Chugging along on the Beer Mile

Sebastian Coe once said that, theatrically, the mile is the perfect distance: “Blink and you miss a sprint, the 10,000 metres is lap after lap of waiting, but the mile is just the right length — beginning, middle, end; a story unfolding.”

If that’s true, then its younger, more delinquent brother — the Beer Mile — is the very much imperfect distance: A horror story unfolding.

The rules are simple: Drink a beer, run a lap of the track, and repeat another three times (with a penalty lap enforced for any vomiting). The beer must be at least 12 ounces (355ml) and 5% alcohol, and must be drunk from a bottle or can, ie no glasses.