Huge CONGRATS to the Beer Mile winners Liz Herndon and Corey Gallagher!!! #killcliff #beermile pic.twitter.com/gwmT6tRIWz — KILL CLIFF (@KILLCLIFF) December 4, 2014

It sounds like an event at a frat party, but training for the inaugural Flotrack Beer Mile World Championships involved far more running, practicing chugging technique and fitness than just chugging a few brews mid-run.

Corey Gallagher, 27, who won the title with a 5:00.23 finish on Wednesday, said he used a variety of different techniques to prepare to run the mile competitively. He would chug from a beer bottle that he kept at his apartment — which was full of water. And when it came down to championship time, he arrived a week early to test out the different beers to figure out which one was the perfect one.

“I’m one of those people that has an iron gut,” he said. “I can eat a huge supper and go out for a run. It doesn’t effect me anymore.”

In the event, competitors are required to drink a beer and run a 1/4-mile lap four times.

Gallagher said he was just relieved that it was over. “I know there’s a lot of pressure and hype about it,” he said. “Coming in with the top seed is pretty stressful because there’s a target on my back.”

Elizabeth Herndon, 29, who broke the women’s record with a 6:17.76 finish, said she pretty much trained the same way as Gallagher, focusing on running rather than drinking.

“I kind of figured (practicing with beer) would be more detrimental to my health than it would be beneficial,” she said.

Though the focus was on the running, the two said they spent a lot of time experimenting with different beers to figure out which one was perfect. At first, Gallagher had wanted to use a local brewery which made a special beer for the beer mile. But the beer was only available in cans — which he said added up to four seconds to chugging time.

He ended up settling on Budweiser Platinum — a beer that has a higher percentage but has a twist off cap and lower carbonation which helped cut seconds from that part of the race — though he has no plans to drink it after the race.

“I love beer. I love just sitting down and sipping a beer and enjoying it, but leading up to this there was none of that because (when I was training) if I’m going to have a beer, I’m going to chug it and that takes the fun out of it.”

Herndon said she and her husband picked a beer by chugging “a few different types of beer to see which ones we liked the best.”

To celebrate her win, Herndon said she went to the bar after the race with some of the other competitors. But the best part?

“Going out and getting a slice of pizza,” she said. “Because I hadn’t eaten in nine hours.”