A throng of more than 200 runners overcame some drizzly weather on Friday evening to participate in the 3rd annual OV Connect St. Paddy’s Day Pub Run. The sold-out event, which has already swelled to five times its original size, is an unlikely but apparently compelling marriage of running and bar-hopping.
The event kicked off in the parking lot of the Wheeling Island Casino, with pre-arranged groups striking out on runs ranging in distance from 1.2 to 5 miles before returning to the casino for an after-party and buffet, plus free Weelunk plastic mugs. Along the way, the runners refreshed themselves with short stops at two bars apiece. There is no competitive element, except perhaps to have the most possible fun. According to John Aderholt, victory in that regard went to the Long Distance #2 team led by John Aderholt. Dissenting opinions abound.
Gallery of photos by Weelunk Photographer Wallis:
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Gallery of photos contributed by Weelunk users:
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Gallery of photos by OV Connect Photographer Andrew Croft:
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Congratulations to event leader Jacob Manning and the whole OV Connect group. It was another quality event that really contributes to making Wheeling a fun, and a bit wacky, place to live. Thank you for that.