another age, i could have run marathons...

[Ken Gargett]

Remembering When Runners Drank Champagne as an Energy Drink

At the 1908 Marathon in London, athletes hit the bottle mid-race.

BY KATHERINE ALEX BEAVEN 

JUNE 19, 2018

 

 

Dorando Pietri is helped across the finish line while holding a cork in his hand. PUBLIC DOMAIN

ON JULY 24, 1908, THE London Olympic Marathon went down in history as one hell of a race. Summer heat had plagued the city, and a newly resurfaced track stretched hard as rock under the runners’ feet. At the last minute, the course was extended nearly two miles, forever setting the official marathon length to an arbitrary 26 miles and 385 yards.

So much drama unraveled under these harsh conditions that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (of Sherlock Holmes fame) was inspired to write a recap for The Daily Mail. “I caught a glimpse of the haggard, yellow face, the glazed, expressionless eyes, the long, black hair streaked across the brow,” he wrote of the eventual winner. Fifty-five runners started off from Windsor Castle, but only 27 made it to the finish line. The majority of runners quit before the halfway mark.

For a badly needed boost, a number of competitors turned to unlikely, but common-at-the-time sources: brandy, glasses of bubbly, and strychnine (best known now as rat poison).

 

Wild as it may seem today, people once believed alcohol and strychnine cocktails were performance enhancers. The drinks were doled out like Gatorade or energy gels to endurance athletes. According to Dr. Matthew Barnes, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of the School of Sport, Exercise, and Nutrition at New Zealand’s Massey University, plying athletes with alcohol started in Ancient Greece and Imperial China.

Modern use of alcohol in sports can be traced back to the competitive foot races of the 19th century. Essentially very long walks of dozens or hundreds of miles, these events captivated Great Britain. Contending “pedestrians” were advised to down lots of champagne during competition. Years later, marathoners were often given boozy boosts by trainers or assistants who followed their runners in cars or on bicycles.

Competitors run past shops on the route between Windsor Castle and the White City Stadium. HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Common substances included various alcohols and dangerous drugs—from strychnine to heroin or cocaine—which were meant to mask pain, increase aggressiveness, or gain a quick energy boost. Trainers often had their own secret cocktails, and people didn’t stop using heroin and cocaine as performance-enhancing additives until the 1920s, when the drugs became prescription-only substances. And athletes boozed during competition all the way into the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Alcohol as a whole was celebrated for its stimulative effects and high sugar (energy)content. Champagne was a favorite thanks to its supposedly rejuvenating effervescence. And, since strychnine’s use as a pesticide had not yet been discovered, low doses were believed to reinvigorate tired sportsmen.

At the time, it seemed to work. In 1896, at the inaugural modern Olympic Games, Greek marathon runner Spiridon Louis famously knocked back a glass of cognac with six miles left to go in the race. Refreshed, he went on to win the gold. The 1904 St. Louis Olympic Marathon runners battled sweltering 95-degree heat and borderline inhumane track conditions. Throughout his victorious run, Thomas Hicks regularlysipped near-deadly cocktails of strychnine, brandy, and sulfate in egg whites. In 1908, the winner of the Chicago Marathon, janitor-turned-runner Albert Corey, credited his win a steady supply of champagne.

At the 1908 Olympic Marathon, at least a handful of runners imbibed alcohol or strychnine cocktails during the race—including the first four to cross the finish line.

Thanks to his recent record-breaking win at the Boston Marathon, Canadian runner Tom Longboat was the favorite at the London Games. Unfortunately, he never finished. After plodding his way into second place, the 20-year-old runner fell victim to the brutal heat. At mile 17, likely dehydrated and exhausted, Longboat slowed to a walk. Searching for energy, he turned to champagne. Two miles later, he collapsed and was out of the race.

South Africa’s Charles Hefferon also imbibed. Unlike most of the runners, he seemed to cope well with the inhospitable conditions. By mile 15, Hefferon had a two-minute lead. Nine miles later, he had doubled his lead time, leaving the gold medal within a few minutes’ reach. Or so it seemed. But two miles from the finish line, Hefferon “accepted a draught of champagne,” an act he later admitted cost him the race. The drink caused intense stomach pains, and Hefferon was forced to slow and watched two runners pass. Once a shoe-in for the gold, Hefferon finished third.

Swedish runner Gustaf Törnros competed in the 1908 marathon. SWEDISH OLYMPIC COMMITTEE/PUBLIC DOMAIN

At the finish line, Arthur Conan Doyle and 80,000 spectators waited for an “exultant victor.” Instead they spied Italian pastry chef Dorando Pietri, a “little man, with red running-drawers” (in Conan Doyle’s words) who “reeled as he entered and faced the roar of the applause.” In the last quarter mile alone, an exhausted and dazed Pietri had collapsed five times, had run in the wrong direction, and even had the area over his heart massaged by concerned medics.

In a now-famous photograph of Pietri crossing the finish line, a hollowed cork wedgecan be seen in his hand. Clenching cork wedges helped endurance runners relieve strain on their hands and fingers, but when hollowed-out, they acted as vessels for wine, brandy, and other questionable energy drinks. In the end, concern for Pietri’s life resulted in the runner being supported across the finish line by a doctor, causing his eventual disqualification and a redistribution of the race’s medals. Some attribute Pietri’s physical downfall to being drunk, while others believe both he and Longboat were subjected to strychnine poisoning.

