Yesterday I competed in the third annual Brunswick Fast Food Challenge. This race is not for everyone, as you have to eat a LOT of food over the course of running 2.5 miles. I was back to defend my title from last year, but some stiffer competition also would be in the mix. There were several runners in this race who are much quicker than I am, luckily I can eat at a fast pace to try and stay competitive. This race starts at lunchtime, so at least your body is looking for some food! And food it gets. Several volunteers go ahead before the race starts and but the food for the number of racers and bring it outside. This way, when you get to the stop you just have to eat the food with no downtime of waiting in line, etc. You have to finish and swallow each item before resuming running. Quite the interval workout. Here is a list of the food eaten in the event (no substitutions or special orders), in the order you reach them: Pizza Hut: One slice of large stuffed crust pizza Wendy’s: One value sized chicken nuggets McDonald’s: One small fry Taco Bell: One soft taco Fat Boy’s Drive In: One Whoperburger (similar in size to a BK Whopper, but much better) Burger King: One value sized onion rings Cold Stone Creamery: One like it sized chocolate ice cream Penalty lap if you can’t keep the food down: Two twinkies. The food stops are mostly clustered into the beginning and end of the race, with about a .75 mile run after Taco Bell out to Fat Boy’s Drive in and the same run back to Burger King. The return run is pretty tough after powering down such a large burger, not to mention all of the previous items sitting heavy in the stomach. The food went down pretty well and the lead went back and forth between three of us until reaching Burger King. Luckily I had gotten there first so I had a bit of a cushion. The onion rings just would not go down, but everyone had trouble there so I held onto the lead and it was onto the homestretch and the ice cream for the win. I was able to successfully defend my win from last year and lowered my time about 30 seconds to 21:35. Definitely a change of pace from the normal races on the calendar. On to Age Group Nationals next weekend where hopefully another good performance is on the way, though with more racing and less eating! Have a great week everyone, see you in Burlington. Here is a link to the site: https://sites.google.com/site/2011brunswickfastfoodchallenge/