially with the recyclable costume contest for the race.

It was a pretty warm race and the course was just through the small town of Milton with some of it's townspeople spectating. The race was self-seeding so it was hard to get up to the front. Not too much to see, especially after the 5K split off from the 10K and the 10k runners and I just ran around a bunch of fields.

After finishing, theinitial line for the first beer was longer than I had hoped it would be. I think they still need to figure out a better system to get cold beers poured and handed out fast to runners as they finish. It probably would have been better if I raced the 5K and beaten the crowds!

After that unexpectedly warm race a cold 60 Minute IPA was exactly what I wanted to have handed to me. You received your initial beer in a stainless steel pint glass that you could then take to get refilled by using your three other free beer tickets. They had only a couple beer stations set up with the tents, which also got really crowded after the race. I loved the post-race food-it was a breakfast buffet of yogurt, granola, fruit, and bagels. I even got to snag a photo with the owner of Dogfish, Sam Calagione, after the race-he was super nice! After walking around the brewery store, seeing the big Treehouse out front, and having some beers we headed back.

Besides the long lines to get beer after the race, it was definitely a fun weekend trip and experience. It's absolutely a beer-lover's racing dream.