Beer and running — an unlikely pairing

The event usually happens at a dark, secluded track, away from campus security or city police – sometimes it might even take place on a farmer’s field in the country – but no matter the venue, the challenge remains the same.

The contest calls for runners to chug four beers (three for the women’s event) at regular 400m intervals during a mile race, in an attempt to crown the fastest beer miler is growing in popularity among Canada’s finest distance runners.

A website, beermile.com, meticulously tracks the results and history of various events across Canada and around the World.

A recent article in the Globe and Mail dispelled some of the common stereotypes about runners — exposing popular myths that runners don’t drink, don’t party, and go to bed by 9 p.m.

“They usually assume that I live like a monk, shun alcohol, dine on tofu burgers and boiled yams,” Canadian Running editor Michal Kapral told the Globe.

A relaxed attitude towards running is essential to improve performance, according to Jim Finlayson, three-time member of the national cross country team.

“You have to be able to enjoy it,” he says. “If you let yourself get too wrapped up in the details, and tense up about all the particulars, then you’re not going to get the most out of your body.”

A recent study in the American Journal of Health Promotion found that moderate to heavy drinkers exercise more often than abstainers.