A WORLD-CLASS runner from Canvey has told of his hopes in winning gold… In the world’s premier beer drinking race.

Middle-distance aficionado Dale Clutterbuck, 25, recently became a viral internet sensation after posting videos of his beer mile training sessions on his Youtube channel.

It involves polishing off a beer before each lap of a 400m track, four times over, before powering to the finish line.

The ex-Castle View School pupil said: “The beer mile started across the Atlantic, just as a way for runners to let off steam at the end of the season.

“But it got bigger and bigger over the years, and the championships are being held in London.

“Is there a danger of becoming an alcoholic? No, of course not.

“I don’t have an addictive personality which helps, and it’s only four small beers a week.

“It’s really hard to get the beer down you and keep on running, after I feel alright, a little wobbly.”

Outgoing Mr Clutterbuck, who has been running since he was 15, is the fastest non-Canadian ever in the beer mile, and the European record holder.

His latest video shows him consuming 10 beers and running 10K, accompanied by friends on bicycles handing him bottles, and finishing in 39 minutes.

The 2017 Beer Mile World Classic takes place on Saturday August 12, the penultimate day of the IAAF World Championships, at London’s Allianz Park.

And Mr Clutterbuck hopes to hone his skills in a bid to land sponsorship ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

He said: “I’m a serious running and I certainly think I’m in with a chance, I’ve ran the 1,500m in 3 minutes and 38 seconds, that isn’t far off Olympic gold standard.

“I’m taking my training season extremely seriously, I want to make the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s a buzz to run, it is a raw sport.

“I have walked out in front of 60,000 people, when that happens you are on your own out there.

“You take control of your own destiny, and when it goes right it’s a great feeling.”