Yasir Salem has crammed 33 franks down his maw in 10 minutes (at this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest) and shoveled 55 doughnuts down his gullet (during the 2015 30-mile bike race/gorge-fest, Tour de Donut). So it’s not surprising that the world’s 12th best competitive eater swears he’s never suffered a digestive calamity during one of the 20 marathons or four Ironman triathlons he’s finished. In fact, he claims caloric greatness and endurance go hand-in-hand. “The best competitive eaters are in the best shape,” he says. Which is why the 40-year-old from Nutrition - Weight Loss is attempting to run one marathon a month this year. With four to go, Salem explains the finer points of being a running, eating machine.
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Sucking Air
“Seven minutes into a 10-minute competition, you will be out of breath trying to inhale between bites. Top eaters can control their breathing, Other Hearst Subscriptions.”
Cross-training
“I drink a gallon of water every morning in less than a minute. It makes my stomach feel stretched out. But I then have to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes, so I usually run in the evening.”
System Flush
“We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back marathon, I use the same strategy as before an eating competition—black coffee NYC Marathoner Ran Home After Chemo.”
Recovery Woes
“Running From Substance Abuse Toward Recovery.”
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“I could tell you confidently that I am able to eat eight to nine pounds of bananas in 10 minutes.”
Kit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years. His work has taken him across the country, from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to cover the 2016 Olympic Trials to the top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine to cover Scott Jurek’s record-breaking Appalachian Trail thru-hike in 2015.