Not all of the boozed runners fared poorly. De facto gold medalist Johnny Hayes admitted to an energizing gargle of brandy during the race, and bronze medalist Joseph Forshaw also turned to brandy in order to treat a stubborn side stitch. He claimed he “felt fine” after, and was able to carry on in the final leg. Around that same time, it was believed that dehydration was better treated with wine than water. In fact, the 1924 Paris Games infamously stocked its rehydration stations with glasses of wine.

Thanks to later studies on the effects of alcohol on muscle groups and hydration, trainers no longer offer athletes strychnine cocktails or glasses of bubbly. However, alcohol is still an option for runners looking to enhance a race along other dimensions. At the Marathon de Médoc in French wine country, 23 different glasses of wine (and other gastronomic goodies) await runners along the 26.2-mile route. But thankfully, no one believes it will actually help them win.

Gastro Obscura

[Bagman]

Could get worse.  In my hometown the annual naked bike ride is about to start.  Thousand of people who shouldn't be naked taking over the city.

 

https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/editors-picks/thousands-to-ride-nude-through-portland-for-naked-bike-ride/283-566778042

[Islandboy]

I believe this, as endurance runners are a pretty crazy bunch.

Reading this conjures up a distant memory. I took part in the 1988 Honolulu marathon, the one and only marathon I’ve done. Being the first endurance event for me, I was keen to enlist the wisdom of a veteran of such events that I knew. His only advice was to carry some aspirin with me, and at the halfway point, regardless of how I felt, take a couple of them. This would help with the inevitable pain that was to come. Now I had trained pretty hard for this and felt quite confident going into it, doing several unassisted 20 mile runs leading up to the event. Regardless, I wanted to heed my friend’s advice, and found aspirin available in a tiny tin that would fit in the minuscule inner pocket of my running shorts. Keep in mind, I’ve never been one to take aspirin or the likes, so knew nothing about how it might affect me - nor how to crack open the flippin tin! 

As I approached the 13 mile mark, I was feeling great and on the mark to finish in sub-3 hours, an admirable finish to say the least. I saw the water station ahead, and fumbled in my pocket for the tin, not wanting to break my stride. Got it out, but couldn’t for the life of me open the damn thing (having never opened one of these in my life). Grabbed some water, downed it, and kept attempting to get the damn tin open. By the time I got into it and had a couple of aspirins in my hand, water to wash it down was long gone. So I popped them in my mouth and chewed them down. Not the chewable type of aspirin - big mistake!

A mile later there’s the most foul taste in my mouth and my stomach’s churning, and things went downhill fast - except the course.

Fast forward to the affluent neighborhood of Kahala, at about the 22 mile point. I’ve now been walking for several miles, cursing my decision to stick with the plan despite the illogical circumstances. Feeling like s**t, I see up ahead that a resident has set up his own little aid station outside his home, a table of cups filled with beer. I figure what the hell, it can’t get any worse, and I grab one and down it.

Not sure to this day if it helped or hurt, but in my stubbornness I finished that damn marathon, in 4:26. Even running the last couple miles, mostly out of shame given the increasing number of spectators lining the course as the finish grew near. Mind over matter. The lasting memory from it all is that I couldn’t even get out of bed the next day, which I’m pretty sure the beer had nothing to do with. Good times! 

[El Presidente]

...no you couldn't. 

[Ken Gargett]

38 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

...no you couldn't. 

yeah, fair point.

although i did do a 20 mile run in mid summer in the bush outside canberra when i was young and fit. searing heat. no water other than what you carried. was a tough day. 

[El Hoze]

I am hardly an elite athlete but have completed  a number of marathons and “Ironman” triathlons over the years. It is not unusual to see people drinking beer and partying before marathons, presumably by seasoned runners who are just out there having fun that day. It is also not unusual to see people utilizing various forms of marijuana before Ironman races including vapor pens, etc. I have found. Seems somewhat counterintuitive but it can be used to control nerves, pain, and nausea to a certain extent. Usually before these races there is pretty good people watching as these are hardly your average crowd of people. 

[Kitchen]

2 hours ago, El Hoze said:

I am hardly an elite athlete but have completed  a number of marathons and “Ironman” triathlons over the years. It is not unusual to see people drinking beer and partying before marathons, presumably by seasoned runners who are just out there having fun that day. It is also not unusual to see people utilizing various forms of marijuana before Ironman races including vapor pens, etc. I have found. Seems somewhat counterintuitive but it can be used to control nerves, pain, and nausea to a certain extent. Usually before these races there is pretty good people watching as these are hardly your average crowd of people. 

I did a triathlon this morning.  They were pouring beer for us when we got back in, at 9 AM. 

[Colt45]

12 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

although i did do a 20 mile run in mid summer in the bush outside canberra when i was young and fit.

Who or what was chasing you?

[gweilgi]

17 hours ago, Ken Gargett said:

yeah, fair point.

although i did do a 20 mile run in mid summer in the bush outside canberra when i was young and fit. searing heat. no water other than what you carried. was a tough day. 

Were you trying to escape?

[Ken Gargett]

4 hours ago, gweilgi said:

Were you trying to escape?

no. i did the outward bound course when in was about 17. brilliant thing to do but the big run was a killer. included some serious hills. and in the heat of a canberra summer, hard work.