The craziness of the long-distance chugger

Three years ago, Paul Reipano rounded up 15 of his heaviest drinking friends and organized what he thought would be a small, all-day pub crawl throughout Boston. Seven hundred participants ended up boozing with Reipano that day, and the next year the number rose to 1,400.

The 26-year-old BU grad is now running the third annual Boston Beer Marathon to break the Guinness World Record of largest pub crawl. He says 2,000 Bostonians will be ordering pints in 26 bars around the city. 

The event starts at 10:30 a.m. when sober marathoners arrive at Tequila Rain in Fenway to check in and do a few warm-up shots. Drinkers have 26 bars to choose from, but only 10 are needed to beat the world record. Still, the pressure to drink a pint at all 26 bars is, well,  intoxicating.

“Obviously 26 beers is a lot …” says Reipano, “for some people.”

Reipano says the best way to get ready for an all-day excursion like this is to train.

“We have a big pasta dinner the night before just like a real marathon.” he says. “We don’t party that night. We might have a bottle of wine or two and a couple beers but we’re all in bed by 11.”

A self-proclaimed heavy drinker, Reipano advises marathoners to pace themselves so they can enjoy the whole day.

“If you sprint out and start doing too many beers, you can never put the breaks on it. You can get a little bit faster as you go.”

Still, Reipano assures that the environment surrounding the marathoners is one of relaxed, cheerful, nonaggressive drinking. Over 2,000 people have participated in the Great Boston Beer Marathon since its inception, and so far, there hasn’t been one fight.

The debauchery that comes with 14 hours of drinking has elicited a slew of stories, songs and blurry memories.

“One guy and his girlfriend were sleeping in a bar back to back like in Forest Gump; you know like lean on me and I’ll lean on you,” says Reipano. “I wish I had more stories but I tend to lose a lot of brain cells on those days.”

Third Annual Boston Beer Marathon
Saturday, 10:30 a.m.
Tequila Rain
3 Landsowne St., Boston
MBTA: Green Line to Kenmore
$25, which includes T-shirt, food and viking helmet
Entrants must register online
www.beermarathon.net