History
What's this all about?
In the spirit of two great sports, track & field and speed-eating, comes the ultimate test of athletic and intestinal fortitude. Burritolympic Sports are only for the toughest and fiercest competitors. All the cool kids are doing it. Can you hang with the big dawgz?
History of the Games
In 2006, an inspired individual, Brian Sickles a high school junior from Maryland, dreamed up the concept of the burrito mile. Showing great vision, he layed out the plan on February 5, 2006 by posting the challenge on this thread of the MoCoRunning web site.
The first competition took place on March 5, 2006 at Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland. Competitors had one hour to eat two burritos at Chipotle Mexican Restaurant. They then drove to the nearby track and the race began. Although the first race deviated from the standard rules that have since been adopted to incorporate the eating into the timed competition, we salute these pioneers of the sport--especially Sickles, Chris Moen (innagural champion, 4:31.7), and the event's organizer Kevin "The Commish" Milsted.
An event in Maryland later that spring featured the first 4x8urrito relay. The rules were identical to the present day official 4x8urrito rules with one exception: female competitors were permitted to eat half burritos. In the interest of gender equality, that rule was later vetoed and female competitors were from that point forward required to consume the same quantity of food as male competitors. Separate world records are kept for males and females as well as single-gender and coed relay teams.
On August 2, 2006 Milsted and MileSplit US CEO Jason Byrne founded the official governing body and internet home for the sport, BurritoMile.com. The two helped lay the groundwork to legitimize the sport: creating official rules and best practices; coining the phrases "burrathlete" and "burritolympic games"; becoming the clearinghouse for information and the record book; and helping to promote the event to a national audience.
In February 2007, Walter Johnson High School Junior Rafi Moersen, who had participated in two burrito mile events previously, organized a burritolympic event to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Despite attempts by some to shut down the event due to claims that it was potentially dangerous, it was the largest event ever. With the help of sponsors RnJ and Qdoba Mexican Grill, the event raised $1,700 for charity. The event was repeated in February 2008 where over $3,500 was raised.
In March of 2007, the event spread outside of Maryland for the first time when the Milton High School track team from Alpharetta, Georgia held an intrasquad burrito relay competition. The relay did not conform to the officially sanctioned 4x8urrito rules, but the final two competitors on each relay did a full burrito mile, breaking the previous world record set by the Marylanders.
In October 2007, the burrito mile was contested on a college campus for the first time when Virginia Tech students organized a small competition which complied with official rules.