Men’s cross country compete in Iron Stomach Challenge

Recently the men’s cross country team had the annual Iron Stomach challenge in which the competitors had to eat as many calories as possible within the time constraint of 30 minutes at McDonald’s and then they had to run a mile as fast as possible; however, if they puke, they are immediately eliminated. 

Freshman Cole Hansen, who got sixth overall and first out of the freshmen, said he ate  “13 cookies, two McChickens, and one milkshake ” 

Hansen also said, “The challenge really pushed me because I’ve never even attempted to eat that much food, but then to have to eat so fast because of the time constraint and to have to eat so much and start running it wasn’t easy.”  

Hansen’s mile time was 6:44 after eating 3,334 calories.

Teammate and spectator freshman Jaden Merrick said, “It was really fun to watch my friends and teammates do this challenge because you can see that it really pushed some people, and a few people puked and were disqualified. Overall, though, I think it was a great experience for the team to get to know each other better in the off-season.” 

Another competitor, freshman Liam Woods, said, “It really pushed me to my limits because running after eating so much is not easy, and I definitely underestimated how difficult it was; however, now I know and can be ready for it again next year.” The winner of the whole challenge however was Luke Hartman.