Scenes from Wisconsin’s Snowshoe Beer Mile

After two successful summertime Beer Mile competitions, the Eau Claire (Wisconsin) Hash House Harriers decided to keep the fun going through winter by staging a Snowshoe Beer Mile competition in January 2016, possibly the world’s first such official event. The temperature plunged to a frigid 2 degrees on race day, and the wind chill factor made the air feel much colder.

Rather than being cowed by the frosty temps, runners embraced the cold. Nearly two dozen showed up for the inaugural event, held at Eau Claire’s Tower Ridge Recreation Area rather than a track, as is typical of official Beer Miles. “Eau Claire is a beautiful city with many trails,” said Tim McManus, ECH3 founder. “Holding our Beer Mile events out in the woods gives people a chance to enjoy nature, plus it makes our events more unique.” To ensure official times, the out-and-back course was carefully measured beforehand with both a wheel and a GPS watch.

Savvy racers brought their beer carefully tucked into coolers filled with hot packs to keep them from freezing or turning slushy. The beers stayed in the coolers until the last second.

While most contestants animatedly chattered before the start of the race, Jake Lueders, #08, closed his eyes and centered himself. Lueders, aka “Beer Mile Jake,” won the first two ECH3 summer Beer Miles and was determined to add a win at the inaugural snowshoe event to his resume.

Racers quickly discovered the biggest challenge of a Snowshoe Beer Mile isn’t running in snowshoes, but trying to down a beer before it freezes—at least in temperatures this cold. Despite the coolers and hot packs, most runners ended up opening six or seven bottles or cans in order to chug the required amount of beer. It was an honor system: Many people opened a beer and it started foaming out and then instantly froze, so they’d open another and try to stick their mouth over it to prevent freezing. Some people got just a gulp or two down and then opened another if they couldn’t drink enough.

Beer Mile Jake didn’t have as much trouble as the rest of the field with frozen beer and clunky snowshoes; he took an early lead and eventually won in 13:06. 

One experienced contestant dropped out early in the race, his system unable to handle ice-laden suds.

Fast forward to January 2017. The second annual Snowshoe Beer Mile was held at Eau Claire’s Carson Park on a weepy, warm day with temperatures languishing in the mid-40s. Gone were the previous year’s gaiters, snow pants, and blankets; some contestants arrived in shorts, and one was bare-chested. The loop course ran through snowpack that was deep and slushy and featured three pockets of standing water, guaranteeing wet feet.

In an inventive twist, the race included an Open category, where contestants could drink the beverage of their choice, including water. Two racers selected chocolate milk, while a third opted for Diet Coke.

George Carlson, a fierce competitor in traditional summer Beer Miles, raced in a set of enormous wooden snowshoes that his parents gave him as a child, and which he still wears every year when he goes deer hunting. “Running in them was super tough,” Carlson later said. “It was more of a shuffle than a run because I couldn’t really push off with my calves. So I just focused on drinking as fast as possible.” Carlson managed an 18:30, shaving 10:10 off his 2016 Snowshoe Beer Mile time of 28:40 (which he ran in regular snowshoes).

Although warned it would be impossible to finish the race with dry feet, Ed McManus tried to leap over one of the puddles along the course. 

With 2016 champion “Beer Mile Jake” having moved to Denver, Aaron Walczak won the 2017 competition in 14:00. Surprisingly, the three competitors who drank non-alcoholic beverages ran more slowly than many of those drinking beer. According to the official Beer Mile website (BeerMile.com), there is no Snowshoe Beer Mile listed in the “Popular Rule Variations” category. ECH3’s McManus hopes to change that in the near future.