ADRIAN MA, HOST:
There are certain athletic feats that, no matter how hard we train, most of us will never be able to do, like dunking a basketball or hitting a home run. Then there are athletic feats that, even if we could do them, it would almost certainly not be a good idea. And this is the category that the beer mile falls into, which is where a person runs around a track four times as fast as they can, but before each lap, they chug a 12-ounce beer.
Now, currently, the world record for a beer mile is four minutes, 28 seconds. It's held by a Canadian runner named Corey Bellemore, who's 29. And I started by asking him why an elite athlete who's been competing for years started doing this in the first place.
COREY BELLEMORE: Honestly, the beer mile was just end of the season in university, you're - sort of have this binge week, that we call it. So you eat foods you wouldn't usually eat, maybe sugary, crappy fast food. And then you maybe party a couple times throughout that week that you wouldn't do during the season. So...
MA: And this is what you're, like, college track team?
BELLEMORE: Yeah. Yeah. So this was my second year, and we just went to a track late at night. There was no lights. It was very dark. And we tried a beer mile as a team. And back then, people would just compare times at meets. It was more or less just a nonserious thing. And then all of a sudden, they started having these, like, world championships, world classics, so they'd bring international athletes in and see who could beat who, who could run as fast as one another.
And so that's sort of where I started seeing, I guess, the success of some of these beer milers. And it was a weird, niche sport, but I was like, I know I can chug. I chug Gatorade, water, whatever it is, electrolyte mix in between workouts. And I know I can run pretty fast, and I know, on top of that, I have a strong stomach. Like, I could eat a big steak dinner and go crush a workout. And although it's uncomfortable, like, I knew I wouldn't feel the need to puke.
MA: I got to admit that this sounds kind of rough. What does it feel like as you're running with all this liquid sloshing around in you?
BELLEMORE: Yeah. It's just - it's an overload of stimuli. From beer one, you're just - you're nervous, obviously, from the race itself. But then you also don't know how your stomach is going to be able to handle the alcohol. Like, every day is a little different. And depending on what you ate, how you're feeling going in, the nerves, you're out of breath, and you're having to chug in between these race - or the laps. For about 10 seconds, you're holding your breath and consuming beer, which is full of carbonation.
And by the end of the race, you have three pounds of beer in your stomach, so you can imagine that sloshing around. You're trying to run fast. You're burping out the carbonation. It's all in your stomach and chest. It's - yeah, it's not a great feeling at all, and you want to get it done as quick as you start. And from the moment you start, you realize like, why the hell am I doing this? Like...
MA: Yeah. Corey, this sounds awful. Like, you say you do it once a year.
BELLEMORE: Yeah.
MA: And you've done it once a year for the past several years, and you've been quite successful at it. You've held the world record for some time. Last week, after you attempted to break your own record again, you said you are done with this beer mile. Why is that?
BELLEMORE: Overall, if you, like - I don't know if people know me in the city, or people search my name online, it's like, I'm labeled as beer miler before anything else. And although that's cool to some people, it's not a true representation of me. I am, like I said, first and foremost, a endurance athlete. And I want to be competitive, the focus of triathlon. So I think, like, it's just conflicted, sort of, and made a parody a little bit of sometimes my running. That's how I've felt. So it's like - it's - I love the community. I love the, like, the events themselves afterwards, obviously. But it's conflicting in terms of who I am and what I represent.
MA: Other people might hear about beer miling and think, that sounds kind of fun. What would you say to them?
BELLEMORE: I mean, it's not fun. If you want to try one, I would not suggest doing so, but if you're inclined to do so, just know it is extremely uncomfortable. And, yeah, just obviously make sure if you're going to a track and doing it, make sure you have a safe ride home instead of - yeah - instead of biking on your own or driving, obviously. That's the biggest thing. But yeah, it is - it's an event that is not - two things that shouldn't go together go together in the event, and they don't necessarily mix well. So just know that.
MA: Don't try it at home. But also, maybe don't try it at all.
BELLEMORE: Yes, exactly. That's a good way to put it.
(LAUGHTER)
MA: We've been speaking with Canadian runner Corey Bellemore, who holds the world record in the beer mile. Corey, thanks again for talking with us.
BELLEMORE: Yeah. Thanks so much for having me on. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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