A pack of Newcastle lads upped the ante on the lauded ‘beer mile’ by downing ten beverages at ten pubs during the course of running 42 kilometres, in a beer marathon.
Novocastrian Lachlan Earnshaw and his brother Elliott are fond of fitness challenges, and on Christmas Eve 2023 did the celebrated beer mile, where participants consume a beer every 400 metres for a mile, totalling four beers.
This prompted them to come up with the idea of having a drink roughly every four kilometres over the course of a marathon, which is 42 kilometres (26 miles).
On Saturday, 13 January they set forth on the record-setting task, accompanied by mates Will, Wilf, Oscar and Campbell.
There was no planning on the route bar wanting to ‘cross the bridge’ at some point. In general they say they simply ran four kilometres in any direction and stopped at the first pub that looked enticing, where they ordered and downed a drink before hitting the road again.
People questioned why they were in running gear on the hot night, and drenched in sweat. Patrons and bartenders were perplexed as they slurped down their drinks and left, immediately, only staying at each venue about five to 10 minutes.
While they weren’t trying to down the drinks quickly, there was no time to waste and sitting and relaxing only served to make getting up and going on that much harder, so they “didn’t want to get too comfortable”.
For variety, the boys created a ‘spinning wheel’ of drinks, listing classic beers including a Guinness, mixed options with vodka and rum, red and white wine, and cocktails such as a Long Island Iced Tea and espresso martini. At one venue they made it ‘bartender’s choice’.
During the first half of the program there was a time when the alcohol made things a little “euphoric” – but this ended with the tequila shots, and things got even worse when it began raining. Their pace slowed and there were thoughts of going home, but they still had over 20 kilometres to run.
Lachlan recommends anyone trying the beer marathon does it with friends, lest they be relegated to being “a very fit alcoholic”.
And although the alcoholic beverages at times boosted their energy more than mere water, he says “I wouldn’t call the beers performance enhancing”.
A video of the feet feat chronicles the trip via classic Sydney pubs, from energetic beginning to a somewhat desperate finish.