If you like running and you like beer, the good news is that you don't have to separate the two. Just participate in a Beer Mile race. Here's how.
Beer is basically bread. Both are made with grains, yeast, water, and sugar — you can even make bread using beer as an ingredient. Sure, the hops and alcohol in beer change things quite a bit, but the brew has been referred to as "liquid bread" for at least 100 years for good reason. Like bread, beer has a substantial amount of carbs: a single slice of white bread contains 14 grams of carbohydrates, whereas a 12-ounce serving of Corona contains just under the same amount. All that energy has to go somewhere when you're done chugging a can, and a group of seven friends in Canada figured out the best way possible.
In 1989, future Olympian Graham Hood and his friends created the Beer Mile, a boozy athletic challenge that combines the fun of drinking beer and the even greater fun of trying to run while you're buzzed. The most basic rule is simple: Chug a 12-ounce beer, run a lap on a quarter-mile track, then repeat both steps until you've consumed four beers and run a full mile. And because this is a race, whoever manages to do it all the fastest is declared the winner.
Word about the competition spread over the course of the next few years. By 1993, the Beer Mile had gotten so popular that it developed a formal set of rules. Five years later, an American university student, Patrick Butler, established beermile.com, which eventually became the official hub of all Beer Mile-related information, from rules to records. Today, over 4,500 Beer Mile events have been held across the globe.
Read more: 12 Bourbons You Should Leave On The Shelf
How the Beer Mile works
Since its founding, several rule variants for the Beer Mile have been created, including non-alcoholic editions that use chocolate milk or soda. For the original format, the rules are fairly straightforward. First, beers must have a minimum alcohol content of 5% — if you're running on a budget, keep in mind that some drinkable, cheap beer brands like Bud Light fall short of this requirement. Each beer must be opened and chugged in its entirety before the runner begins a lap, and containers that provide an advantage for speed-drinking — such as wide-mouth bottles — are strictly prohibited.
When it comes to the drinking itself, runners aren't allowed to use any techniques that speed up the flow of beer into their mouths. You can't use straws, and shotgunning is out of the question. You can only pull the tabs off your cans and remove the caps from your bottles. Vomiting at any point during the race means you have to take a penalty lap after the fourth one. There don't seem to be rules against making the beers more palatable, like when you top off a Mexican beer with lime, but it's always best to check in with the organizers before you try it.
Lastly, if you're trying to beat a Beer Mile record, it's recommended that you take video evidence that you've consumed a sufficient amount of beer. You can tip the can over to show that it's empty or pour any remaining contents into a measuring cup; you're allowed a maximum of 4 ounces of leftovers for your record attempt to qualify.
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Category: General Sports
