Where’s my beer?!

This past Sunday, I took part in the Toronto Half Marathon. It was long and soggy affair; the rain never let up from start to finish and running 13.1 miles in sopping wet shoes left me with a nasty pair of blisters on my feet, but I finished. Proud though I am of my accomplishment, part of the overall experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Take a look at the above screenshot. Now look at the bottom paragraph. Now back at me (sorry, couldn’t resist). This is an excerpt from an email I received a few days prior to the race. The last paragraph boasts a free 6 pack for each participant. Sign me up, I thought! Do you see anything mentioning limited quantities? Nope.

I showed up with my entourage (read: family) early on Saturday to pick up my race kit and the aforementioned freebie. We arrived at the Molson 67 booth, manned by a stereotypical “beer commercial” chick and inquired. “Oh, sorry, we’re out,” she droned unapologetically.

Wait, what? First of all, the organizers of the marathon knew exactly how many participants would be claiming their free 6 packs, so there’s no reason that they should “run out”. Second of all…wait, why are we getting free beer for running a half marathon, anyway?

Ah, misplaced sponsorship. Turns out the leading sponsor for the half marathon was, you guessed it, Molson. Sure, they were officially advertising Molson Canadian 67, their low calorie, light beer, but beer and running do not mesh. Marathons encourage active lifestyles, getting outside and pounding the pavement, not lazing around in a sweat-stained t-shirt watching the playoffs (obligatory “Go Canucks go” plug. Woo!). But hey, I guess if McDonalds can be the official “restaurant” of the 2012 Olympic Games, why can’t beer get in on the action? I understand that sponsorship typically gets sold to the highest bidder, but there should at least be some correlation between the event and the partner. And to me, if there ever was a line, Olympics + McDonalds would be it.

At least the title sponsor of the full marathon was Goodlife Fitness, which y’know, makes sense. Who knows, I’m probably just bitter I was gypped out of a free 6 pack. And I don’t even like beer. What do you think? Are these partnerships getting out of hand?

In closing: Toronto Marathon, you owe me a beer. Or 6.