The Beer Mile World Classic returns to London on Saturday 12th August and all of the action can be watched live on fastrunning.com.

For a second consecutive year the Beer Mile World Classic takes place in Saracens Stadium, London and if you are unfamiliar with the beer mile don’t worry the rules are straight forward – drink four beers and run four laps of the track, simple.

At the start of each lap, competitors will drink one beer as quick as they can, before running one lap and repeating this four times, with the first one home winning.

What originated as something of an underground frat tradition has evolved into an internationally renowned competition, with nearly 100,000 official entries, brand name sponsorships, and global media coverage.

If you are torn between the World Championships and the Beer Mile World Classic don’t sweat, because the beer mile action will be wrapped up just in time for Usain Bolt’s last ever race at 9.50pm (UK time), but you might miss Mo Farah’s 5,000m final – sorry.

What is the World Classic?
The World Classic launched in 2015 in San Francisco and this was the first time all of the world record holders competed head to head since the formalisation of the sport.

In 2016 the BMWC made its way to London for the first time and following the reception it received in the UK, it returns in 2017.

This year there will be a new champion, with 2016 winner and world record holder Corey Bellemare focusing on the World University Games in Taiwan.

The Canadian set the world record last year in London, clocking 4:34.35.

Britain’s Dale King-Clutterbuck finished second in 2016 and in the absence of Bellemare will hope to go one better this year. In the 2017 British Championships the middle-distance runner clocked 3:45.29 (without beers) to finish 5th in his heat.

King-Clutterbuck who set a European record in 2016, will face 16 of the top 20 beer milers, including Chris Robertson, the American national record-holder.

Britain’s Ben Coldray will also compete.

In the women’s race, Allison Grace Morgan of the USA is the strong favourite. British interest on the night comes with Louise Rudd, Polly Keen and Laura Riches.

Lousie Rudd is only back on UK soil this week after competing in the European Masters championships in Denmark. The British masters athlete won V40 800m & 1500m titles.

Asking Rudd about her training for the Beer Mile, she said: “This is my first race (beer mile). I have tried downing some beers for practice, but I haven’t tried running after a one yet so we will see how I do.

“The v40 record is 6.28 and I’m hoping to beat it.”

Live Stream below:

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Schedule
17:45 – Gates Open
18:15, 18:35, 18:55 – Open Heats 1, 2 & 3
19:15 – Open Relay
19:35 – Presentation of Elite Athletes
19:45 – Women’s Beer Mile Elite Championship
20:40 – Men’s Beer Mile Elite Championship, Section 2
20:50 – Men’s Beer Mile Elite Championship, Section 1
21:00 – Awards Ceremony
21:15 – Relay Championships

2016 Results
Men’s Elite:
1. Corey Bellemore, Canada, 4:34.35
2. Dale King-Clutterbuck, England, 4:47.39
3. Brandon Shirck, USA, 4:49.28
4. Lewis Kent, Canada, 5:11.29
5. Charlie Blanch, Australia, 5:23.36

Women’s Elite:
1. Erin O’Mara, USA 6:43.35
2. Anne Belanger, Canada 6:50.78
3. Polly Keen, England 6:52.71
4. Laura Riches, England 7:13.82
5. Lianne Girard, Canada 7:16.63