Ready, steady, get the drinks in: Why boozing can be good for running

Many of us know a boozy runner. They hit the bar straight after every training session or running event, often downing a pint of beer for every mile they’ve just run.

In many ways, this is a curious habit, for not only does the booze cancel out any good the run did them, but if it has been a long run – and long drinking session – it also all combines with the general fatigue and dehydration to give them a weapons-grade hangover in the morning.

Running experts say that if you must have a post-race drink, you should make sure you rehydrate thoroughly with water first. You should then just limit yourself to a maximum of two drinks. Go beyond that and you’ll be messing with your recovery.

But what about a pre-run booze-up, I hear you ask. What? Surely such a thing could not exist? Well, certainly a cheeky drink the evening before a run cannot do you too much damage, provided you are restrained about it. This is a view that is upheld by Matthew Barnes, Ph.D., who studies the effects of alcohol and exercise at New Zealand’s Massey University. He told Greatist that a single alcoholic beverage the night before a race is unlikely to have any impact on performance, particularly if you are a regular drinker.

But what about drinking straight before a run? That would be madness, surely?

Well, not necessarily. A study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine found that three shots of whiskey (diluted with water) made no significant impact on treadmill runs for the 10 healthy men taking part in the study. Perhaps there can be drink-run limits, as there are drink-drive limits for motorists.

Then we could look into which boozy drinks have most carbohydrates: drinks such as beer contain the most, champagne has almost none. Some boozing runners will have really done their homework on the health benefits of various alcoholic drinks. They could tell you that white wine contains tyrosol and caffeic acid, which reduce inflammatory reactions. Or that a pint of lager supplies one-tenth of your RDA of niacin, which pumps up your energy levels.

Or why not try cider? A pint of that will give you 20 per cent of your RDA of iron, which enhances your oxygen delivery. A cheeky slurp of bitter will aid your bones and help fend off osteoporosis. A gin, on the other hand, will fl ush out your system, aiding kidney ailments.

What good news this all is for the boozing runner. He or she might like to toast it with a glass of champagne. And why the hell not – bubbly has a positive effect on cardiovascular ability, according to a Reading University study. Cheers, my dears. 

The inspiration for boozing runners is probably a man called James Nielsen. In 2014, he broke the record for the Beer Mile  — a one-mile race in which the runner must stop every 400 metres to neck a beer. The record of 5:09 had been held until then by Jim Finlayson of British Columbia, but Nielsen trained for a year and smashed that record. His finish time was 4:57:1, the first sub-five minute Beer Mile. (The record has since been bettered, and now sits at 4:34).

And if that isn’t laying down a challenge to boozing runners everywhere, I don’t know what is. Get training, people!

Chas Newkey-Burden is the author of Running: Cheaper Than Therapy. Bloomsbury, £9.99