PREVIEW: Canadians at the FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships
The annual FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships are this Saturday. Get to know who will be representing Canada in Austin, Texas.
Canada will have a small, but fast, contingent of runners at Saturday’s FloTrack Beer Mile World Championships in Austin, Texas. The winner of the men’s and women’s races take home US$2,500 with an additional US$2,500 going to the winner if they break the existing world record in the four-beer, four-400m-lap race.
LINK: Live stream (begins at 3:15 p.m. EST).
Headlining the field for Canada will be men’s world record holder Corey Bellemore, the winner of this summer’s Beer Mile World Classic. FloTrack’s event and the world classic make up the two global championships in the beer mile. Lewis Kent, the former world record holder and FloTrack defending champion, with Corey Gallagher being the inaugural 2014 champion.
Before Kent’s win at last year’s event, where he took home US$5,000, he appeared on Ellen. At that point, the now-world record holder Bellemore was not on the beer mile scene; he currently has a best 13 seconds faster any other beer miler. The event’s rules include beginning each of the four laps by drinking one 355 mL beer of five-plus per cent alcohol. If someone vomits, a fifth lap is added as a penalty.
RELATED: Lewis Kent set to “Run Hoppy” in new Canadian-themed beer mile shoe by Brooks.
Canada is a threat to go 1-2-3 in the men’s race.
Unlike the summer’s Beer Mile World Classic, the FloTrack championships will be held on a concrete loop. The event sets up a 400m loop in the parking lot of an Austin newspaper while London’s Beer Mile World Classic was the first global beer mile championship to actually be held on a 400m track.
Canada will have one woman, Anne Belanger, in the women’s field. Belanger is ranked 11th all-time, according to FloTrack, in the beer mile in a women’s race that many are predicting will have a winner in sub-six, which would be a world record by at least eight seconds.
Action gets underway at 1:15 p.m. EST. The women’s world championship is slated for 4:25 p.m. with the men going off shortly after at 4:50 p.m. EST. Click here for the live stream.
Get to know Canada’s five-person team representing the red and white in Texas as they answered some questions in the leadup to the event.
Anne Belanger
Beer mile beer of choice: Still nailing that down – but Amsterdam Blonde is solid.
Number of career beer miles: One at the elite level; Three local Toronto beer miles since 2013.
Winning time predictions: Men’s: 4:31.31; Women’s: 6:23.36
Pre-race ritual: “Sometimes I have a beer two to three hours before the race, and maybe a Red Bull 10-20 minutes before hand.”
PB: 6:50.78
All-time ranking: 11.
https://twitter.com/TriAnnethlon/status/808663466705817600
Corey Bellemore
Bellemore will be making his first appearance since signing an endorsement deal with Adidas. The 22-year-old Windsor, Ont. student runs beer miles in his “off-season,” meaning outside of his regular track appearances, and focuses more on the 800m and 1,500m.
Beer mile beer of choice (the brand he used to set the world record): Kingfisher.
Number of career beer miles: Four.
PB: 4:34.35
All-time ranking: 1.
Lewis Kent
Beer mile beer of choice: Amsterdam Blonde
Number of career beer miles: Approximately 15
Winning time predictions: Men’s: 4:35, Women’s: 5:52.
Pre-race ritual: “Always Nutella sandwiches as the last meal.”
PB: 4:47.17.
All-time ranking: 2.
See below for short video of Kent practicing his chugging ability. (Note: Non-alcoholic beers.) Kent, a Brooks athlete, will be wearing custom beer mile shoes courtesy of his sponsor. (Click here for more Brooks footwear photos.)
With Beer Mile World Championships this week (run a mile, drink 4 beers), @LewisKentMiler is practicing his chugging (H/T @Mychasiw) pic.twitter.com/h0GomP2CjD
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 14, 2016
Corey Gallagher
Beer mile beer of choice: Bud Light Platinum.
Career beer miles: 25-30 (counting treadmill beer miles, training beer miles)
Winning time predictions: Men’s: 4:41; Women’s: 6:18.
Pre-race ritual: “I need a big breakfast with a couple bottle chugs (of water).”
PB: 4:48.62.
All-time ranking: 5.
Philippe Parrot-Migas
Beer mile beer of choice: Bud light Platinum
Number of career beer miles: 15-plus.
Winning time predictions: Men’s: 4:45; Women’s: 5:55.
Pre-race ritual: “I treat it like any other race. No food three hours before the race. Right before the race I do my normal warm up with drills and strides because we still end up running a pretty fast pace mile.”
PB: 4:55.53.
All-time ranking: 7.
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