EMMAUS, Pa. – Forget carb loading before a race; these runners are eating their way through one.
In Emmaus, participants celebrated National Pierogi Day with a race that put their appetites to the test.
At this race, runners can’t just hit the ground running. First, they’ve got to get through a pierogi, courtesy of local businesses: Morty’s Steaks and David’s Italian Market.
“You eat four. You do four laps, and you have a pierogi just before you run your lap,” Emmaus Run Inn co-manager Budd Coates says.
The Emmaus Run Inn hosted its first pierogi run Thursday, turning National Pierogi Day into a test of speed, strategy and stomach space.
“We’ve done it with cookies, hot dogs, vegan wings, and tonight we’re doing it with pierogies,” Coates says.
About 40 people signed up; some came ready to compete. Others, like the owner of nearby store Board to Death Games, joined on the fly.
“I was getting off work, and I saw the crowd, and so I ran home and grabbed my running shoes,” Thomas Boone says. “Might have been a mistake because I think I’m in, like, second to last place right now.”
“I feel terrible. Happy I finished first, but there’s, like, rocks in my stomach,” Kristin Susens says.
For the first female finisher, the running was the easy part.
“I feel like we’re fast runners but slow eaters, so we had to make up time in the run because we lost time in the eating,” Susens says.
The overall winner is no stranger to food-fueled races.
“I do all these food miles; they’re really fun,” Mark Jones says.
“I did the pizza mile there was a little bit ago, and then the hot dog mile. This is my event,” Jones remarks.
But whether they came to win or just for the fun of it, the race brought everyone together.
“It’s a great idea. It’s fun. I mean, why not?” Tom Lahovski says.
“You’re getting to do this and have a little fun and some good food besides,” he added.
However, the race left many needing a moment to recover.
“It was fun, but torture,” one of the youngest runners says.