Bacon. Its supposed to make everything better (except for maybe your heart). Although its counterintuitive, and maybe even demented, Bacon races & competitions are on the rise and its a bad time to be a pig. Here’s a list of our favorite Bacon Races & Competitions. There’s probably an event coming soon to a city near you.
The Great American Bacon Race
Fearless Events had a 5k mud run and decided to add a bacon station to the race, posting about it on Facebook. It drew quite a crowd and the organizers had to cook 100 pounds of thick cut bacon at the last minute. It was such a blast that the organizers decided to devote an entire race to Bacon – hence the evolution of The Great American Bacon Race now in Miami, Florida.
The Bacon Beatdown
Yep, there’s even a Crossfit Competition for Bacon Lovers in Daytona Beach, Florida this June.
Race for the Bacon
This run/walk takes place in Cudahy, Wisconsin on July 31st employing the summer heat to help you sweat off all you eat. Be sure to attend the post-race bacon bash to replace all the calories you burned off during the race and then some.
The Bacon Strip 10
How about a 10 mile rural run near Fort Collins, Colorado? There’s no fat on this one as the Bacon Strip 10 is a popular running route along a ten mile strip (a loop actually) of undulating road that resembles a strip of cooked bacon. This one is pretty rural and you are advised to be careful that you don’t become the bacon for the neighborhood coyotes. An organized race is held on the route by a local running club each October.
The Bacon Chase (20 Events)
From Red Frog Events, the organizers of the popular Warrior Dash mud run series, comes the Bacon Chase. The Bacon Chase features a 5k run and a 0.05k run. At just 164 feet, the shorter of the two could possibly be the shortest bacon race in existence and a good bet for first time bacon lovers. The organizers are not responsible for bacon-induced comas but are offering all you can eat bacon. The Bacon Chase races are to be held in twenty U.S. cities this year though so far only three dates have been announced in Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis.
The Bacon Race Cemetery
You probably don’t want to go to this one. It’s not technically a race, though it could be where you end up if your attraction to bacon proves fatal. Yep, in Virginia, there is in fact a historical landmark called the Bacon Race Cemetery. We didn’t know they had bacon races in the 1800s but they must have been quite popular to necessitate an entire cemetery. Home to the first Baptist church in Prince William County in 1774, the Bacon Race Cemetery contains the remains of Civil War soliders, including members of Mosby’s Rangers. Located at the corner of Bacon Race Rd & Davis Ford Rd, in Woodbridge, VA this is one Bacon Race we’d recommend you stay away from.
The Bacon Burner 6k
Friscoe, Colorado hosts the Bacon Burner 6k, a 3.8 mile out and back run on a paved trail held during the town’s BBQ Challenge. The top 1st, 2nd and 3rd male and female finishers will receive an award, we’re betting it’s bacon.
The Bacon Run
This one’s held in Marietta, Georgia in October during “Atlanta’s Largest Bacon Festival”. Yeah, apparently Atlanta has more than one Bacon festival. The reward for finishing – you guessed it, bacon. We’re just not sure why you’d run this one when the festival is all-inclusive and all you can eat anyway.
The Bacon Queen Pageant
Kim Pfannebecker, blew away the competition at the 2013 Bacon Queen Pageant held at Johnny’s Hall of Fame in Des Moines, IA. Her knowledge of bacon was unmatched and her bacon-rap brought down the house. Before being crowned, she dashed into the kitchen to slip into the world’s first bacon couture dress, created by fashion designer Sarah Dornink of Dornink Designs. The Bacon Queen Kim sizzled that night and is likely to be even bigger this year during the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival.
Blue Ribbon Bacon Eating Contest
The Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival’s Amateur Bacon Eating Competition has mesmerized audiences and inspired viral YouTube videos since the inaugural festival in 2008. Contestants begin with a plate of cooked bacon weighing 3 lbs. When the MC shouts “Go!” aspiring “eating athletes” attempt to devour the pile of goodness. Guess who won in 2013. Yep, Molly Schuyler, became the first person on record to consume 3 pounds of bacon in less than 5 minutes.
Know of a bacon race or competition we missed? Tell us about it!
