By Carolyn Webb
Sport and beer have always gone together, but the drinking bit is usually done off the field.
Athletes don’t skol while they’re competing, right?
Chug and run: Competitors in the Aussie Beer Mile fuel up on beer before running another lap.Credit: Wayne Taylor
They do in the sport of beer mile, where competitors chug a stubby each time they run a lap of 400 metres. They run a total of four laps.
On Saturday, a Clifton Hill athletics track hosted the 2025 Aussie Beer Mile — the unofficial national championship of this little-known but much-loved pastime.
The event at George Knott Reserve, offered spectators a more grassroots sport option than the Australian Open tennis at Melbourne Park, six kilometres away.
MCs reminded entrants that if they vomited while running, they had to run an extra lap.
Out to win: The Esky dash was fiercely contested.Credit: Wayne Taylor
But while there was a bit of that, the focus was on laughing and socialising. One man wore a onesie with a duck print. Another was dressed as a beer.
Runner Benny Reyn, of Footscray, wore German-style lederhosen “because it’s beer related”. He said he took part for health. “Running and drinking - it’s life,” he said.
In the first beer mile race, for novices, Adeline Teh, of Footscray, felt very queasy in the second lap and had to pause for 30 seconds, but said she finished the event because she was stubborn.
Here for beer and running: Benny Reyn, dressed in lederhosen, lines up for his beer mile race.Credit: Wayne Taylor
But Teh said she didn’t take the event seriously.
“I run more for social purposes and to see friends,” she said. “And I like to drink beer, so I thought it’s a fun little challenge.
“And it’s a really good community event. Everyone’s there cheering you on.”
In the second beer mile race, for more experienced runners and chuggers, Henry Jones, from Mollymook in New South Wales, won the Aussie Beer Mile title by a big margin.
Determined to finish: Adeline Teh, in blue cap, overcame queasiness to finish her race.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Jones, a physiotherapist, achieved a time of five minutes and 55 seconds – a fair old crack given the world record is four minutes 28 seconds, held by Canadian beer mile legend Corey Bellemore.
Jones won a $250 shoe voucher and eight beers. If his time qualifies him, he could be eligible to attend the 2025 world championships to be held later this year.
Jones said he travelled from NSW “because I hear this is the best beer mile race in Australia”.
He was modest about his win. “I’m not that good a runner, and not that good of a drinker,” he said. “But I’m apparently a very good beer miler.”
Cheers to him: Henry Jones, of Mollymook, NSW, won the 2025 Aussie Beer Mile title.Credit: Wayne Taylor
The day’s co-organiser, sports coach Melissa Vandewater, who is a former elite triathlete, said the not-for-profit annual event, which started in 2016, was sold out this year, having attracted 150 entrants.
There was also an Esky dash in which competitors ran 100 metres carrying a drinks cooler. The beer mile relay attracted 20 teams of four.
Vandewater says the day is not about getting drunk. It is competitive but friendly.
“It’s very different. It’s not like any other running event,” she said. “Fun is definitely the first thing that comes to mind.
“We’ve tried to create something that anyone coming down would feel a part of it.”