Can Atlanta eater stomach the competition?

By Shelia M. Poole

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Grace Lee may not be the woman you want to take out for a meal.

The 5-foot-2, 110-pound Lee can pack a lot into her tiny frame -- and fast.

Consider 60 wings in less than an hour. Or five large pizzas and later, dessert.

Lee, who runs an Atlanta-based foodie Web site called Atlanta Gspots,  is among a growing number of female competitive eaters around the nation. On Monday, Lee, 29, will go up against eight other women in the annual Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, perhaps the best known gastro-smackdown around.

"I started doing this for fun, and now it's taken on a life of its own," said Lee, who goes by the newly minted moniker "Maneater." "I never knew this was such a serious 'sport' and that there was an entire subculture. Tons of people really follow the competitors and even travel to see the different food challenges."

This is the first year that Nathan's has added a women's table for the event, which draws about 40,000 people a year to Coney Island. Seventeen men will compete in the male category.

At one of the competition's qualifiers in Charlotte, Lee ate more than a dozen hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

But her competition will be tough. Among those ready to chow down for the Mustard Belt and $10,000 will be Sonya Thomas (aka "The Black Widow"), who holds 37 competitive eating records, according to her website.

Lee, who says she comes from a family of big eaters, has practiced her technique to find the most efficient way to eat hot dogs, which she says are among the most difficult foods to eat competitively.

She tried separating the hot dog and bun versus dunking the entire hot dog in water. The latter worked best for her.

On the days leading up to the event, Lee has been eating pretty much as usual -- one big meal during the day and several smaller ones. Other competitive eaters have advised her to do things such as drink a gallon of water at one time or eat lots of cabbage and lettuce to expand the stomach. She's not doing any of that.

"It's about 50 [percent]-50 [percent] mental and physical," she said over a cup of espresso at Starbucks. "I'm going to try my best. I haven't pushed myself to the max. I've been kind of waiting to get to New York to do it. "

George Shea has watched Lee chow down. "I've got to tell you, I watched Grace compete and I was extremely impressed by her eating ability," said Shea, chairman of New York-based Major League Eating, the organization that oversees most "stomach-centric" sports. "She is really a great ambassador for the sport."

It's also a sport where women are becoming more visible. Four women ate more than 20 hot dogs to qualify. Twenty is a magic number among all competitive eaters. "They call it the deuce," said Shea. "If you can eat 20 or more, you are in the elite level. It's always been reach or break."

For some, though, that's chicken feed. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut holds the world record for Nathan's. One year, he ate 68 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. That's minus mustard and ketchup, which can slow down eaters dramatically if they have to take time to slather it on.

Make no bones about it, Shea considers competitive eating a sport, and Nathan's, which is sponsored by the hot dog maker and Pepto Bismol, is revered as its Super Bowl.

The image of the competitive eater is changing.

"In the past, they were heavy, somewhat out-of-shape guys," said Shea. "Now, they're much more athletic." They're also younger, "much more hip and have more of an extreme sports kinda vibe" like Tim Janus. Janus, also known as "Eater X," dons face paint when competing, giving him an edgy and fierce style.

And competitive eating is not for the faint of heart. "They have this enormous capacity, this ability to eat volumes more than the normal person," Shea said. They also have to have amazing jaw strength. Imaging being able to chew and stuff food in your mouth at a rapid pace. And they have to be able to successfully manage the movement of  food and hand coordination.

Shea said he's rarely seen the real pros throw up after a competition.

And many of today's competitive eaters not only have the stomachs for the sports but the brains. There are personal trainers and professional chefs. Lee worked for years in real estate. The top-ranked eaters can earn thousands of dollars through competitions, endorsement deals and appearance fees. Most, though, don't earn anywhere near that amount.

Money certainly isn't why another Atlantan, Damien Boykin, competes.

Boykin, 36, is a claims representative for an insurance company.

Boykin, who's ranked 37th in the nation, said he became interested after watching a documentary about the sport.

"I think it's definitely an art form," he said. "The top guys are completely in a different capacity and pain threshold. Putting away 50 hot dogs in 10 minutes is amazing. It's not something the average person can do at all."

When he first started competitive eating, Boykin weighed in at nearly 370 pounds. He's now down to 310. "Oddly, it made me want to lose weight and have better cardio," Boykin said. "Ten minutes of eating doesn't seem like a long time, but it can wear you out. You need a lot of jaw strength for foods like corn or ribs."

After a competition, Boykin said he usually relaxes, "then I'm ready to carry on my day."