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Saturday, charity is what brought the running enthusiast for the third year to the Burrito Mile: one part eating contest, one part track event, organized by Walter Johnson students and held at Tilden Middle School in North Bethesda.

"When you've been running for awhile it's fun to do something a little different," he said. "And the cause is good, so why not?"

The dozens who gathered to watch or compete in the event bought burritos and T-shirts from student organizers to support the annual Pennies for Patients fund drive, which benefits the national Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Burritos were sold to organizers at a discount by Qdoba Mexican Grill of Rockville.

Matthew Morris of Rockville, a freshman at Montgomery Blair High School who runs cross country, said he wasn't sure what propelled him to participate, but afterward, he was was glad he did.

"It wasn't that bad," he said after finishing the mile run - which is timed to include the time it takes to eat the entire burrito - in about eight minutes. "Needed to eat a little faster."

The "world record" holder for the Burrito Mile was present Saturday. 2002 Damascus High School graduate Greg Wegner, ran the 4-by-800-meter relay by himself last year. At that time he set the record when he ate four burritos over the course of a two mile run and finished in 51 minutes and 10 seconds.

Wegner, a marathon runner and public speaker who overcame disabilities after a ruptured brain aneurysm and stroke at the age of three, said the trick is to manage your burrito-eating time and have fun. "There's not a lot of better ways to give back than to have fun," he said.

Walter Johnson has out-earned all other schools in the Pennies for Patients fundraiser for five years, partly because of events like the Burrito Mile, now in its fifth year. This year, organizers vowed to set a new fundraising record of $30,000 in donations. Donation totals weren't available Saturday.

Walter Johnson High School Principal Christopher Garran - who about a week ago agreed to be duct-taped to a wall for one event and has agreed to allow students to start a pie fight for another -said his school, which does not sponsor the Burrito Mile, has a long tradition of community service, both fun and serious.

"I'm always very impressed by what they can do," he said in an interview last week. "When [I] see how these students commit themselves to serve, it makes me very proud."

For complete times and results from this event, pick up Wednesday's edition of The Gazette.

aruoff@gazette.net

By the numbers

The basic burrito - with rice, beans, and grilled chicken - from Qdoba Mexican Grill weighs roughly 15.34 ounces and has 870 calories, 24 grams of fat, 1,830 milligrams of sodium, and about half an average daily requirement of iron, according to the company's website. A vegetarian burrito has about 740 calories.

A study by students at Syracuse University's Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise in 2000 reported that men burn an average of 124 calories per mile while running while women burn 105 doing the same.

A medical opinion

Tania Heller, medical director of the Washington Center for Eating Disorders and Adolescent Obesity, who has practiced pediatric medicine for nearly 20 years, said anyone consuming something as large a burrito then attempting to exert themselves should expect stomach discomfort and nausea possibility resulting in vomiting, and diarrhea. She said if a person does vomit, they can lose electrolytes, causing problems similar to dehydration, and should drink water after getting sick.

These symptoms, Heller said, are result from a loss of blood flow to the stomach, which interrupts digestion, as the body pumps it elsewhere to allow the muscles to work harder.

Heller said in the most extreme and rare cases, people eating a lot of food then doing something physically exhausting have suffered ischemia of the bowel, which can cause damage when a body part receives an inadequate supply of blood.

She emphasized this is very rare.