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Interview: Beer mile world record holder Corey Bellemore recaps his wild trip to London

Canadian Corey Bellemore recaps his wild and crazy 48-hour overseas trip to London where he set a beer mile world record on Sunday.

Beer mile world classic.

Corey Bellemore returned home to Canada from a 48-hour trip to England where he set the beer mile world record on Monday. The 21-year-old Windsor, Ont. native drank four beers and ran four laps of a 400m track in 4:34.35– 13 seconds faster than any other runner before him.

Full recap of the beer mile world classic.

Sunday’s beer mile world classic was just his fourth beer mile ever and second in four days. On Thursday, he ran an unofficial world record of 4:39 which jump-started his crazy weekend. He had no plans of running the race in London but was contacted by organizers and given a free flight to join team Canada at the race.

On Friday, one of Bellemore’s friends drove him to Toronto from Windsor to catch a red-eye at 10 p.m. The now world record holder didn’t get much sleep on the flight, stayed up all day Saturday, did some sightseeing, and ended off the night with a few beers. All the hostels were booked so he stayed at a friend’s place.

RELATED: Why beer miler Lewis Kent is actually the world’s best runner

“I really don’t know how to feel about it,” says Bellemore when asked of his attitude towards the beer mile. “I’m still in my off-season and I have to get serious about training. Still, it’a a cool title to have. People can relate to drinking and people can relate to running a mile.”

This weekend’s beer mile didn’t see an overwhelming number of fans in the crowd. As it was a beer mile, unsurprisingly many of the fans were with a bottle in hand.

Since his record-breaking performance where he ran with a bottle opener in his hand the whole time, Bellemore’s been flooded with messages. His run has appeared on television and across social media. We reached out to the new record holder to ask him about his race.

Canadian Running: How’s your attitude towards the beer mile shifted?

Corey Bellemore: I really don’t know how to feel about it. It’s still my off-season and I have to get serious about training. It’s a cool title to have. People can relate to drinking and running the mile. I checked twitter in the airport. My phone has been non-stop.

CR: Have any companies or agents reached out to you about possible sponsorships? Have people asked about Lewis Kent and his deal?
CB: There’s been some interest. Lots of people have been saying “When are you getting a Lewis Kent contract?” Everyone’s been saying that he was on Ellen.

CR: What was the funniest description or reaction to you running a 4:34 beer mile?
CB: We took the tube and a bus to get to the stadium. On the bus, we met a couple from Germany who were visiting London and saw the beer mile world classic in the paper. They were trying to find the stadium and they got off with us and took a picture. My buddy Nick was talking me up saying I just set the record. Then they found me after the race.

CR: What was the crowd’s reaction when you broke the world record?
CB: Crazy. When I finished, teammate Jeff Mountjoy handed me a Canadian flag and I was doing some interviews.

CR: What kind of beer did you drink?
CB: Not sure if anyone else ended up drinking Kingfisher (brought it from Canada). A few people said they heard of it who were at the stadium and they said it was good for eating curry or something because it has lower carbonation.

CR: Was it easier to run with competition or harder because you had to navigate the crowds?
CB: Better with competition. I live for stuff like that. But Lewis got out quick and I figured I could hang with him and the top guys. One of the guys is a 3:38 1,500m runner and paced Mo Farah during his indoor two-mile world record.

CR: Have you ever got this much media attention for running before?
CB: It’s crazy how much attention this stuff gets. Social media has really blown it up. My coach gave me a few extra days of rest. I start cross-country training in the next couple of days.

RELATED: Canadian Corey Bellemore lowers beer mile world record to an incredible 4:34.

RELATED: Canadian Running’s video of Bellemore’s original record-setting beer mile run.

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