The Grog and Dog Jog is back, restoring an outlandish R.I. tradition

First held in 2007, the Grog and Dog has been run twice a year at times, starting and ending at the Wild Colonial Tavern on South Water Street. The pandemic killed the event over the last few years. “Even we were not reckless enough to try it during the pandemic,” Wild Colonial proprietor Maurice Collins joked.

But the 15th edition of the Grog and Dog is set to commence at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15.

“We are back, and it’s time to get on with it again,” Collins said. “It’s just one more sign of ‘normalcy.’ "

“It’s too bad an idea to die,” said Lang, the evil genius who concocted the idea. “I’m not sure it’s what the nation needs, but it’s what the nation deserves.”

Although perhaps ill-advised, it is for a good cause. This year, all proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society, and in years past the event has benefited the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and Dorcas International.

The event will begin with a stirring rendition of the national anthem by Ritchee Price, a Berklee-trained trumpet player. Runners will then dash across the Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial pedestrian bridge before circling back to the Wild Colonial parking lot, where cups of Harpoon Rec. League beer (or ginger ale) and hot dogs (or veggie dogs) await.

Breathless runners will try to choke down the hot dogs in a corral while spectators cheer — or heckle. “Even if you’re not racing, come for the schadenfreude,” Collins said. “You can watch everyone trying to get the hot dog down.”

The next runner on a team cannot take off until the beer is gone and the hot dog is in your mouth, if not your stomach. “We use Coney Island rules: The hot dog has to be in your mouth and not visible before you run down the chute,” he said.

That rule is enforced by “chute maven” Sarah Chapin, a teacher and runner from Providence. “No one strikes fear into the hearts of runners like a sixth-grade science teacher,” Lang said.

The event has seen some egregious (and hilarious) cheating over the years, Collins noted. When Narragansett Beer sponsored the event, a man dressed as a 6-foot-tall can of Gansett (“Tall Boy”) jumped into a van early in the race, and someone dressed as a giant clam (“Clammie”) hitched a ride in a gondola on the Providence River.

Lang offered two pro tips for contestants: 1. Don’t sprint to the finish. Go hard at the start, but then ease off near the end so you’re not gasping for air as you try to eat a hot dog. 2. By all means dip the hot dog in the beer. Soggy buns go down a lot easier than dry ones.

Fortunately, he said, the race rarely sees a “reversal of fortune,” meaning not too many people puke.

Lang noted that the event has drawn runners ranging from Olympians such as Róisín McGettigan and Dylan Wykes to plodders who might have trained the whole summer just to be able to complete a mile.

Keith Kelly, who won Providence College’s first men’s NCAA cross-country title in 2000, sprinted to an early lead in his first Grog and Dog, only to struggle with the hot dog and beer, Lang recalled. So the next year, Kelly trained by downing hot dogs after hard runs, and he went on to set a record that may never be matched, he said.

But most runners just have fun, recognizing the race for what it is.

“It’s easily the greatest event that has ever happened in the state of Rhode Island at any time — or easily the worst idea ever,” Collins said. “One or the other.”

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.