Law360 Canada (July 30, 2026, 1:31 PM EDT) --

Evert Akkerman

Over the years, we have become numbed by the avalanche of bad news that rolls over our heads every day, gratuitously disseminated by various authorities and their echo chambers in the media. We can’t escape it — everywhere we turn, danger lurks. The consistent message is, “We’re all gonna die! Everybody panic!”

If you listen to the news, everything that makes life fun presents a mortal danger. For runners, run days are fun days, but official bodies always find reasons why it’s not. You know, this conglomerate of bureaucracies, the faceless denizens of which try to keep themselves afloat with an uncontrollable production of studies, surveys, reports and guidelines. They consider it their job to tell us how wrong we are in all of our choices and habits, day in, day out, especially when it comes to food, drink and exercise.

What always makes me laugh are those American commercials about medications that offer the perfect solution for, say, runny noses, wrinkles or black toenails, and then they list side effects that include tingling or numbness in the limbs, kidney failure, buildup of lactic acid and liver problems, inflamed pancreas and gall bladder, joint aches or pains, changes in vision, parasitic infections, stomach issues, clay-coloured stools, inflamed blood vessels, swelling in the genital area, changes in behaviour or suicidal thoughts, stiff muscles, weight gain, high cholesterol, sleepiness, nausea and vomiting. OK, what was the original problem?

In 2023, news that sent shock waves across the country came courtesy of the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction. While its previous limit for alcohol use had been 15 standard drinks for men and 10 for women per week, they tightened the screws with a new max of two standard drinks per week for, remarkably, both men and women. Apparently, anything over this would lead to large-scale death, which — and this made it really scary — would wreak havoc on the staffing schedules of our favourite coffee chains. To kill all the remaining fun, the centre stated that “no amount of alcohol was safe” and at “seven standard drinks or more per week, risk of heart disease or stroke increases significantly.”

In typical Canadian fashion, no one challenged this. The working masses, watching hockey, baseball and basketball matches from their basement couches, hanging out in garages and arena parking lots, and firing up barbecues on campgrounds, stayed true to their sedentary nature and kept their feet on the coffee table, ignored the news and cracked another one, while the non-working masses focused on port and cigars in the club library.

Reports on the use of alcohol are often contradictory, which confuses the target audience. Quoting Laura Tennant, writing on cbc.ca in December 2025: “The CCSA’s new guidance for alcohol use are, for many people, surprising. What about the headlines of yesteryear touting the benefits of a glass of wine for our health?”

Since the country’s top scientists and alcoholic authorities didn’t offer specific guidance on the combination of running and drinking, I decided to do my own field research. Hands-on, in-depth, no-holds, show-me-the-keg-and-watch-me-go kinda thing. For several weeks, while other runners limited themselves to granola bars and vegan protein shakes, I indulged in pre-run beers any time of the week, post-training coffees topped up with Baileys and whisky before, during and after road races. My conclusion: alcohol is awesome!

Selected examples in support of my point

My friend Will registered for the 2018 Ottawa Marathon, on his fifth attempt to finish sub-4. He had sacrificed a lot over the years, including family time, sleep, birthday parties, steak and alcoholic beverages to get in top shape. This time though, the evening before the marathon, he had the daily special in a restaurant next to the hotel, plus two beers. The next day, he finished in 3:59:57.

In June 2023, I competed in the Niagara Ultra Marathon, which consists of 50 kilometres between Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls. The evening before, I met a friend at the Prince of Wales’ Churchill Lounge to “sip on sophistication” with some 12-year-old Scotch. The next day, my friend ran a sub-5 on his first attempt.

In December 2024, a battle group I was part of did some solid pacing at the Egg Nog Jog in Albion Hills. We held our briefing at 10 a.m. and compared notes on taper, temperature and tarmac. A key tactical decision was a change to, as a teammate described it, “our whisky-fuelled Own the Podium Program,” which was to have whisky after the race instead of before and during. We did our burnouts at 10:35 and made some final adjustments. The horn sounded at 11, and we were off.

The 10-kilometre route was two loops of five and, while not exciting, we decided to use this to our advantage. On the first loop, we gauged ascent and descent of each hill and then rolled out the master plan: I started running point on the uphills and a teammate on the downhills, and at each turning point we used special hand signals to let the other team members know whether the wind had shifted and what the ideal pace would be. Outcome: 1AG, 2AG, 3AG and five PBs.

Mere minutes after we finished, we bolted for the parking lot and cracked a trunk-chilled Loch Lomond. While pouring, we offered a random runner named Steve a shot, and he changed direction so fast that he almost rolled an ankle, which would have been embarrassing to tell his support group back home. Not as embarrassing as, say, bringing your BFF to an AA meeting and hearing him introduce himself as your DD, but you get the picture.

Last fall, as part of our research, another friend and I took an Uber to the closest Beertown, some six kilometres from our homes, to take advantage of its Oktoberfest promotion: one litre of beer and keep the stein, for $25. After we finished the beer and settled the bill, we ran back to downtown Newmarket via a beautiful trail, stein in hand and slightly buzzed. “Dans les vapes,” so to speak. The first 500 metres were a bit tough, but the whole concept was highly inspirational. After making it back, we joined a local run club for another 5K. People (we included) are still talking about this heroic experiment.

And then there’s the myth that alcohol interferes with sleep. According to the centre, zero drinks per week — so, not drinking — has benefits, such as better sleep. Possible, but worth a test. The other week, we held a whisky-tasting event in yet another friend’s kitchen. He reported that he had a great night’s sleep after three shots, and a solid run the next morning. The night after that, he had two shots and again slept like a baby and ran 5K in 21 minutes the next night.

And let’s face it: what’s a greater reward than a cold beer after a coastal race when you got blasted by the mix of sea, sweat, salt, sun and sand?

Moral of the story: don’t drive or ride impaired, but other than that, we don’t need others to tell us how to run our lives.

Evert Akkerman is an HR professional based out of Newmarket, Ont., founder of XNL HR. He can be reached at info@xnlhr.com and akkerman@rogers.com.

The opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s firm, its clients, Law 360Canada, LexisNexis Canada or any of its or their respective affiliates. This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal advice.

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