By John Gardner
The Surveyor

Jason and Jessica Plunkett are creating some unique ways to be socially active in the Berthoud Community.

It can be difficult meeting people when you move to a new place. But for Jason and Jessica Plunkett, who recently moved to Berthoud from Iowa, they hit the ground running.

“Jason and I love running,” Jessica said. “And mountain biking, and kayaking – basically anything outdoors.”

They wanted to meet and socialize with others who enjoy the same outdoor activities; so they thought, what a better way to meet like-minded individuals than to host a community social run?

“Since we just moved here, we were waiting to get settled in and work out the details with the great folks at City Star,” Jessica said.

The Berthoud Social Run will be a two- or four-mile fun run, starting at City Star Brewing located at 321 Mountain Ave. The run is scheduled for Thursday, July 24 at 6 p.m. Afterword, runners can enjoy $1 off City Star brews.

Social runs are popular across the U.S., typically organized by running groups or outdoors stores, according to Jessica. She said that the couple has participated in social runs in Iowa and a couple in other communities since moving to Colorado, but thought that it would be a nice event for their new hometown.

“They tend to be in larger cities, so we thought we’d bring that same feeling of community and running here to Berthoud,” Jessica said.

Anyone who’s interested in participating can, she said. Simply throw on some running shoes, show up, run and socialize. After the run, the agenda includes socializing and refreshments at City Star.

“It’s very informal and casual,” Jessica said. “We’re basically just setting a time and place for people who like to run to enjoy the outdoors together.”

No matter how many show up for the first social run, Jessica has plans for the event to be an ongoing thing. They started a Facebook page, “Berthoud Social Run,” which people can join, that will ultimately become a message board for future events and more.

“We plan to put other dates on the calendar in the future, but hopefully it becomes more organic than that,” Jessica said.

“We hope it inspires more people to meet up and enjoy the outdoors, whether it be running, playing Frisbee, walking, playing horseshoes, or whatever,” she said.

Berthoud Social Run

• Thursday, July 24, 6 p.m.
• Meet at City Star Brewing (321 Mountain Ave.) to enjoy a casual run with other people who like the outdoors.
• All paces welcome.
• Following the run, enjoy $1 off beers at City Star for social hour.