UKC

Yo,

We all know that there are few things as refreshing and restorative as a nice cold pint of beer after a long run (or any sufficiently-beastly outdoors activity...), as it is absolutely chock-full of calories, essential minerals, and electrolytes (it's what plants crave). But does anyone have any experience, advice, or dosage recommendations for using beer as a pre-workout sports drink?

I used to run home after work most nights last summer (I am a chef), about 10 km downhill, and I'd usually have a beer or two to clean kitchen with. But I've recently moved house, so tonight I'm facing a 10 km uphill journey home instead, and I fear the equation that I used last summer to calculate the correct alcoholic imbibation might be a little misaligned...

Basically, does anyone have any funny (or not) stories about running whilst pissed?

Cheers.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Not running while drunk but a number of years ago I decided to nip into the pub at the end of the Stafford half marathon for a post-run Guinness (after all it's a great source of calories, hydration and iron) before I walked home. Needless to say, it wasn't the best warm down ever and I ended up having to be driven home by my sister.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

im really interested in this too, was thinking of having a half on an ultra marathon soon.

Ive definately had positive effects of a pint whilst cycling in the dales, did about 115 miles one day with lightweight camping gear, had a pint at lunch and another mid afternoon, felt good.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

I used to work in the brewing industry and distinctly remember a scholarly article in one of the trade mags about how zero-alcohol beers are almost the perfect post-exercise drink for all the reasons you list plus the fact that unlike most sports drinks it's not sweet so people feel able to drink more of it. However I'm sure the zero-alcohol part of that sentence didn't go unnoticed. As I recall the alcohol and salt levels in even a session lager or regular bitter mean their diuretic effects rule them out as good post-exercise drink.

Still - pint of Tim Taylor's, pint of water. What could go wrong?

In reply to Pete Houghton:
I once went to Ibiza( well more than once really). I got involved in a marathon. Me Nike trainers and tacchini track suit were well cool. Someone suggested a run on the sand after a few San Miguels.
Round and round I ran, with my forehead on a pole that was stuck in the sand.
It didn't end well.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

I think your two beers after a 10k run is a little under ambitious.
I remember reading this obit. It should give you some worthy goals to aim for.

"At his peak, he achieved an ambition to run 100 miles and drink 100 pints in a single week; and he would regularly perform an after-race trick of drinking a pint while standing on his head — once while he was up a tree. "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10572152/Andy-Holden-obituary.ht...

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Not full beer but

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Radler

In reply to Dave the Rave:


I really enjoyed that story. Thanks.

In reply to dread-i:


Ahem! That's two beers *before* the 10k.


Well, new route home works fine. If it weren't for all the tree roots and things I could probably do it absolutely smashed.

In reply to AdrianC:

Erdinger Alkoholfrei is marketed as a sports drink in Germany!

In reply to prog99:

I believe you get a pint (litre?) At the end of the Berlin marathon. Our running club have been known to do a Christmas pub crawl run. The only problem is the sloshy stomach from running on those volumes of fluids.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Not beer, but a couple of my friends have both had PB's at half and marathon distance after a skinful of wine and vodka the night before. The half marathon was started still half cut and the marathon was a good for age for London next year! I'm going to Brecon for a 40 mile ultra with this pair at the end of the month, I'm more worried about the pre-race drinking session than the race itself!! I couldn't imagine running after a few drinks, but then I am the biggest lightweight ever and really can't stand feeling hungover!

In reply to Pete Houghton:

A number of ultra runners have tried this.. All failed spectacularly after much vomiting...

I've got to say I find the speeds people can do beer miles at astounding..

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Not quite alcohol, but...

I was having burning calf pain after a mile or so running, and our local NHS has a physio direct service so I phoned them for advice. They said it was "muscle tightness" so I got this idea to take some Valium that I'd had left over from something else as a muscle relaxant to test the theory. It didn't do squat for the pain, apart from making me care a bit less, but I was out of it enough to miss my usual turns, get slightly lost and end up running nearly 50% longer than I had intended!

(And after that little experiment I ended up seeing a GP, who said that only an eejit would diagnose my problem as "muscle tightness", and it was a clear cut case of compartment syndrome, but that is another story)

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Ooh, a chance to post this link again:

https://exercisingwhileintoxicated.wordpress.com/2010/07/26/the-beer-every-...

"Several of you told me that I was “going to die” if I drank 13 beers while running the San Francisco Half Marathon. I did not die."

In reply to Pete Houghton:

I remember doing the Edale Skyline, 1981 I think, and every finisher got a can of Wards Sheffield Bitter.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

As a former member of HMF I used to run regularly while completely pissed having just got in from a serious night on the town half an hour before the morning's physical exercise. The idea was to sweat the alcohol out of you (which I now believe is complete bollox) but you regularly could see 30+ men running up and down the beach in Weymouth completely wankered.

My recollection was that it tended to numb things a little and I tended to run a bit faster.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

I always find I run home at a much faster rate than normal after the pub with my Chinese carry out. So I guess alcohol does help with me. It might be the bulging eyes staring at that bag in my hand albeit.

In reply to Steve John B:

Ha ha absolute legend. I don't think I could do 13 beers full stop. Let alone, doing a HM aswell

In reply to Pete Houghton:

I highly recommend beer and running for a pleasant day out.
I used to run the Real Ale Ramble each year from Llanwrtyd Wells, just for training whilst my wife walked the 25m, the organising pub is also a small brewery so he simply left barrels of real ale out (a couple of days before, to settle) in pretty scenic spots deep in the countryside. Initially I didn't drink till I got back to the pub, then I thought, "this is stupid, running is meant to be fun, so running + beer must be more fun". Man logic.
It worked fine, I took my mug, had a few beers on the way round each year and enjoyed the day even more. First 1/2 mile after a pint was a bit wobbly, but kind of pleasantly surreal, and then press on to the next pint!

http://www.green-events.co.uk/events.html?page=3&id=51

It is slightly more organised now, with barrels at manned checkpoints (the locals cottoned on to the free beer in the woods) and tokens in exchange for beer - but still a good day out if you fancy a 25 miles + beer in the Welsh countryside and there's runs on the Sat/Sun - so you get 50 miles of training in along with being hammered for 48 hours. No brainer.

In reply to Steve John B:


You beat me to it

In reply to Pete Houghton:

My favourite after-run tipple is milk stout.

In reply to Pete Houghton:

Beer is the traditional energy drink for the discerning endurance athlete!

Back in the dark ages when I was a schoolboy I once went on a weekend solo cycling trip and found myself 250 km from home when the weather turned shit. No bank card to pay a train fare, just 20 Deutsche Mark left in the pocket. I ended up cycling home in one go, stopping every 50km for a beer and a chocolate bar.

CB