World Beer Mile
Josh Harris training for the World Beer Mile Championships
This last week has been pretty manic at the brewery, and I'm sure at most other breweries across the country it's the same story at this time of year. There's not enough time in the day, not enough tank volume, a critical ingredient that's just exhausted supply, a late order we're trying to accommodate etc, and especially not enough time to run/ride/swim or exercise. But on the other side of the world, a Van Dieman Athlete - Josh Harris - has combined the physical pursuit of running with consumption of beer at the World Beer Mile Championships in Austin, Texas & has performed unbelievably well.
If you've never heard of the Beer mile - what is it?
The Beer Mile is an event that has deep roots within the running community, but historically was only held behind the scenes. In 2014 FloTrack introduced the first professional event and World Championship to a sport that was previously underground and in many ways unofficial - more info here.
Step 1: Inhale a 355ml beer.
At the start of the race, participants of drinking age consume an entire 12-ounce can of beer.
Step 2: Sprint a lap, 400m.
Divisions include two open heats, a sub-elite heat where runners must submit their times and qualify to participate, a celebrity heat, and elite heats for both men and women
Step 3: Do that four times.
At the start of each lap in the mile, participants must consume another beer. Those who "lose" their beer before they finish the race must complete a penalty lap at the end.
Sound like fun? It prob is, I've personally not attempted the feat, but should do sometime soon.
Anyhow, Josh is a local Tasmanian lad who was one of the groundbreakers in the sport, having competed for 4-5 years (and in his spare time as an elite distance runner) and has seen it grow into an internationally competitive and challenging event. Josh has previously held the world record for the event and is a multiple Australian & Tasmanian Beer Mile title holder. Josh broke the World Record in August 2015 with a time of 4.56.25, but Canadian Corey Bellemore has since lowered the WR to 4:34, meaning Josh will no longer strive to reclaim the WR. His intentions are now solely on glory on the world stage, where Josh finished 4th at World Championship, narrowly missing out on a podium spot but performing incredibly well in a race that was utterly dominated by Bellemore, see the replay here, and a quality post race interview with Josh here, albeit a little too long after the race by Josh's own admission.
We're proud to be sponsoring Josh, providing him ample quantities of his preferred White Hill White Ale for training, and assisting where we can in this great pursuit of a sport.
