| Where and when did the beer mile originate and who was the first to complete one? |
The truth is no one knows for sure. It's "invention" was not dissimilar to the invention of calculus, where it was rumored that Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Sir Isaac Newton developed the notion independent of each other in the late 17th century. Like calculus, the concept was not necessarily an invention, but more of a discovery. It was inevitable that beer miling would surface, and because of that, multiple parties can claim they were the first to dance with the demon known as the "chunder" mile.
The roots of the beer mile family tree can accurately be traced back to parts of Florida and New England college campuses in the U.S., Hash House Harrier events in Indonesia, and to many places (most notably Ontario) in Canada. The earliest documented races (whose records still exist today) occurred in the late 1980's and early 1990's. Legendary stories spread of a mysteriously brutal event, though many details were lost in the telling of the stories. Rules were approximated and a race of more than 5 people at once was a rarity. With the emergence of the internet and instant digital communication, information was shared and rules became more consistent in the early 1990's.
The first known set of rules to be posted in a public place was by a group in Kingston, Ontario where beer-miling had taken place regulary for a few years. Since many beer milers elsewhere were competitive, they took it upon themselves to indoctrinate the Kingston rules into their own festivities. And so, the set known as the "Kingston Rules" was born.
For more info on this wonderful tradition check out.
I think I have found my next race after Ironman.
1 comment:
Did a beer mile last week, I'm back on the upswing after some poor performances.
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