Canada’s Corey Bellemore and Jim Finlayson take wins at Beer Mile World Classic

On Saturday, Canadian runners Corey Bellemore and Jim Finlayson made history at the 2023 Beer Mile World Classic in Chicago, proving that Canada is better at running and drinking–simultaneously–than our American peers. Bellemore won the men’s championship beer mile race outright in 4:30, with one shoe, while Finlayson set a men’s 50+ world record in 5:44.

Bellemore comes close to record

Bellemore, who is from Tecumseh, Ont., was the pre-race favourite to win, holding the beer-mile world record of 4:28. This year, he battled a little adversity, losing one of his spikes at the start. Bellemore is a man of experience when it comes to the beer mile, and he knew time is of the essence, running the remainder of the race with one shoe.

He was on beer-mile world record pace early, coming through the first lap in 60 seconds (beer + lap) and through 800m (two beers and two laps) in 2:06. Despite wearing only one shoe, Bellemore just missed his world record by two seconds, finishing in 4:30, beating second place by 22 seconds.

THIS IS INSANE!! @CoreyBellemore just misses the Beer Mile World Record WITH JUST ONE SHOE ON.
Chaos in the first 50 meters of the race caused Corey to lose a shoe and a British runner to go down.
Corey STILL runs 4:30 and dominates the men's championshiphttps://t.co/mixKH8LbSw

— Beer Mile Media (@beermile) July 3, 2023

Finlayson takes top honours

Heading into the Legends & Elites championship race, those on hand were ready to see the battle between two titans of the beer mile, Finlayson of Victoria and Todd Rose of the U.S. The men were back and forth in the early stages, but Finlayson found himself with a lead on Rose heading into lap three. On the final lap, it was Finlayson who came out on top, clocking a 5:44 beer mile, with Rose finishing 10 seconds behind him. The two men now hold the top two 50+ beer mile times in history.

Age seems to be just a number for Finlayson, who continues to set masters records past 50. He currently holds the Canadian marathon record for the 45-49 age group of 2:25:31 and is the coach of Canadian record holder Cam Levins. Finlayson is also the beer two-mile world record holder, which involves running 3,200m while consuming a total of eight beers.

Shelby Houlihan returns?

Suspended U.S. distance runner Shelby Houlihan made history at the 2023 Beer Mile World Classic by becoming the first woman to break the six-minute barrier in the beer mile. Houlihan crossed the finish line in 5:43.81, setting a new world record. However, despite her achievement, she did not win the championship, as she was not allowed to compete in the women’s championship section due to her ongoing drug suspension.

Read more about Houlihan’s beer mile record here.