After a multi-year hiatus, Bastille Days is storming back into Cathedral Square Park this weekend – quite literally, as the French festival will once again top off its first day on Thursday, July 14, with the Storm the Bastille 5k run/walk. Thanks to COVID, it's been unfortunately three years since the last Storm the Bastille took to the streets of Downtown – so in case you've forgotten what makes this summer festival tradition so fantastique, here are five reasons to sprint over to this 5k on Thursday night. (Actually, just drive over; you'll want to save your leg strenth for the 5k itself. Anyways, moving on!) 

1. A perfect setting

If you're going to run more than three miles, you better have something good to look at and distract you from your exasperated leg muscles and lungs. Luckily, Storm the Bastille offers quite the scenic tour, with runners starting off around Cathedral Square Park, heading down to Prospect Avenue and the outer reach of the East Side, back into Downtown, down Broadway all the way through the Third Ward and then back – all at night, so you get to see Brew City beaming with light. It's an ideal tour through your city, giving you a look at all sorts of local landmarks and hidden gems – and who knows, maybe you'll find a place for a post-run beverage along the way! No matter what, it's undoubtedly a better view than the usual one from the treadmill. 

2. It's great exercise

If you're like me, after three weekends of savoring all the snacks and suds at Summerfest – plus gorging on all the grilled goods on the Fourth of July – you're in the mood to get moving and start working off all of that festive food. Storm the Bastille offers a great way to burn off some calories – approximately 300 to 400, if the internet is to be believed – and start getting that beach body back for the final stretch of summer. Or just to make up for all the feasting you'll do across the next three days at Bastille Days. Because I'd say running a 5k earns you another guilt-free crepe ... or five. 

3. You get a cool T-shirt

What good is sweating out a 5k if you can't brag about it to everyone who sees you? Storm the Bastille agrees – so those who tour de biere ville will earn a slick T-shirt with their sign up. The French are fairly synonymous with fashion – so of course the Storm the Bastille shirt is indeed nifty, simple but special. Because most important of all, considering you earned it with your sweat (and almost certainly tears, in my case), it's a pretty impressive fashion statement. 

4. It's fun for everyone

Running isn't just for marathon men and workout warriors. It's for anybody who wants to get in motion and have fun. For hardcore runners, sure, the race this year is timed so you can go after the best time or your own personal records – but it's also a relaxed run for those whose record time would be merely finishing without wanting to die. (*raises hand*) Or for walkers just wanting some crisp air and casual exercise, as there's also a walking course that goes a mile and a half, ending at the Milwaukee Athletic Club water station. Or for the youngest marathoners possible, considering the race is stroller-friendly. Or even for your four-legged furry friends – because that's right, Storm the Bastille is pupper-friendly. This is one storm everyone can love. (This, and the movie "Twister.")

5. Ain't no party like a 5k afterparty

You end the 5k. Your legs are burning; your lungs are gasping. What better way to drown all that out than with beer and fun times!

After Storm the Bastille runs to a close – well, look at that – you've finished right nearby a glorious festival, the first day of Bastille Days to be precise, where the French fest will have a post-run afterparty to celebrate everyone's awesome finishes. No matter whether you broke the tape first at the finish line or you were the last one to cross with the help of several people carrying your exhausted body (*again, raises hand*), you've earned a celebration. Plus, when you finish a 5k, often times you have a runner's high and feel like you could run even more – and you gotta silence that voice as quickly as possible, preferably with drink, snacks and revelry.

And what better revelry is there than the return of a Downtown classic: Bastille Days and Storm the Bastille. 

For more information on Storm the Bastille and the rest of Bastille Days, click here. And oui'll see you there!