Running under the influence: Australian sets new world record in Beer Mile

Twenty-five-year-old Josh Harris, who had been running and drinking since reaching the legal age, has been training furiously to beat the previous 4:57 minute record, set over a year ago by James ‘The Beast’ Nielsen.

“It has really been a big week of training both running and in terms of beer training,” Harris said in a video before his record-setting attempt.

Having placed four 355 ml 5 percent beer bottles on the track’s bench, he gracefully consumed one bottle before each lap during quick pit stops for the ice-cold refreshment. Four laps and 1.42 liters of beer later, he made history clocking in 4:56:02 seconds.

The Beer Mile, already confirmed the achievement, calling it “as smooth as a freshly shorn Australian sheep calf.”

“Josh ‘Sir Fundamentals’ Harris set a new World Record in Australia, besting James Nielsen, equaling James Hansen,” the organization said in a Facebook post.

Harris, after the run attributed his success to the intensity of training, beer quality, and most of all his stomach which handled the alcohol prevented the 25-year-old from puking.

“It’s something I’ve been working on for a few weeks now,” he told Sports Illustrated.

“Training has included 3 shorter interval sessions (200-400m) with beer recovery in the final set. I’ve also been drinking one beer per night at top speed, and on a Sunday after my long run, eating as much food as I can with a beer to finish once I’m close to puking.”

To set world record under the official Beer Mile rules, the runner must consume 355 ml beer for each of the four laps on a 400-meter track. Beer’s alcohol content must be five percent or higher. What is absolutely forbidden is vomiting.

The Australian now plans to represent his country at the Beer Mile World Classic competitions in San Francisco later this month. There he hopes to set an even faster time.