Is The Beer Mile a Complete Joke or Amazing Athletic Accomplishment?

It depends on the beer chosen.

I've heard it CAN NOT be a light beer...the rules and regulations need to be hammered down. It could be the Wild West out there if some guy is drinking a lighter beer than the others.....

Already done : 12oz at 5% minimum each lap.

http://www.beermile.com/rules

It's definitely an accomplishment including skills and hard training.

It seems obvious that Rupp wouldn't complete a single lap,

Break it down to the fact that these guys are doing essentially 4x400 with ~7-10 second rest at ~60-62 average, with the rest being not breathing because they're chugging, they're fit dudes.

It's both, obviously

ClonedDuck wrote:

Break it down to the fact that these guys are doing essentially 4x400 with ~7-10 second rest at ~60-62 average, with the rest being not breathing because they're chugging, they're fit dudes.

The good chuggers are not taking upwards of 10 seconds. Not even close. I don't drink much at all anymore but I used to when I was younger, and always had the ability to slam a pint or draft in about 3 seconds. Obviously it's a little slower going with a bottle - I can do that in about 6 seconds, 5 if I get a good "pour" (the tilt has to be just right).

I tried a beer mile about 10 years ago when I was about a 17:05-17:10 guy and could barely just dip under 5 for a mile. I pulled it off in 5:26. I used Molson Canadian, bottled.

lollerama wrote:

pint or draft

pint of draft

And THIS is exactly what I'm talking about. The art of the beer mile - and I'm embarrassed to write all those words in a sentence shared in public - is that you can put down 12 oz. in 3-4 seconds then run a 64-65 second 400. Not a bad feat. However, some dudes will not suffer from reflux and can handle their beer better than others. I think it levels the playing field if you are a decent miler but an extraordinary beer shotgunner, who feels nothing and has a strong stomach etc. Some people puke after a keg stand...some can do ten in a row....

GetDrunkAfterTheRun wrote:

And THIS is exactly what I'm talking about. The art of the beer mile - and I'm embarrassed to write all those words in a sentence shared in public - is that you can put down 12 oz. in 3-4 seconds then run a 64-65 second 400. Not a bad feat. However, some dudes will not suffer from reflux and can handle their beer better than others. I think it levels the playing field if you are a decent miler but an extraordinary beer shotgunner, who feels nothing and has a strong stomach etc. Some people puke after a keg stand...some can do ten in a row....

Agreed. It's not near as amazing as people make it out to be.

I obviously fit your description of being good at shotgunning beer, and it's always been something I could do. I'm not exceptional, but certainly better than average. So based on how fast I can run a mile, I am a "good" beer miler when comparing my regular mile (maybe 4:57) and my beer mile (5:26).

So, based on the difference between my regular mile and beer mile (19 seconds), I would have to be around a 4:14 miler to pull off a 4:33. 4:14 milers are not exceptional, and people that can chug beer as fast as I can are certainly not exceptional. Put the two together, and you have the "amazing" 4:33.

.... wow, my math is terrible. :)

4:04 miler, not 4:14.

So it is more impressive than I originally made out to be. But still, a 4:04 isn't off the charts

Yeah...I took some heat with a critical FB post...it wasn't harsh but it was like "Come one now...what are we praising here?" This one guy told me I didn't know what I was talking about (I ran 4:15 in college and drank my share of beer). He was praising it like a Sub-2 marathon. No way. This is the equivalent of a muddy, rainy football game: the lesser team can win because the playing field is leveled. Matt Centro might puke after two beers although he can run 3:50s...who knows. I do believe the John Walkers and Eamon Coghlan-types could have run pretty damn fast in a circus even like this. Seb Coe and Steven Scott may have struggled...not sure...

You could run 4:16 and average...4 seconds a beer and break the record as it stands. I'm going pounds 4 beers (5 percent alcohol) in 4:33 and see how I feel....take a 64 second break...between.

Your humblebragging game is strong too.