Re: for runners that drink
I didn't drink much in high school, but now that it is readily available in college I have started consuming more alcohol (but never to the point of sickness the next day).. In my past cross country season, I never drank until the nights after races, because it will absolutely kill your stomach during races. Our high school track coach forced us to quit drinking about 1 month + out of state to ensure we could be as fine tuned as possible. Early in the season I would say it's not as big a deal, but when you start getting closer to those big races, I'd say don't do it.
I think you just have to consider what the doctors are telling everyone about beneficial effects of pretty much everything: taken in moderation, it may help (in the case of red wine), but won't really hurt all too bad.
