Going the extra (beer) mile

Runners and beerophiles unite!

Most runners I know love downing a nice cold beer (or two, or more), especially after a long hard run or race. Some runners, like my good friend Pat (a.k.a. "the white kenyan"), are so hardcore, they enjoy a good brewski during the race.

The Beer Mile is the extreme sport for those whole love "digestive athletics." According to the official website beermile.com FAQs, any mile that is run in combination with beer consumption can be considered a Beer Mile. However, thanks to the runners of Kingston, Ontario, a set of rules were defined and must be adhered to in order to have your Beer Mile time posted on beermile.com's official results page, which is organized not only by location, gender, and age, but by brand of beer.

In compliance with the "Kingston Rules," the format of the race is as follows: Start - beer/lap, beer/lap, beer/lap, beer/lap - finish. Restrictions require that the beer be an untampered, unopened 12 oz. can (or 1 pint in the UK) and must contain a minimum of 5% alcohol by volume. Each beer must be completely consumed before starting the next lap (and yes, the drinking time is part of your overall race time). In the (likely) event of regurgitation, the offending runner must complete one penalty lap immediately following their 4th lap, which is also included in the overall race time.

Currently the world record is held by Jim Finlayson of Victoria, British Columbia, at 5:09.

There are some variations to this extreme sport including the Soda/Pop Mile, the Chocolate Milk Mile, the Ben and Jerry's 4x4 (4 pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream per lap!), and the Vodka 2-Mile (8 shots, 8 quarters).

I'm not sure I could participate in any of the above because frankly, I hate vomiting. However, I think I may submit to the NYRR suggestion box a request for an Espresso Mile. I'd love to see my mile time for that race!