The Beer Mile World Championships

For many, the Beer Mile World Championship sounds like a contradiction or something made up.  The not new, but newly popular beer mile is growing in popularity every day.  Drink a beer, run a lap, and then repeat.  This event, typically ran by college seniors after the conclusion of their college career, is now a professional sport with serious cash, endorsements, and talk show appearances on the line.  Why I believe this event is gaining such rampant publicity is because it combines drinking with a small dose of running that most Americans can relate to.  It's great to hear about this event on big radio shows, such as Bobby Bones in the morning, or top talk shows, such as Ellen.  Even better is watching top athletes try thinking it's easy only to completely fail or not finish.  Even Lunchbox, a sidekick to Bobby Bones, had a sub par attempt, just like Lance Armstrong.  I hear crazy stories of people who ran fast times only to later learn they drank low alcohol content beers or threw up, and both are against the rules.

On Tuesday, I raced in my second beer mile World Championship hosted by FloTrack in Austin.  This event is truly a first class event in every way.  The staff are spot on with great organization, management, and publicity.  I cannot adequately put into words how much fun I have had racing.  I know the question most ask is, "Why the beer mile?" or "What kind of image am I portraying to younger runners?"  My response to that is that this event isn't an event that coincides with the training cycle of a college athlete.  As a coach, I believe it would be a very bad idea for a college athlete to try and prepare for or race right as indoor season is beginning.  This is an event for post collegiate athletes who are over 21 yrs of age.  I do not drink and drive; I haven't nor would I ever drink with one of my collegiate athletes.  This is a fun event for those of age without a serious race to focus on in the near future.  The majority of the elites are training for this event as their focus and not hoping to race other big races during this time.  So, once again, I believe the beer mile should be a post college event ran for fun if one chooses to.  As for my particular race I was disappointed with my 6:30 finish time.  The provided beer was a very good tasting beer but the problem was the temperature.  I struggled drinking quickly as the ice cold beer felt like a freezing knife sliding down my throat.  The only time when one would want look warm beer would be to chug.  It cost me a good 30 seconds or I would have hit my goal of breaking 6flat.  I look forward to next year and hopefully breaking that 6min barrior!     

I want to thank all the amazing athletes I ran with and hung out with, the people of Flotrack, and my family for putting up with my never ending adventure that they cheer me through.