1 month ago
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The concept is simple. For every kilometre, you stop at a Brisbane bar and have a drink.
The idea for FU5K was born after co-founders Ebony O’Donoghue and Samara Rigg combined their enthusiasm for socialising and whetting their thirst – the running part came secondary.
Partly inspired by Aussie Beer Miles, the project is marketed by social media manager Ella Steele as the “run club for people who hate run clubs”.
How does it work?
Each month about 70 runners, or walkers, meet and set off on a five-kilometre trail through the city, with stops at bars along the way.
Participants have about 30 minutes to finish their drink at each stop – and some dedicated drinkers even complete what they call “the pyramid”, with one drink at the first bar, two at the second and so on, or 15 drinks in total.
“We don’t advertise or encourage [the pyramid]. It just started on its own,” O’Donoghue says.
“For the hardcore, genuine runners, doing the pyramid is probably the hardest part [over the running],” Steele adds.
The January route covered New Farm and Teneriffe, finishing at the Breakfast Creek Hotel in Albion.
Bars visited along the way included Mary Mae’s, Common Vice, Dalgety House, and Green Beacon Brewing Co.
“One month the tickets sold out in 30 seconds. We had our regulars asking us what happened because they missed out,” O’Donoghue says.
The co-founders never expected the concept to blow up in Queensland’s health-conscious capital.
The run started between friends, but a viral TikTok proved there was potential for it to take up permanent residency in the Brisbane social calendar.
“I just filmed a bunch of footage, posted it, and the next day woke up to hundreds of thousands of views,” Steele says.
The run club’s growth not only led to sold-out ticketed events, it grabbed the attention of fitness enthusiast and Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles, who ran in the group’s December event.
“We drunk DM’d him. A lot of this is done while intoxicated,” the founders say, laughing.
Social club over a running club
The social aspect – not the running – keeps people coming back and encourages newcomers to join in, they say.
“It’s a very social club because of that drinking aspect,” Rigg says.
Steele agrees: “The night doesn’t finish when the run does.
“Sometimes people even end up going out [clubbing] together, and they hadn’t met before the event.
“A lot of people do come solo, but when they come back, they are friends with people here.”
Brisbane isn’t short of run clubs, with institutions such as SoSo’s attracting crowds every weekend. But the FU5K team is comfortable sticking with their casual approach, for now.
“We are three of the worst runners … I think if we went to another [run] club we’d embarrass ourselves,” Rigg says.
What’s next for FU5K?
The group is planning a Gold Coast event and maybe an interstate expansion into Victoria, as co-founder Rigg plans to move to Melbourne.
As for a more short-term goal, the next run is scheduled for February 21.
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