For the legions of Dr Pepper fanatics out there (and you know who you are), the little north Texas town of Dublin is mecca. Because here is the center of the Dr Pepper universe. Although Dr Pepper was concocted in Waco in 1891, Dublin is really its ancestral home. There's the Dr Pepper Museum and bottling plant right there on Main Street. And in Dublin, they still use the original Dr Pepper formula with Imperial cane sugar-the good stuff-not the cheap corn syrup.
To make sure everyone gets the connection between Dublin and Dr Pepper, Dublin even becomes Dr Pepper. Literally. All the Dublin city limits street signs have already been changed to Dr Pepper, Texas for this special week.
Why? Well why not? It's Mardis Gras week in Dublin and this town takes its holidays quite seriously. Dubliners are out in force to celebrate the town's 114th birthday. To cap it off, there's the 4th annual Dublin Dr Pepper 10-2-4-K on Saturday morning, June 11th.
The race's actual name is 10-2-4 and it wasn't selected haphazardly. In Dr Pepper lore, 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. have great significance because those are the times of day when you supposedly need a little pick-up for energy's sake. In Dublin, at 10, 2 and 4 time doesn't exactly come to halt when everybody has a Dr Pepper but you get the idea pretty quick that people take their soft drinks seriously here.
In fact, Dublin is the oldest continuous Dr Pepper bottling plant in the universe. It started here in 1891 (just six years after it was invented by Charles Alderton in Waco).
The Dublin facility was started by Sam Houston Prim who left it to his only child-Grace Prim Lyon-who did not have any children. She died on the morning of the plant's 100th birthday, but had willed it to her plant manager, Bill Kloster. After he died in 1999, he left the plant to his son-Billy Edward Kloster-and his two grandsons, Jeff and Mark who is now the manager. (Jeff's the guy with the shaved head, goatee and weird tattoos on his legs who runs things at the downtown RunTex.)
Even though Dublin is the oldest bottling plant, it also has one of the smallest Dr Pepper franchises (just a 44-mile radius) and yet it ranks among the highest in per capita consumption. So you know Dubliners not only take Dr Pepper seriously, they drink a lot of it.
And what about that name? Was there really a Dr. Pepper? Of course there was but he didn't have any connection to Dublin-or Waco for that matter. Dr Pepper was named after the father of the inventor's girlfriend who lived in Virginia. So now you know.
It should be obvious, but Dublin is nothing like Austin. And neither is the race. Which is a welcome change of pace. Oh sure the race has all the usual big city accoutrements-but the Dr Pepper has a unique small-town feel that makes it so special. The 10-K tour starts in downtown next to the city park and goes through residential neighborhoods where the residents drape American flags off the porch and cheer and clap for every runner.
The course isn't anything special; the town is. There's a huge birthday cake at the finish (for the town's birthday), plenty of great, Cajun food and barbecue (no tofu burgers here), a topnotch zydeco band (tirer Une vache; it's supposedly Cajun for "to milk a cow" ), the Backyard Circus from New York for the kids, the Briefcase Blues Band (a tribute band to the Blues Brothers) and of course, all the Dublin Dr Pepper you can drink.
There's something for everyone in Dublin (including the dad's, it's the birthplace of Ben Hogan and some of his artifacts are in the Dublin Museum). But there's also plenty for the kids: a fun run, face painting and the Backyard Circus. For the moms and dads, there's also a crafts fair right after the race.
Sound like fun? It is. Even the Governor of Texas-Rick Perry-comes every year to run. He'll be back for the third straight year, to greet racers who finish after him, present the age-group awards and have some barbecue and a Dr Pepper or two.
Festivities get underway at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 11th with the 4-K and 10-K. The 2-K follows at 9:30.
Dublin is about 150 miles northwest of Austin, 76 miles from Ft. Worth and 90 miles from Dallas. From Austin, take 183 North through Lampasas, merge onto 281 to Hico. Then take 6 west to Dublin.er, Dr Pepper.
But leave the driving to us. The easiest, most convenient way to get to Dublin from Austin to is take the RunTex bus. For the $50 VIP Package, you get roundtrip bus transportation, the $25 entry fee into the race, a catered lunch and a special tour of the Dr Pepper Bottling Plant.
The bus picks up runners from two RunTex locations: at 4:30 a.m. it leaves from the Riverside store (422 W. Riverside) and 15 minutes later, the bus stops at the Gateway RunTex (9901 Capitol of Texas Highway, right next to REI in the Gateway Courtyard). Sure, it's early but there's coffee and other snacks on the bus.
If you're interested in taking the bus, either call (472-3254) Jeff Kloster or email him (Jeff.Kloster@runtex.com) to reserve a spot.
For more information on the race, call (254) 445-3466 or go to www.runtex.com and click on events.
 
 
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Dublin, Texas: Center of Dr Pepper Universe Hosts 10-2-4 Race This Saturday
by Wish, 6/7/2005 |
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