Man sets world record for running a mile while drinking booze

Corey Bellemore broke the world record for running while drinking booze after completing the Beer Mile World Classic 2021 in an impressive four minutes, 28 seconds.

If you think running a five minute mile is impressive, just imagine downing four beers while doing it.

This dream became a reality for Canadian competition winner Corey Bellemore, who completed the Beer Mile in world record speed. He beat out his predecessor Chris Robertson, coming in ten seconds under the previous world record.

The Beer Mile World Classic, which began as an underground frat tradition, has evolved into an international competition garnering close to 100,000 official entries. Its inaugural race was launched in San Francisco in 2015, and has since been hosted in London, Vancouver, and Berlin.

What are the rules, I hear you ask. Each competitor drinks four bottles or cans of beer and runs four laps. The race begins with the contestants drinking their first beer. Once finished, off they go. Beer must be consumed within the 10 metre ‘transition zone’ before each lap is begun.

A stickler for rules, the Beer Mile’s official website makes clear that “no specialised cans or bottles may be used that give an advantage by allowing the beer to pour at a faster rate”. “super mega mouth cans” and “wide mouth bottles” are strictly prohibited.

As if puking your guts up isn’t punishment enough, competitors who vomit while completing the race must also do one penalty lap at the end of the race.

Women running the race are also obliged to drink four beers; a diversion from past rules where they only needed to drink three.

Bellemore previously set the world record in 2017. He described his 2021 experience as “an awesome day” but noted there was “still room for improvement” in an interview.

Looking for competition inspiration? One man broke the Guinness World Record for the most pubs visited in a 24-hour period. Read more on that here.