ARktoberfest Beer Mile

At 3:30 p.m., the ARktoberfest Beer Mile sends runners into a four-lap test of beer and running in downtown Mountain Home, Arkansas. Hosted by Rapp's Barren Brewing at 601 S. Baker St., it is part of Mountain Home's ARktoberfest and follows the standard beer mile format: drink a beer, run a quarter mile, and repeat until one mile and four beers are completed. The race provides the beer, and every participant must be 21 or older because completing it requires drinking alcohol. There is no alcohol-free category, so this is not a novelty 1-mile run with beer nearby; the drinking is built into the race itself. The wider beer mile scene has logged thousands of events, tens of thousands of miles, and more than 170,000 beers, with world-record holders like Corey Bellemore and top women's times from runners such as Shelby Houlihan and Elizabeth Laseter giving the format a surprisingly serious competitive side.