PHOTOS: 2017 Toronto Spring Beer Mile
It was a messy affair for some as runners attempted to down four beers and run four laps of a 400m track as fast as they could.
Photo: Philippe Tremblay.
Pre-race instructions.
Photo: Philippe Tremblay.
Runners, take your marks...
Chug!
Some chose bottles, others chose cans.
Beer must be five per cent alcohol and 355 mL in volume.
End of the first lap.
Proof that the beer is finished.
An alternative method of proving that one's beer is finished.
Foam city.
Pack of runners still close together.
Second lap.
Plenty of local run clubs were represented at the Toronto Beer Mile.
Racing attire.
Shirt paying homage to Steve Prefontaine.
Empty cans piling up near the start/finish. (All were cleaned up and disposed of after the race.)
Heavy rains subsided just before the race went off on Saturday evening.
Coming into the finish.
Women's winner.
A penalty lap is assessed if one throws up before reaching the 1,609m mark. No penalty for vomiting once the race is completed.
Battle to the line.
Four beers, four laps of the track.
Lots of high-fives.
"Canada knows speed."
Not an uncommon scene at a beer mile.
Watch your step!
Tall cans make the race a bit more difficult.
Making sure to get every last drop.
Pace bike.
Finals runners coming in.
Finals runners coming in.
Prize time.
Raising the golden shoe.
Golden shoes are handed out.
The moment you realize that you dropped a bottle while doing a beer 100m sprint...(Can you spot the bottle in the air?)
Somehow, the glass bottle didn't break.
Scroll left/right to toggle through photos, all of which are courtesy of Philippe Tremblay.
For certain local runners, the Toronto Beer Mile is a spring tradition.
The popular four-beer, four laps of a 400m track event that tests the limits of one’s stomach as well as one’s fitness went off on Saturday evening. Fortunately, the rain subsided minutes before the beer mile went off as more than 50 people were on hand either competing or spectating.
Not unusual for a beer mile, there were a few runners who weren’t able to keep the contents down. Throwing up before the end of the beer mile triggers a penalty lap, which effectively makes the race 2,109m. Last year’s event was even bigger but rain perhaps played a part in the attendance in 2017.
The men’s world record is 4:34.35 held by Canadian Corey Bellemore and the women’s world record is 6:08.51 by Erin O’Mara. The next global event for the beer mile will be the 2017 Beer Mile World Classic in London, the same week as the IAAF World Championships.
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