- David Clarkson, 69, from Cremorne, NSW is a self-declared beer enthusiast
- He reveals how he came up with a plan to break a world record for most pubs visited in 24 hours
- With a little help from friends, and a few paid strangers, he achieved his dream
Here David shares his story in his own words.
Sipping on a schooner of ale, I smiled smugly.
‘What are you up to?’ mates quizzed, as we shared a few bevvies at the pub.
‘I’m going to do a pub crawl that’ll go down in history,’ I said.
A widower, father of two daughters and grandfather of two, I loved socialising.
And as a beer enthusiast, I was often in my favourite watering hole with my partner of nine years, Seonaid, 60, and friends.
‘Two Australian lads hold the world record for visiting 99 pubs in 24 hours,’ I said.
‘They did it in Sydney and I reckon I can do better.’
It was December 2023, and I started inputting data into a spreadsheet to plan my pub-athon.
Having been a chartered accountant for decades, figures and formulas excited me almost as much as a pint.
Settling on targeting 120 pubs in Sydney’s CBD, I calculated my timing.
‘I’ll have five minutes drinking time and two and a half minutes to get from
one to the next,’ I said.
‘I have to drink 125ml of liquid in each pub, that’s over 15 litres,’ I said, consulting my GP.
I also factored in a hotel stay en route for a power nap before completing the 24-hour crawl.
Next, I informed the Guinness World Records of my plans.
Setting a date for April 11, this year, I had to have a GPS track my route plus witnesses to accompany me and record everything.
‘I have to drink 125ml of liquid in each pub, that’s over 15 litres,’ I said, consulting my GP.
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On his advice, I had a few practice runs, eating nothing before, avoiding water, snacking only on energy bars and sticking to fruit juices, soft drinks and, of course, beer.
Soon, the big day arrived.
Mates were joining me for a few hours here and there and through Airtasker I paid four travellers from the UK $50 an hour to be my ‘friends’ to fill the gaps.
I met Guinness World Records adjudicator Pete outside the Hyde Park Inn, where I was staying later.
‘Nervous?’ he asked.
‘Excited,’ I replied as we made our way to The Captain Cook Hotel.
‘I’ll have an orange juice please,’ I said ordering a drink at midday.
Five minutes later, I walked 50 metres to the next pub.
In the first hour I ticked off 11 bars.
For 10 hours, I strictly stuck to soft drinks.
In each pub, publicans and patrons were in awe of my mission.
‘Let us buy you a beer?’ wellwishers offered.
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I politely declined, as rules stipulated I had to purchase my own.
As the day faded, we entered lively ‘after dark’ premises and, in the last eight bars before bed, treated myself to a beer.
At 3.20am I hit the hay at the hotel, before setting off again at 7am to the 24-hour drinking holes.
By 8am I’d frequented 96 pubs.
‘Only four to go to beat the record, and still four hours left,’ I said to Pete as we entered a wine bar on Elizabeth Street.
At 11.57am, and around 20km later, I ran into my 120th pub, The Sussex.
Guzzling back an ale as the electric horn honked marking the 24-hours, the pub erupted into cheers.
I raised my glass as Pete presented me with my certificate.
I’d visited 120 pubs in 24 hours, breaking the record.
Now, I’m going to have to raise the bar with my next challenge!
