It takes guts to train for a race. It just takes gut to gorge on burritos, doughnuts, burgers, and beer. And if you have both, you might be cut out for a new breed of race that combines epic eating with distance running. Don’t forget to bring a barf bag!
By Kara Wahlgren

Fifteen-pound burgers, ten-pound cheese steaks, seven-pound burritos, five-pound pancake stacks, four-foot pizzas—name a food, and there’s bound to be a restaurant somewhere that will serve you a comically outsize version of it. Choke it down, and you’ll likely earn your mega-meal for free and your photo on their wall for posterity. Love sushi? Conquer the Godzilla Roll at Sushi Delight in Lomita, California, which contains six pounds of seafood; you have one hour to finish. Still have room for dessert? Suck down a six-pound milk shake at Chick & Ruth’s Delly in Annapolis, Maryland, one of the eatery’s four eating challenges. If you’re in the mood to overindulge, such double-dog dares are a dime a dozen; chances are there’s a place near you that will reward you for scarfing down something until you’re ready to explode.

But these challenges all have one thing in common—they typically end with the competitor sprawled in his chair, pants unbuttoned, groaning in bloated agony. (For reference, see every single episode ever made of Man v. Food; we feel a little nauseated just watching that guy get the meat sweats.) Call us jaded, but that doesn’t seem like such an accomplishment—it sounds like the same “feat” we’ve pulled off countless times at Thanksgiving dinners, hotel breakfast buffets, and all-you-can-eat taco nights at the local Mexican dive. Anyone can eat till they puke—we say you haven’t really demonstrated your overeating prowess until you’ve wiped off your chin, laced up your sneakers, and sprinted a few miles with a belly full of grease. Here are five places to put your gag reflex to the test—because running on empty is for suckers!

THE IDIOTAROD
What: As its name suggests, the Idiotarod was loosely inspired by the Alaskan Iditarod—except it’s three or four miles instead of 1,150; in lieu of a dogsled, the competitors pilot “borrowed” shopping carts; and the
dogs have been replaced by teams of four or five intoxicated humans. To ensure that intoxication, race checkpoints are set up at bars along the route. After chugging a few beers at each stop, runners can expect to be pretty sloshed and sore by the end of the race. That’s okay, because peak athletic performance isn’t really a priority here. Winning is generally frowned upon, sabotage is usually acceptable, and prizes are awarded for creativity.
When: Varies.
Where: Varies. Previous locations include San Francisco; New York; Asheville, North Carolina; Phoenix; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Seattle. There’s no official sponsor, so you’ll need to do some Googling to find upcoming events.

BIG MAN RUN
What: This annual charity race is open to men with a few extra pounds and the fundamental belief that hot dogs and beer can improve any sporting event. Competitors are required to meet a 190-pound minimum (yes, there’s a weigh-in). The six-mile course includes stops at three local saloons; runners must consume a hot dog and an eight-ounce beer at each stop. The best part? Buying an economy-size bag of franks basically gives you the green light to brag that you’re in “race training.”
When: June.
Where: Worcester, Massachusetts.

KRISPY KREME CHALLENGE
What: It’s rare that you can eat an entire box of doughnuts without feeling guilty—and that alone is reason enough to enter this contest at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The competition started as a college dare in 2004 and has been an annual campus tradition since 2006, but it’s not just for students—the event is open to all, and the 7,500 available spots fill up quickly. On race day, participants line up at the campus bell tower, run two miles to the Krispy Kreme store, eat a dozen doughnuts, and run back. (Krispy Kreme isn’t an official sponsor, although the store presumably gets a heads-up that 90,000 donuts will be needed.) Contestants can register as “challengers,” who attempt to complete the race within an hour, or as “casual runners,” who resign themselves to the fact that they can’t possibly eat that much or run that far. If you’re not convinced two miles is enough to atone for 2,400 calories worth of doughnut glaze, then do it in the name of charity—the 2011 event raised more than $100,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital.
When: February.
Where: North Carolina State
University in Raleigh.

THE DOUGHMAN
What: This race is a lot like an Ironman triathlon—if you make the course a lot shorter, split the work between four people, and have everyone binge (but not purge) before starting their leg of the race. Teams complete an aquatic leg, a biking leg, and two running legs, with each preceded by a heavy meal at a local restaurant—fattening fare has included juicy burgers, overstuffed BLTs, a plate of chilaquiles, and goat-meat-sausage sandwiches. (Inner tubes are usually involved in the aquatic leg, because race organizers obviously remember their moms’ warnings about swimming immediately after eating.) According to the official rules, vomiting is “strictly discouraged,”but we’re assuming that rule gets broken pretty often.
When: May.
Where: Downtown Durham, North Carolina.

BURRITO MILE
What: Some high school kids sell candy bars to raise money for charity. Others invent a freakin’ awesome new sporting event. Students at Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland, came up with the Burrito Mile, which is exactly what it sounds like—participants eat a Qdoba burrito and run a mile as fast as they can. If that sounds too easy, consider that the cur rent record is just over 6:15 minutes, and that includes eating and running. There’s also a “4×8urrito” relay in which each member of a four man team eats a burrito and sprints a half-mile. (If you’re not the teamspirit type, you could always attempt to break the record held by Greg Wegner, who ran the relay by himself, eating four burritos and running two miles in just over 51 minutes.) The race has become a local tradition, with this year’s event raising more than $1,800 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and similar races have been started in other locales. Mmm, karmic burritos.
When: February.
Where: Bethesda, Maryland.