"Winning is overrated. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war." ~Al McGuire

In order to take our minds off of a busy work week, some of us in the marketing and sales departments decided to have a fun contest during our lunch break. We just finished the first annual "Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich Eat-A-Thon", and to my dismay, I finished last. There were five competitors, Brendan Hughes, Ken Barhoover, Josh Schinagle, Jeff Tippy, and myself. We each invested in the "5 for $5" deal from Arby's, and had a contest. The rules were simple, whoever eats 5 roast beef sandwiches first wins, and if no one finishes 5 sandwiches, whoever eats the most wins.

As the contest started, Josh and I dug into our first sandwiches neck and neck, while Brendan and Ken started slowly with the intent to pace themselves. Jeff, however, took a different, maybe smarter approach. He combined his first two sandwiches into one, and began to inhale. After the first sandwich, Josh had a slight lead, while I was staying close behind. However, this was the beginning of my downfall. I unwrapped my second sandwich and started to eat. By the time I looked over at Josh, he was finishing his second, I knew I would have to keep up. I scarfed my second sandwich down. While unwrapping the third sandwich, I realized I should have paced myself like Ken and Brendan. I slowed down big time. Ken had no trouble catching and passing me at this point. In only a few minutes, Josh finished his fifth, and final roast beef sandwich. He is crowned as the official "Equity Trust Arby's Roast Beef 5 for $5 Eat-A-Thon Champion". Jeff's creative eating style was enough for him to earn second, followed closely by Ken. They both finished 4 sandwiches. Brendan was able to take 2 bites out of his fourth sandwich, totalling 3.25 roast beef sandwiches, which was enough for him not to be tied for last with me, at 3 sandwiches.

Other than the horrible feeling we felt after overindulging on roast beef sandwiches and Arby's sauce, I would say the contest went well. We had a great turn out this year, and I hope everyone can make it next year. Congratulations to all the competitors, who all gave their best effort in this year's contest.