OCEAN CITY – A bitter rivalry has been taken to a whole new level as Pit & Pub’s Baltimore Ravens fans and Buxy’s Salty Dog Saloon’s Pittsburgh Steelers fans now have the opportunity to go head-to-head in the Ravens vs. Steelers Rival 5K Tailgate Football Challenge.

Chris Klebe of OC Trirunning.com presented the event to the Mayor and City Council last week, and the council voted unanimously to approve the first-time event.

It will take place on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.. That’s the day before the Ravens and Steelers face off in their first of two showdowns this season.

As proposed last week, the event will consist of a 5K run that will take place on the Boardwalk with other family football activities to take place on the beach between 27th and 28th streets, such as a 40-yard dash, football bomb toss, accuracy toss and football agility drills. The expected number of participants is 300 to 500 people, According to Klebe.

Klebe said the idea came to him as he and his family was stuck at the red light on 28th Street where he noticed the two restaurants, Pit & Pub and Buxy’s Salty Dig Saloon, positioned across the highway from each other proudly waving their Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburg Steelers flags.

“Being one of the greatest rivals in sports, I thought this would be a great event and fun for everyone even if you’re not a runner,” he said.

The race route will be from 27th to 1st streets, and upon completion of the race, the first 100 Ravens fans’ times will be compared with the first 100 Steelers fans’ times and a trophy will stay in the winning bar for the year. There will also be two male and female overall winner awards, the most team spirit, and the top two in each age group.

“After the run, everyone is planning on going back to their pub of choice, or team of choice I should say, for the post-race party for the Ravens and Steelers fans,” Klebe said.

The two restaurants and OC Trirunning have agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds to two local non-profit organizations, the Children’s House by the Sea and the Ocean City Paramedics Foundation.

Event organizers are also working to have participation from the NFL teams, such as having the Ravens cheerleaders on hand. They are also in contact with getting the Stephen Decatur High School marching band involved at some with the event.

Besides Pit & Pub and Buxy’s, other major  sponsors announced last week were Natty Boh, Comcast, Harrison Group, Baltimore County Firefighters, Crown Royal, 98 Rock, and Great Scott Broadcasting.