Which came first? The craft beer or the sense of community that anchors the Colorado Brewery Running Series?

July 14, 2026

The magic begins as the heavy-duty black pickup truck and nondescript white trailer pull into a Denver-area brewery long before the normal opening time.

A handful of cheerful workers, mostly volunteers, materialize and soon the area around the brewery is transformed into a 5K or, occasionally, a half-marathon venue. About six or so hours later, a reverse choreography squeezes everything back in the trailer to await the next event.

But that trailer brings more than a pop-up of tents, T-shirts, boxes of running bibs and freebies.

It brings community.

And in a world that has a 5K run for every imaginable cause, that makes the nearly 40 events of the Colorado Brewery Running Series a bit different. It’s not about a singular cause that temporarily binds participants so much as a celebration of getting out regularly to enjoy community and craft beer. THE COLORADO SUN