Team WUS (trail runners, average age 40) versus Team Pacers (road runners, average age 33).
10th Annual WUS Beer Mile | May 8, 2026 | Washington, DC
After last year’s shock of getting creamed by middle aged dad Trevor and the WUS team at the 2025 Beer Mile, the young speedsters at Pacers had a year to regroup — and craft some clever insults. Yet, what Pacers see as weakness (slow pacing) the Wussies see as strength (restraint, conservation, strategy).
Was Bobby’s Walking Uphill Slowly shirt a savage take-down, or a sign the Pacers haven’t learned a thing since last year?
Haven’t learned a thing.
Results
Team (5 top scorers, including 1 woman) Champion: WUS (20) [1-Trevor, 2-Brian, 4-Anthony, 5-Will, 8-Martha] Runner-Up: Pacers (35) [2-Chris, 6-Joe, 7-Eli, 9-Duy, 10-Greta; average age = 33]
To put the 15-point thumping of the Pacers into perspective, Team WUS could have swapped Mike (14 pts) for Trevor (1pt) and still won.
Better luck next time, Pacers. (Duy has given up on you lot and plans to recruit new teammates for next year.)
Individual
1 Trevor 7:31 WUS 2 Brian 7:59 WUS 3 Chris 8:02 Pacers 4 Anthony 8:22 WUS 5 Will 8:50 WUS 6 Joe 9:44 Pacers 7 Eli 11:04 Pacers 8 Martha 11:31 WUS (first woman) 9 Duy 11:36 Pacers 10 Greta 12:03 Pacers 11 Heather 14:41 WUS 12 Mikka 14:49 Pacers 13 Bobby 15:44 Pacers 14 Mike 21:11 WUS DNF Sam N/A. Dojo
It’s good to be king.
The sleepers.
Prediction markets lost big on pre-race favorite Joe after he puked and faded from 1st to 6th.
In my 20 years of organizing Beer Miles, this was the first DNF. Sam will be discussing this one with his therapist.
Even Mike doesn’t DNF.
Although Mike did lose to a guy in a bunny suit.
The Pacers are my FAVORITE losers.
Greta accepted. (Her prize for 2nd place woman)
Heated rivalries always end with a post-race party at Bunker on H street.
Performance of the Year, Male: Trevor, Beer Mile 1st place Performance of the Year, Female: Lexi*, Hellgate 1st place Rookie of the Year: Nora* Rookie of the Year (ride N tie): Cowboy Mike Rookie of the Year (pack burro racing): Sean Debut of the year: (tie) Nora (first 100 miler, Cascade Crest 100), Lisa (first ultra, Masochist 50k), and Bjorn (first race, Reston Youth Triathlon) Redemption of the Year: (tie) Ashley, Manitou’s Revenge and Cowboy Mike, Richmond start line New (kind of) WUS Event of the Year: Presidential Traverse WUS Scavenger Hunt Winner: Garret (runner up: Andy) * Is Lexi a WUS? She came a couple times. Is Nora a rookie? Technically she started wussing in late 2024. Am I prepared for Adam to mount objections? Bring it.
Most adorable: Pearl (76th World Championship Burro Race in Fairplay, Colorado. July 2025)
Best performance, tricking Art: Jaret, Presidential Traverse
Other notable performances: Heather (3rd, Fat Dog 120), Anthony (6th, Hellbender 100), Garret (Hardrock 100, top-40)
Best performance, WUS recruitment: Duy
Best performance, keeping a streak alive: Aaron, Hellgate Best performance, extracting $100 from Scott Van Pelt: Jaret Best performance, staying out past bedtime: Heather Worst performance, climbing the stairs at Atomic Billiards: Mike Best performance, Joe Rogan impersonation: Cowboy Mike Best performance, equine: Poppy Best performance, race photography: Duy, Beer Mile Worst performance, race photography: Keith, Beer Mile Best performance, explanation of dating apps: Seb
Best performance, keeping Seb off her horse: Martha. Poppy makes a celebrity appearance at a Tuesday night WUS run in May 2025. Brian #3 never returns, but is quickly replaced by Brians 4 and 5. [The new management at Rock Creek Horse Center doesn’t allow borders, so Poppy has returned to her farm in Virginia. But we are hopeful that horses will be back on the trails again in Rock Creek Park some time in 2026.]
