The Beer Mile World Classic, the world’s premier drinking race, will be run virtually this year. Originally planned as a live event in Manchester, England on July 4th, this year’s event will feature a variety of worldwide solo events with one of the world’s largest prize purses of any running global running event this year. World Classic co-founder, John Markell stated: “In the past, we’ve allocated most of our budget into travel for our athletes. This year, without travel costs, we were able to give more prize money to the athletes. The $8,000 we are offering is one of the world’s biggest prize purses this summer.”
The top performances will be presented, head to head, with a professional announcing crew providing color commentary. Since anyone can submit their race, this year’s virtual format is a great opportunity for athletes to get on the radar for future World Classic events. Meet director Nick MacFalls said: “We put a high priority on bringing the world’s beer-milers together, in person. This is one of the world’s truly great sporting communities. Cancelling the live event was disappointing, but this year’s format is exciting, too. We still get to crown World Champions. In a sense, it’s a nod to the sport’s roots with small groups getting together.”
The United States won last year’s Kingston and Queens Cups. There are opportunities this year for new athletes to make their mark. MacFalls stated, “On the women’s side, several top athletes are injured or recovering. There is a real opportunity to win some money and become eligible for future national teams. On the Men’s side, Lewis Kent and Corey Bellemore are injured. They are out. Some new athletes will need to step up to fill the void if Canada hopes to secure their third Kingston Cup. On the individual side, 2019 World Classic Runner-up Katie Anderson and Phil Parrot Migas look to be Canada’s best hopes to reach the podium.”
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