Scott and Eating Contests

Last night several of my running "colleagues" were goading a certain other rail-thin colleague to eat two chicken pot pies at the Roasting Company in exchange for $500. Having eaten one of those pies before (mine was cold!) I could have picked up some easy money and still had room left for dessert.

Those that have been forced to hang around me over the years know I can consume extraordinary amounts of food. Maybe I need to lose about 60 pounds before I get challenges like this that can help pay for my expensive triathlon habit.

A quick history of the most memorable challenges. The first was at Camp Parsons, it must have been about 1990. I was challenged to eat a full plate (30?) sausage links. No problem.

The best food I ate in a challenge was also at Parsons, most likely in 1998 when I was Business Manager. It was a Saturday, and we had just harvested ice chests full of Dungeness Crab. It wasn't really a challenge, I just ate like twenty full-sized beasts. Even better, we were in the "embassy" (the Enzlers were living there at the time) and there were bottles and bottles of Alaska Amber. Yum. I remember McNellis was there and made fun of me. What else is new?

Fast forward to 2001 - working in Charleston. A few of us went out for lunch at this cheese steak place and I was goaded into eating their mammoth Philly Cheesesteak. My memory tells me it was about 17 inches, and I had to eat it in an hour without ralfing. My coworkers said they would pay for the sandwich, but even with a success I seem to recall they never did.

The last public "performance" was on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 - just days before the Chicago Marathon, which ironically enough I ran a hell of a race, chalking up my still-standing 3:30 PR time. We were working near Lincolnton and when done went to lunch downtown at the Courthouse Cafe. I was looking at the calzones and decided to order the large one. It turned out their large calzone covered the distance of a huge pizza plate. The waitresses told me I couldn't eat the whole thing, and well, that was enough. My co-worker Sharon knew the calzone had no chance, everyone else thought differently. It was a true tour de force, and while I didn't throw up I did feel bad the rest of the afternoon.

And most recently Julie unknowingly challenged me to down an absolutely huge plate of Chinese food, but she didn't realize at the that I have this "problem." I explained to her I would rather enjoy my food and things have been great since!

Take-home messages from this inane post

• I eat large quantities of food
• I burn calories like a furnace so I can train
• Don't challenge me to eat a lot of food
• The Roasting Company is an excellent restaurant
  
• Never listen to Chris Cummins
  
• The 20th Dungeness Crab tastes as good as the first; anything else doesn't
  

Let me know if I've forgotten a good one.