Ride N Tie rookie of the year: Cowboy Mike. August 2025. 53rd Ride N Tie World Championship at Iron Mountain, Virginia.
WUS arrivals: Duy & the Pacers gang, Brian #3, #4, and #5, Lexi, Peyton, Scott WUS farewells: Peter, Keavy, Peyton WUS cameos: HKJ, Kirstin, Nate
Farewell, Peter! We look forward to using your Oregon pad for future WUS adventures.
Group of intrepid Wussies complete a burro race. Over the years, there has been a lot of talk about doing a Colorado burro race, but not a lot of walk. This all changed in 2025 when Sean finally manned up and found us some fine Colorado donkeys. Speaking of fine asses…..
WUS women make a comeback (after their demands are met). Women were an endangered species at WUS. Then Barry arrived. Speaking of women….
Record number of Wussies attend Mike’s DC rave (but only the early bird 4pm version). Even Heather made it out to twerk at Mike’s “day rave” on U Street, beginning a new summer tradition for WUS women. Speaking of Mike….
Another WUS tries ride n tie. Cowboy Mike made his ride n tie debut in bold fashion at the 2025 Ride N Tie World Championship in Cripple Creek, Virginia. On his second day, Mike’s team surprised the field by finishing runner-up in the “Equathon.” Speaking of runner-up…..
Pacers ringer gives Puff a run for his money at the 2025 WUS beer mile. The year 2025 was terrible for the world, but great for Wussies. The Beer Mile was epic, with front-runner drama and puking that hasn’t been seen in over a decade, not since the Neal Gorman-Bobby Gill duels of 2011. The Pacers did not disappoint. But neither did Trevor. Now that the Pacers know what they’re up against, and not to underestimate aging trail runner dads with hernias, expect an even bigger showdown in 2026. Speaking of Pacers….
Mr November did not collapse at the Beer Mile finish line like Neal and Bobby in 2011, meaning he left something in the tank for 2026.
Someone from the Monday night Pacer’s Run joins WUS (once Martha is offered as tribute). Thanks to Duy, “someone from Pacers” turned into a throng. The Beer Mile may have had something to do with this. Our excellent WUS prospect Peter left too soon for Oregon (classic WUS story), but not before joining the Wussies at Hellbender….
Mass WUS gathering at Hellbender 100. Hellbender became a Hardrock qualifier this year, bringing Anthony, Aaron, Garret and Peter to North Carolina’s crown jewel century. RD Carrie Barris (my Ride N Tie friend) managed to pull off the race (with an altered course) even after the ravages of Hurricane Helene. Despite a tough DNF at Hellbender, Aaron finished two clutch races in 2025 to keep his streaks alive….
Aaron runs his 25th consecutive Boston Marathon in April. Aaron also kept his Hellgate streak alive, even in thick snow conditions that Aaron called the hardest Hellgate ever (Aaron would know; he’s done all 23). Before the race, Aaron tipped RD David Horton off that an unseeded WUS named Lexi was one to look out for. As Horton (and everyone else) has learned, Aaron knows his stuff. Speaking of Aaron….
Martha celebrates Aaron’s achievement a week later by throwing a Beer Mile party he doesn’t want in his backyard. In the spirit of “we all make sacrifices,” Martha invites all the Wussies, even the hot sauce thieves. Because in 2025, everyone gets a shot at redemption. Bjorn stepped up on award making so there was no need for thievery in 2025. Aaron is still questioning his life decisions after the 2025 Beer Mile thrown in his tidy backyard.
Another WUS wedding. Congratulations, Katie and Todd!!!
Six 2025 Predictions that never came to pass. Maybe in 2026?
An epic WUS adventure involving HKJ
Keith makes a WUS comeback
Seb earns a “real” WUS award by completing his first 100km race
New WUS house
Nora becomes the new occupant of the Bannockburn party house
Puff Magic runs a sub-20 hour hundred.
