Hazlet crowd eats up the fun at competition
Ohio man downs six subs in 10 minutes at local Quick Chek
BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer

CHRIS KELLY staff Contestants in the third and final qualifier in the Quick Chek Toasted Italian Sub Eating Contest compete at the Hazlet Quick Chek on July 7.

HAZLET — Barely a week ago, Takeru Kobayashi won his fifth-straight Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest in Brooklyn, downing an impressive 49 hot dogs in just 12 minutes. While the contest, and the 147-pound Kobayashi, have become a worldwide phenomenon, there is at least one other person who wants to get his name out there as one of the top gurgitators around.

Mark “The Human Vacuum” Lyle came from Columbus, Ohio, last week to the Quick Chek at 1170 Route 36 to try to prove that there’s more to competitive eating than just the diminutive Kobayashi. By the end of the Quick Chek Toasted Italian Sub Eating Contest on Thursday, Lyle swallowed the competition whole by eating six subs in just 10 minutes. Lyle now moves on to the finals of the competition on July 30 at Solbery Airport in Readington.

CHRIS KELLY staff The food of the hour for the third and final qualifier in the Quick Chek Original Toasted Italian Sub Eating Contest.

For Lyle, Thursday’s contest was a mere warmup for the finale later in the month.

“I participated in a hamburger eating contest on Monday [July 4], and so all I wanted to do today was to just qualify for the finals later in the month,” Lyle said.

Lyle was very liberal with his 10-minute allotment, smiling and chatting with others while he was stuffing the heros, made with meat and vegetables, down his gullet.

“I feel like it’s important to give the people a good show, and so I figured why not have some fun with it. The toughest part was the peppers on the sandwiches because they were so hot.”

“Also, the bread is a challenge. It’s the same as eating the bun with your hot dogs and hamburgers.”

Not everybody had fun with the competition, as some folks weren’t quite able to hold down all that they were taking in — something called “reversal of fortune” in the competitive eating business.

One participant was able to hold down all that he ate and looked none the worse for wear when the competition was over with.

“I heard about the contest from my aunt because she works at Quick Chek,” 13-year-old Hazlet resident Brian Flynn said. “I just wanted to see how well I could do against everybody else.”

Flynn finished about three subs — not bad for the youngest entrant in the day’s event. Flynn, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs about 200 pounds, said that the contest wouldn’t spoil his appetite.

“I’m going to still eat dinner tonight,” he said.

His mother, Susan, said he would have done much better if either of them had been thinking about the big event.

“We were at the mall earlier and my son had an Auntie Anne’s pretzel, and you know that those things are huge,” Susan said. “I definitely think that may have affected him.”

As for Lyle, he says he has always had a big appetite, but only got back into competitive eating six months ago and still feels like he has a long way to go to get to be at his best.

“It’s almost like I am relearning how to eat in a big way again,” said the 34-year-old contractor. “I haven’t had my best day yet.”

Lyle realizes that competitive eating is a difficult way to make a living. But there were also other “novelty sports” many years ago that eventually turned into huge moneymakers.

“Things like wrestling and poker were not considered mainstream at all, and now they’re hugely popular,” Lyle said. “I’m not looking for some huge multimillion-dollar deal, just maybe an endorsement deal of some sort that would make traveling much easier for me.”

At 215 pounds, Lyle is not nearly as large as some of his competitors, and he likes it that way. He says he would never consider sacrificing his health for the sport.

“I’m not a glutton, I’m just somebody who has a big stomach and likes to eat,” said Lyle, who once ate 21 cupcakes in seven minutes. “This has been a lot of fun, but I will not alter my body or mess with my health to get to the top of this sport.”