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Cheer On the World's Best Competitive Eaters in Chicago, Before They Take on Nathan's Famous

The biggest sporting event of the year is coming up next week and some of its competitors are beginning their warm ups this weekend. We're talking, of course, about Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, the banner event for Major League Eating, taking place at NY's Coney Island on July 4th.

But you don't have to wait until then to see some of the world's best stomachs in action. Two of the top-ranked eaters in the world, Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti and Tim "Gravy" Brown will begin working their jaws this weekend in their hometown of Chicago—where they will take on four of the city's biggest eating challenges.

The duo, who have just launched their own food truck, the awesomely named Glutton Force Five, kick off their marathon of mass consumption tonight at the Fifty/50 Bar, where the challenge is to eat 50 items off the menu in 50 minutes.

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Fourth of July Travel / Competitive Eating / Hot Dogs / Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest / Ringling Brothers / Circus / Coney Island / → All Tags

Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest Throws Pachyderms in the Mix This Year

BBQs and fireworks are great, but for us the most thrilling part of the Fourth of July has always been the gluttonous spectacle that is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island.

If you’ve ever watched grown men down 60 hot dogs in 10 minutes at this annual New York freakshow and thought “I wish this could be weirder,” this year you’re in luck. The 2009 contest will be preceded on July 3 by a hot dog bun eating contest, in which three professional eaters will take on three semi-professional eaters: elephants from the Ringling Brothers Circus.

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Competitive Eating / Krispy Kreme / Food / Extreme Sports / → All Tags

Krispy Kreme's (Heart Attack) Challenge Taking Place This Saturday

If you’re still recovering from your Super Bowl snack binge, but are looking to start a more healthy approach to life--we’ve got an idea for you. This Saturday, the Krispy Kreme Challenge takes place in Raleigh, North Carolina. It’s a combination race and eating contest, so you can practice your running form while slowly weaning yourself off the sweet treats.

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Big-Burger-Map / Burgers / Competitive Eating / Brad Sciullo / → All Tags

Where to Tackle Your Own 15 Pound Burger

The Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser is a 15 pound hamburger served at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, and, until Monday, no one had ever eaten the whole thing. But Brad Sciullo, a 5'11", 180-pound chef finished the, uh, whopper in a nearly five-hour-long eating session earlier this week.

Not surprisingly, it wasn't easy, Brad said:

About three hours into it, things got tough.

He got a T-shirt for finishing the meal, natch, as well as $400. You can tackle your own monster burger in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, but bring money: The Belly Bruiser is $49.95 and must be ordered 24 hours in advance.

Related Stories:
· Denny's Beer Barrel Pub [Official Site]
· Man Chews Through 15 Pound Burger [AP, via Google]
· Big Burger Map [Jaunted]

[Photo: Denny's]

Competitive Eating / Joey Chestnut / → All Tags

Move Over, Kobayashi: Joey Chestnut Is an Eating Contest Renaissance Man

If you ask any American to name a competitive eater, nine out of ten will probably still say, "That tiny Japanese guy who eats all the hot dogs."

But 24-year-old American Joey Chestnut has lately been making Takeru Kobyashi look like a one-trick pony as he travels around the world, gnawing out his place in competitive eating history.

Not only has Chestnut beaten six-time champ Kobayashi in the last two Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contests at Coney Island, but he is racking up eating championships at a record-setting pace.

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Summer Travel / Fourth of July / Fireworks / Rural Travel / Middle America / Competitive Eating / → All Tags

Fourth of July Travel: Independence Day in Independence

The weekend's finally here! By now you should've finalized some sort of holiday action plan, but here's one last Fourth of July suggestion: Independence, Iowa. With just over 6,000 residents at last count, the town is certainly small, but as they say, "Everybody observes the Fourth of July, we celebrate it!"

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Summer-Vacations-with-an-Edge / Summer Travel / Competitive Eating / Joey Chestnut / → All Tags

Summer Vacation With An Edge: Stick To Your Ribs In Oregon

Don't bring ketchup to this sauce show: Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs may get all the glory when it comes to competitive eating for its Fourth of July contest, but in order to get to New York City you'll have to out-eat your neighborhood at one of several qualifying events. (It's like "American Idol" for the stomach!)

Bragging rights come easier at one of many other events sponsored by the International Federation of Competitive Eating, like the Chinook Winds World Rib Eating Championship held in Oregon on July 13.

In rib-eating contests, contestants are judged by the amount of meat consumed in pounds when their pile of bones is accounted for. Nathan's defending champ Joey Chestnut will be there to strap on an industrial-sized bib. (Prepare yourself: He ate 8.4 pounds of meat at the contest in 2006).

Even if you don't win, you can still chow down at the Smokin' at the Ocean event at Chinook Winds all weekend. Related Stories
· World's Easiest Event Registration Page [IFOCE]
· Smokin' at the Ocean Rib-Eating Championship Belt [Flickr]
· Nathan's Famous and More at Coney Island [Jaunted]

[Photo: donita-reason]