New predictions for 2026.
Will Keith get #sarahstanleyinspired for his 6th Hardrock in 2026?
Martha keeps trying to get Blueberry Buddies off the ground but men don’t talk.
Anthony falls in love with burro racing, adding yet another reason to quit life and become a mountain bum with Sean in Colorado.
Garret eventually gets his 2025 Scavenger Hunt prize (vegan carrot cake homemade by Nora), but not before winning the 2026 edition.
At the 2026 Beer Mile, Martha introduces a Team Competition (cross country scoring; 7 runners per team, 5 score) to pit WUS against Pacers. Trevor is felled by a city-wide epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease that reaches his twins’ preschool days before the race. The Pacers appetite for a rematch must wait another year.
WUS brigade returns once again in force to Silverton for Hardrock. Wussies again save Keith’s race after he begrudgingly accepts Martha’s lineup of pacers, but only after a couple rounds of negative self-trash-talking.
WUS field trip to Oregon’s Gorges 100km, hosted by Peter.
Martha gets more girl action than Mike in 2026.
Following an award-winning 18-month stint as Martha’s running buddy #6, Mike finally gets ground down by heckling, taunting, and unreasonable demands and passes the baton to #7. The amicable split in no way threatens ride n tie, day raves, or pizza ordering.
Cowboy Mike returns for his second Ride N Tie adventure at Fort Valley, Virginia on October 17, 2025.
Can Mike skillfully guide Gator (aka The Professional) to a triumphant return at Fort Valley’s rocky, mountainous 30-mile long course after she was sidelined for over a year with a hoof injury?
Will Cowboy Mike still make it to his 12am birthday party in DC? Or is Mike’s time management no match when a hygiene obsession meets Trevor’s cabin’s top-notch shower?
Listen to Bjorn and Mike’s audio recording, Episode 2 of “Where Have All the Cowboys gone?“
0:00 – Bjorn’s intro, “Build Me Up Buttercup” by the Foundations 0:35 – Joe Rogan’s intro 2:12 – Bjorn’s experience at the Reston Youth Triathlon 9:00 – Mike’s second Ride N Tie at Fort Valley 22:08 – Brief highlights of Mike’s 35th birthday party 25:55 – Bjorn’s closing song, “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen
Will Mike, Martha, and Chris keep the harmony for 8 hours of rugged trail running and horse riding together? Or will a fourth water crossing be the final straw that leads to Chris’s defection?
How will Cowboy Mike adapt to a new two-hands-on-the-reins riding style?
Chris still prefers this over water crossings.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the spookiest horse of them all? Dream!
Woodley Ultra Society (WUS) member Mike Bonfatto, best known as the 2022 WUS Rookie of the Year and 2024 Donut Run DFL, joined Martha and Nora in a special WUS-edition audio recording to tell the story of his foray into “ride ‘n’ tie” at the 2025 World Ride N Tie Championship.
Audio recording (20 min, 55 sec, short version, edited by Martha and Bjorn; long version available at the end of the blog; music by Paula Cole “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone”)
The “Dream Team”: Martha, “Dream,” Nora and Mike (left to right)
Cowboy Mike “at least I wasn’t the one in the ambulance” Bonfatto survives his first ride n tie on Dream
The GoPro video Cowboy Mike sent us from his Bolivia ride in 2014 impressed me and Nora enough to convince us Mike could ride n tie.
Ride N Tie involves trail riding and running. Barb rides her bay Arabian mare FYF Riding Under the Influence (aka “Dream”) in the World Championship Long Course.
Dream is unimpressed with Mike pretending to be hard.
Rick Noer won the Equathon blind date lottery when I paired him up with Mike, who crushed the 8-mile trail run so their team could finish 2nd (out of 22 teams).
Nora, Martha, and Chris
Chris, Kelly and Comet win the Long Course World Championship
The longer “Director’s Cut” version of the audio recording that Mike “edited” is available here.
Nothing goes to plan for Wussies Martha Nelson and Sean Andrish during their first burro race. Still, they are both hooked on this twist on trail running that is seeped in Colorado history.
