One runner short of last year's field, the 2nd Annual Lakewood Fast Food Challenge (an ode to the late Cornell Dining Hall Classic) once again drew crowds of fans and confused diners. Last year's champion and Kent State alum Ofer Barniv reigned supreme once MORE, despite a challenging new course,a tougher menu, and heavy pressure from Ohio Wesleyan alum, Matt Kempton; Barniv broke the young man at the Carl's Junior to finish with over a minute lead in a final time of 24 minutes 20 seconds. At the back of the pack, the race was equally heated. I personally had to muster up a 50 meter puking finish just to stave off a valiant come-back by Greg Valace; Greg lost minutes of precious time early in the race after wandering into a marsh right after a cheeseburger pit-stop in Belmar Park.
Excitement from this year's race has fueled speculation of events in other cities. Tha apparent wealth of former top-notch runners looking to find a niche to relive their glory days is abundant. The 2009 Lakewood results are below followed by a description of this year's event.
2009 2nd Annual Unofficial Lakewood Fast Food Challenge
November 7th, 2009 - 5:30 pm, Belmar Park, Lakewood, CO
Official Results:
1 Ofer Barniv - 24:20
2 Matthew Kempton - 25:47
3 Dan Petty - 27:26
4 Ryan Anderson - 33:45
5 Ethan Dusto - 35:26
6 Mike McGurk - 37:14
7 Greg Valace - 37:45
Race Details:
Course: This year’s course starts and finishes in Belmar Park and at the main parking lot next to the Historic Center just off Wadsworth Blvd. Half of the race will be in Belmar Pak and the other in the Lakewood Commons shopping plaza right next to the park.
Cost: cost for food will be no more than $20 and likely less; bring cash in $5 and $1 denominations
The meals this year are as follows:
1.)Simply Sloppy Joe's - 1 sloppy Joe and small can of coke – at main Pavillion in Belmar Park
2.)Virgilio’s Pizza – 1 Slice of Pizza + small drink
3.)**Chipotle - order of three tacos; must select 1 meat, 2 toppings, and 1 salsa
4.)Carl's Junior - 1 Chili Cheeseburger; drink is optional
5.)Panda Express – 1 Egg Roll + small drink
Pit-Stops: Since some of the meals are smaller this year, there will be three additional pit-stops throughout the course which will (in total) equate to a sixth meal.
Pit-Stop#1 - McDonald's Cheeseburger
Pit-Stop#2 - 1 piece of sushi
Pit-Stop#3 - McDonald's Apple Pie
**All competitors must bring money for Chipotle with them; runners must wait in line and order their own tacos; no cutting in line.
Rules:
1.) No running in an establishment
2.) No puking in an establishment
3.) Competitors must finish all of their food at each station
4.) All food must be swallowed before leaving a meal station
5.) Breaking any of the above rules will result in a disqualification
Additionally I am requesting that we make an attempt to puke in the grass when possible and avoid doing so directly in front of the storefronts.