Citius, Altius, Drunkius: Continuing Coverage

In addition to a huge (in the sense that any W&M December hoops game can be huge) game tomorrow evening between the Wrens and Richmond, there's another athletic event of interest to true sportsmen and women.

Several months ago, we told you about James Nielsen's world record-breaking 4:57 beer mile.

Tomorrow, the beer miling community goes one better. At 7:45 pm (I'm assuming that's Central time) in Austin, TX, the gun sounds for the first-ever Men's Elite Beer Mile World Championship.

Nielsen remains the world record holder, but two Canadians and two Australians have each run within 20 seconds of the American's mark. U.S. Olympian Nick Symmonds, who's posted a 5:19 time, is among the confirmed entrants in the Elite race (though, interestingly, Nielsen is not). Canadian Corey Gallagher (with a 5:01.57 PR) leads a field with 9 sub-5:25 beer milers.

At 7:25, the Elite Women's race goes off, and includes world record-holder Chris Kimbrough (6:28.55) and Seanna Robinson, the first woman to ever complete an official beer mile.

If you'd like to play the home version, just run around your house and drink a beer every 90 seconds or so while the races are going on. Please take videos.

Citius, Altius, Drunkius

James Nielsen won the 2007 Eugene (OR) Marathon and ran in the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials. He's a two-time NCAA champion at 5,000 meters. But those achievements pale in comparison to what he accomplished on April 27.

Nielsen, like Roger Bannister before him, shattered a barrier heretofore thought beyond man's physical capabilities. He overcame pain, a disbelieving public, and carbonation.

James Nielsen ran the first sub-5:00 Beer Mile.

An officially-sanctioned Beer Mile requires a runner to drink a full 12-ounce can of beer, run 400 meters, drink another full 12-ounce can of beer, run another 400 meters, and so on, until the mile is complete. Nielsen, motivated by U.S. Olympian Nick Symmonds' public interest in trying to be the first to break the 5:00 barrier, completed his mile in 4:57.

It's courage like Nielsen's that lift us all, that inspires us to follow our better angels, to continue to train so that, like him, we might conquer our own Beer Miles. Or, whatever the distance from our couches to our refrigerators may be.