[leadin]Run a mile, drink four beers along the way. Now the burgeoning “sport” of the beer mile has its first pro athlete.[/leadin]
Canadian Lewis Kent, who earlier this month reduced his own beer mile world record time by nearly 4 seconds (to 4:51.90), has signed with Brooks Running to become the first-ever sponsored beer miler.
Kent now owns the two fastest beer mile times ever recorded. His initial world record, 4:55.78, came on the same day Australian Josh Harris had broken the record, running 4:56.25.
Yes, this sport is taken seriously by some athletes, and winning times are now measured to the hundredth of a second.
For the record, only six men have ever run the grueling event in under 5 minutes, consuming four beers and running four quarter-mile laps on a track.
Fellow Canadian James Nielsen is purported to have first broken the 5-minute barrier, clocking a 4:57. Canada has been referred to as “the Kenya of beer miling” in reference to the East African country’s dominance in long-distance running events not involving beer.
Official Beer Mile Records
Who’s keeping track of all this? Official rules for the beer mile, as well as all-time lists, can be found at beermile.com. We published our own guide to the event in August.
Brooks is a top running shoe brand. It also sponsors world-class beer miler Nick Symmonds, though the company sponsors him primarily as a middle-distance track athlete.
Symmonds’ beer mile exploits, including competing in last year’s inaugural beer mile world championship in Austin, Texas, are a side venture and a fun diversion that now some runners are taking quite seriously on the track.
