OFF BEAT: Buffett's fun run to offset junk food at shareholder meeting

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett hopes lure some fleet-footed followers away from the buffet at this year’s upcoming annual shareholders meeting.

The avuncular octogenarian will fire the starting gun at the inaugural “Invest in Yourself” 5 kilometer fun run, which will be held on May 5 in Omaha, Neb.

Co-sponsored by Berkshire subsidiary Brooks Running Co., several thousand runners are expected to take a scenic route through Omaha.

While Berkshire’s portfolio of investments famously contains positions in popular but nutritionally questionable entities such as Coca-Cola and Dairy Queen, the race is intended to encourage “participants to take stock of their health” and “embrace an active lifestyle.”

Mr. Buffett seemed to acknowledge the incongruity in a news release announcing the race.

“It’s going to be a great weekend for Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, and a 5k will be the perfect complement to the See’s Candies, Dilly Bar and Cherry Coke everyone will enjoy while here,” he said in the statement. “I’m challenging all of our managers to participate, and I’m anxious to see who the fastest person in our Berkshire Hathaway family is.”