Hangover Hustle an excuse on New Year’s Day to ‘get together and be silly’

The Hangover Hustle has been a New Year’s Day tradition for a small group of friends for about 15 years, but this was the first time it was held on such a grand scale.

To ring in 2025, South Coast Cookhouse hosted the event with about 150 participants.

Some ran a five-kilometre course, the same one competed on during the annual Crystal Beach 5K, while others ran a 500-metre route from the Crystal Beach restaurant to Queen’s Circle and back.

The event is “an excuse to get together and be silly,” said South Coast Cookhouse owner Phil Smith, who was dressed in an adult baby costume for the occasion.

“It was a great time with a lot of energy,” he added, noting the event was supported by the Crystal Beach BIA.

Participants came from the Greater Toronto Area and appeared eager for the 2025 edition, impressed by the Crystal Beach area and the event itself, said Smith.

The hustle had a Caesar theme and participants were given a medal shaped like a pickle.

People who ran in the 5K and the 500-metre run received a medal for each event.

“It was quite prestigious to be walking around with two pickles,” joked Smith.

There was also live music from the Feverish Lemons.

Smith said he and a small group have ran the 5K on New Year’s Day about 12 times in the last 15 years, but the recent edition was the biggest.

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