Hold Onto Your Hoagies: Vancouver’s Newest Half Marathon Involves Eating 4 Subs

The Hoagie Half relay challenges teams of four to show off both speed and speed-eating.

As the appetite for food-centric running challenges grows in Vancouver, a new event has sandwiched its way into the trend: The Hoagie Half.

The September 6 event invites teams of four to tackle 21.1 kilometres together as a relay, with each member devouring a different sandwich procured from a local business in place of passing a baton. It promises to be a one-of-a-kind event that equally celebrates fast runners, speed eaters and tasty creations from Meat and Bread, Say Hey Deli and Cafe, Juke Fried Chicken and Vennie’s Sub Shop.

READ MORE: Say Hey Cafe Owner Lina Caschetto’s Top Eats Around Town

By splitting the half-marathon into bite-sized pieces, co-organizers Oll Farrell and Mike McClintock hope that event will encourage more people to give running a try. “When you say running, everyone is intimidated if they haven’t done it before,” says Farrell, founder of Good Sauna. “But we’re just sub-par runners eating subs for fun.”

As a big fan of Say Hey’s sandwiches, Farrell says he originally wanted to do a 100-metre hoagie dash down Pender Street to put a spotlight on the shop. When he met McClintock, a chef at Meat and Bread, the concept got carbo-loaded. “I said ‘I friggin love the idea!’” McClintock recalls. “It’s a spin on a beer mile, but with food.”

The pair is far from the first to organize an endurance event around eating. Last month, local runner Amir Nikravan organized a Costco Marathon—a 42.2 kilometre run that had dozens of cardio lovers fueling up on cafeteria items from five different Metro Vancouver warehouses.

This year also marked Fraser Street Run Club’s fourth annual Wendy’s Run, in which 35 participants tackled 31 kilometres while stopping for a Frosty four times.

The mashup of kilometres and calories represents a beautiful shift in the local running scene, according to East Van Run Crew Founder Ryan Chilibeck. “For a lot of people, the weirdness or challenge of these events becomes a point of pride, a badge that says, ‘I did that thing with those people.’” explains Chilibeck, community and stakeholder specialist with Canada Running Series. “These events lower the intimidation factor, invite people in with humour and create stories that live long after the kilometres are run.”

READ MORE: 9 of the Best Sandwiches in the City

You can catch him at the Hoagie Half, even if you’re not planning on running. Non-participants are encouraged to come down and cheer on the racers at Container Brewing—the start and finish line of the relay—where sandwiches can be bought, beer can be drunk and DJs will be spinning tunes from 2 to 9 p.m.

“We really want to create a party atmosphere and have as many people watching as there are running just hanging out, cheering them on and having some beers,” says Farrell. (“Watching people eat sandwiches as fast as they can? That’s pretty fun too,” adds McClintock.)

The party is free to join, but you’ll have to pay $71 to take part in the running fun. Tickets include a limited-edition T-shirt designed by Ollie Warman, the hoagie you’re required to inhale and a post-race beer.

Organizers are hopeful this first event won’t be the last. “This is all about celebrating different communities coming together: food, exercise and beer,” Farrell says. Adds McClintock: “What else do you need?”

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