Tour de Pub begins tonight

Do you like to drink beer? Do you hate to exercise? If so, Brian O'Neill's Pub in Rice Village has a fitness plan fo you. O'Neill's is touting what it calls Houston's "first an only pub-sponsored running club" with weekly gatherings that begin tonight.

The event is pitched as a 5k fun run/walk around Rice Village, sponsored by the Houston Racing Triathlon Club. The runs will take place every Tuesday night at Brian O'Neill's, follow a route around the university campus, and end back at the pub where you can sooth your aching muscles with a nice pint of ale and some free food.

The idea is not original, but it still sounds like a fun way to sneak some exercise into your beer-lifting routine. Besides, recent studies have shown that drinking beer can be just as good for you as drinking wine, and that a beer after exercise may rehydrate you faster than water can.

There are incentives for people who stick with the plan too. After 10 runs, members of the pub club will get a free t-shirt and a 10% discount at the Fleet Feet running store in Rice Village.

In addition to Brian O'Neills and HRTC, the runs are also sponsored by Fat Tire beer and Red Bull. Registration begins at 5:30 p.m. and the run departs at 6 p.m. Don't worry if you miss today. There's always next week!