By Tiffany Feng
Staff Writer
Mira Costa alumnus Jake Courtney runs his way through life by competing in beer miles with his friends, all in the effort to stay in shape.
Last April, Courtney competed in the National Beer Mile Championship at the Los Angeles Coliseum where he participated in a race whilst consuming beer after each lap. Courtney recently discovered beer racing and said that instead of the fun, casual event it is usually known as, it has become an extremely competitive sport and that some athletes even train for the opportunity to set new records.
Learn more about the National Beer Mile at the Los Angeles Coliseum
“I think beer racing is something that has been around for a long time that is now getting more notice,” Courtney said. “I think I do it more for the fun of it but for the actual competition I mean more than anything you want to beat your friends and then to see how fast you can do it also.”
Courtney graduated from Costa in the year 1981, having run for Costa’s cross country and track teams all four years. Post graduating high school, he took to competitive cross country and track when he attended Loyola Marymount College in 1982 and then took a break from running to further his studies at Loyola Law School in 1986. Today, Courtney meets with a running group in Hermosa Beach five times a week in the mornings and participates in 5ks, such as a St. Patrick’s Day Run in Redondo Beach on March 12th.
“I really enjoy running especially since I was on the cross country team when I used to go to Mira Costa High School, running was really the core of my involvement,” Courtney said. “It is something that has really stuck with me throughout the years and I still continue to run with friends; I think it is still important to stay healthy and keep active.”
Photos: Jake Courtney Runs Beer Miles
There is a sub-culture of sports known as “digestive athletics” of which the most popular and celebrated event is the beer mile, a race where participants will drink beer and run a mile Courtney says. Thirty years ago, in the late 80s, college campuses in the U.S. held beer races for their track teams at the end of the season where participants would drink a can of beer after each of four laps on a standard track field, stumbling past their teammates for first place.
“Beer races back in those days were silly, it was fun, it was very casual and it was not very competitive; it was not meant to be fast,” Courtney said. “I always loved the idea of everyone on the track teams coming together to celebrate this brilliant event, it really helped the team come together as a whole and helped everyone get to know one another.”
In recent years, beer racing has become more mainstream and competitive, having events all around the world with participants racing not just for fun but also for sport. The race is a series of running and drinking where each competitor consumes a can of beer before each lap on a track field, in total drinking four cans. Runners will drink a 12-ounce can of beer, with a of minimum 5.0% ABV, before every 400-meter lap according to beermile.com.
“I think it is silly to say that you are actually training for it; I am just an old runner who still runs and occasionally my friends and I do a beer mile,” Courtney said. “But I would like to beat the current world record for men my age.”
See the full rules and regulations for beer racing here
Currently the record for Courtney’s age group, men over 50, is 6:51 minutes, a time Courtney says he is determined to surpass. To accomplish this, he plans to set up a race for their friends to participate in this summer. The exact location and time is still to be determined.
“In my experience, beer racing is both competitive and a fun event” Courtney said. “Chasing the record for my age group is fun and challenging but to me participating with my pals will always be a great experience.”
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