The Strawberry Canyon Track Club, based out of Berkeley, CA, is proud to announce that one of its members, Sean McFarland, is currently in possession of the “6 Big Macs and a 10k“ World Record at 57 minutes and 3 seconds. That’s right, 10,000 meters and 6 Big Macs (2.8 pounds of food, 3240 Calories, and 180 grams of fat [60 g saturated]) in less than an hour.
Sean and fellow member Jack Wallace, who made a valiant effort but ultimately DNF’d at 4 Big Macs and a 10k, both get the distinction of being the first two people in recorded history to even attempt this.
We have competition details, lap splits, and burger splits below. We also have video and photographic evidence that should be available in a couple of days (when we get around to uploading it).
We have no affiliation with the original authors, but for background on the genesis of this challenge, see
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3601167&page=0
. If you’re like me, the “6 Big Macs and a a 10k under an hour” thread was one of the biggest letdowns of last year. Lots of strategy, plenty of trash talking, and ultimately, no delivery.
But it wasn’t over. The seeds of the idea had been planted within our club. And at a university like Cal, where people pride themselves on being good at basically everything, it was only a matter of time before somebody stepped up to prove their mettle.
So this morning, April 3rd, 2011 at 11:45 am, under beautiful clear skies and slowly climbing temperatures, two men from the Strawberry Canyon Track Club pitted themselves, body and mind, against the worst McDonalds can deliver.
Our rules? Simple: 6 Big Macs, 25 laps on a 400 meter track, 1 hour. It doesn’t matter how you get there. One hour after the clock starts you’ve either finished 25 laps and 6 big macs or you have failed.
Our gladiators?
Sean McFarland, a 2nd year PhD student in BioEngineering at Cal with an NSF fellowship. Ran for Clarion University until the team was cut by the university. PRs: 55, 1:59.7, 4:02.0, 4:18, 15:04, 31:57, 1:14:18.
Jack Wallace, a 3rd year Conservation Resource Studies major at Cal, member of the Strawberry Canyon Track Club, and president of the Cal Running Club. True to form, he decided 1 hour before the start that he was competing. PRs: 57, 2:09, 4:25, 4:49.9, 9:53, 16:25, 34:52, 1:16:30.
Sean’s strategy: Cruise the 10k at 6 minute pace then eat all the Big Macs in the remaining 22-23 minutes.
Jack’s strategy: Eat the first big mac while running 6 minute pace, keep running 6 minute pace, and finish the last 5 Big Macs in the remaining 22-23 minutes.
Sean quickly deviated from the race plan and ended up running roughly 5:20 pace, which turned out to be fortuitous as the eating took over 23 minutes and involved what appeared to be one of the most uncomfortable positive splits in competitive eating history.
Jack held true to race plan, finishing the first Big Mac at 2400 meters, and ultimately finishing the 10k in sub 6 minute pace. But the head start wasn’t enough, and spreading the eating out over such a long period of time may have been a mistake. It’s widely known that to eat a lot, you need to eat quickly.
Splits for each competitor are posted below. Photos and video to come soon. Hopefully Sean and Jack will come on here to relate their personal experiences and advice for future attempts. But for now, LetsRun, the gauntlet has been thrown down, the standard has been set. Is there a worthy challenger out there who can better the mark of 57:03? We hope so, and we look forward to your stories.