Canadian Prodigy Corey Bellemore Once Again Dominates Beer Mile World Championships Leaving The Field

When it comes to the Beer Mile there is one name that strikes fear in the hearts of every competitor seeking everlasting glory: Corey Bellemore. The Canadian short distance runner has won the coveted Beer Mile World Classic title a record 8 times now, including the 2026 title which once again makes him the Beer Mile world champion.

Corey Bellemore has come out so fast in the past that he nearly lost a shoe mid-race and still sniffed the world record, which he owns, with a time of 4:27.10. Bellemore set that record in 2025 and without the beer he is capable of running a sub-4 minute mile with his personal best time of 3:57.20 coming back in 2018.

Corey Bellemore Dominates 2026 Beer Mile World Classic (Again)

The top two finishers at this year’s Beer Mile World Classic were Canadian, Bellemore blew away the field (4:42.10) and finished 15 seconds ahead of fellow countryman Maxime Lapierre who finished with a time of 4:57.00. American Beer Mile phenom Hayden Bunnell rounded out the podium with a third place finishing time of 4:58.20 followed by fellow American Joe Kehoe with a time of 5:00.40.

After that, the next top American finisher was Michael Ryan Cunningham in 9th place with a time of 5:15.70. It is also worth noting that 7 of the top 8 finishers all drank Flying Monkeys Beer Mile Ale for their Beer Mile World Classic ale of choice this year. Only Joe Kehoe in 4th place opted to go with Blue Moon.

As is the case every year, the Beer Mile World Classic men’s final was electric. It was also The Field vs. Corey Bellemore as he OWNS the title until someone, ANYONE, can get within a hundred meters of him at the finish. Check it out:

Corey is a freak of an athlete for Canadian Athletics. He ran a 3:57.20 at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic in 2018. His personal best 10K in competition is 31:32.00. The dude has SPEED and that has also translated to the Beer Mile.

How Does The Beer Mile Work?

For those unfamiliar with the format, it is standardized to include four 12-ounce beers (min. 5% ABV) and four laps around a standard 400-meter track. Runners must chug/complete one of the 12-ounce beers prior to each lap, meaning they can’t bank time but chugging four then running or running all four laps and then chugging the four beers.

The rules are the same across genders, both the men and women competitors must chug a 12oz beer before each lap. In the past, there was controversy surrounding the vessel itself with bottles being banned in favor of cans. That didn’t stick, however, and this year’s competitors were able to chug from bottles.

There are also variants of the traditional beer mile which include the Beer 2-Mile, Chocolate Milk Mile, Egg Nog Mile, Beer Half-Marathon (13 beers, 13 miles with a record time of 1:28), and one of my favorites is the ’24 and 24 in 24′ which includes 24 beers drank and 24 miles ran in 24 hours or less with a record time of 6:24.

Corey’s progression throughout the years has been incredible to witness.

It most certainly is worth mentioning that Mark Dowdle, the ultrarunner who recently won the Last Soul Ultra backyard ultra / last man standing marathon in Germany, used to compete in the Beer Mile prior to moving to ultra-running. At some point, it would be fun to see Corey Bellemore step aside from Beer Mile glory and try his hand at a few other records, wouldn’t it?