22nd AUGUST 2015 - by Derek Larner @ http://racecaribbean.net/
The inaugural Cayman Beer Mile was the brainchild of local tennis coach Dale Avery who wanted to put on a treat for Patrick Loughnane, soon leaving these islands and returning to Ireland. The participants were split into two heats with the winner being the fastest of the two. Competitors start the race by downing a can of beer and prove it is empty by tipping upside down above their head before heading off in an out and back quarter mile lap. At the completion of the first lap, the competitor has to drink another can of beer before setting off for lap two. The process is completed two more times so one has consumed 4 cans of beer and completed 4 laps for the mile.
This event attracted a handful of the Island’s drunks challenged by a number of known runners. An athlete may be able to run quick, but can the athlete match the drunks for drinking speed?
In the first Heat, which was mainly a bunch of drunks, it was runner Kevin Higgo who was surprisingly quickest to down a can of beer and set off on the first lap showing that runners can also down at least one beer quickly. Being a quick runner it was no surprise that he was back first but that second can of beer was much tougher and allowed the drunks to close the gap. Kevin toughed it out though, eventually finished the second beer and was first to set off belching his way round lap 2 extending his lead again. Fortunately for Kevin, although the drunks were now into full swing and downing their cans much quicker, the lack of leg speed had them trailing in his wake and they could not close the gap. Kevin was first home in a time of 8:16.
Heat 2 had mainly runners and three female competitors on the startline trying to beat the time set by Kevin in Heat 1. The first beer was demolished by Dale Avery in seconds and off he went on the run followed by the rest of the pack which was closely bunched on lap 1. At the end of lap 1 it was Dale who again finished his beer first and off he went again. The field was spreading out with a few athletes wondering what they were doing here. The end of lap 2 saw Dale still in the lead thanks mainly to his incredible drinking ability but closely followed by Kevin Connolly and now Derek Larner, who had started quite slowly was now not far behind in third place. Pretty close at the end of lap 3 but once again it was Dale who bolted out ahead but this time it was Derek who followed him as Kevin struggled with his 4th beer. Derek caught Dale fairly quickly and was able to pull away to win in a time of 7:45 and quickest overall earning a pat on the back as the prize.
The first lady home was Jody McFarland in a time of 11:21. Full results below
Special thanks to Bill Edwards for hosting the event.
The inaugural Cayman Beer Mile was the brainchild of local tennis coach Dale Avery who wanted to put on a treat for Patrick Loughnane, soon leaving these islands and returning to Ireland. The participants were split into two heats with the winner being the fastest of the two. Competitors start the race by downing a can of beer and prove it is empty by tipping upside down above their head before heading off in an out and back quarter mile lap. At the completion of the first lap, the competitor has to drink another can of beer before setting off for lap two. The process is completed two more times so one has consumed 4 cans of beer and completed 4 laps for the mile.
This event attracted a handful of the Island’s drunks challenged by a number of known runners. An athlete may be able to run quick, but can the athlete match the drunks for drinking speed?
In the first Heat, which was mainly a bunch of drunks, it was runner Kevin Higgo who was surprisingly quickest to down a can of beer and set off on the first lap showing that runners can also down at least one beer quickly. Being a quick runner it was no surprise that he was back first but that second can of beer was much tougher and allowed the drunks to close the gap. Kevin toughed it out though, eventually finished the second beer and was first to set off belching his way round lap 2 extending his lead again. Fortunately for Kevin, although the drunks were now into full swing and downing their cans much quicker, the lack of leg speed had them trailing in his wake and they could not close the gap. Kevin was first home in a time of 8:16.
Heat 2 had mainly runners and three female competitors on the startline trying to beat the time set by Kevin in Heat 1. The first beer was demolished by Dale Avery in seconds and off he went on the run followed by the rest of the pack which was closely bunched on lap 1. At the end of lap 1 it was Dale who again finished his beer first and off he went again. The field was spreading out with a few athletes wondering what they were doing here. The end of lap 2 saw Dale still in the lead thanks mainly to his incredible drinking ability but closely followed by Kevin Connolly and now Derek Larner, who had started quite slowly was now not far behind in third place. Pretty close at the end of lap 3 but once again it was Dale who bolted out ahead but this time it was Derek who followed him as Kevin struggled with his 4th beer. Derek caught Dale fairly quickly and was able to pull away to win in a time of 7:45 and quickest overall earning a pat on the back as the prize.
The first lady home was Jody McFarland in a time of 11:21. Full results below
Special thanks to Bill Edwards for hosting the event.