Just one more bite

Aug. 27—Grabbing a smoked turkey leg and meandering around the Wilson County Fair-Tennessee State Fair is a time-honored tradition, but for a handful of contestants on Wednesday, it became a race against time to gobble them down the fastest.

Competitive eating is a staple at American carnival events. Probably the most notable is the annual Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island, which draws viewers much like a high-stakes sporting event and has made household names out of Joey Chestnutt and Kobayashi.

There is an organization called Major League Eating, which like its baseball counterpart, regulates and officiates competitive eating challenges throughout the country.

After the smoked-turkey-leg-eating contest at the fair on Wednesday, there's a new name to add to the list of those great gluttons ... Doug Guard.

Originally from Indiana, Guard has lived in Lebanon for 15 years. He's never done competitive eating before but still managed to swallow the field with his consistent chomping.

Sometimes, though, you just have to follow your nose.

"I was walking by, and the food smelt good," Guard said. "They stopped me and said, 'Hey, you look like a contestant.' "

His affinity for turkey legs went out the window after consuming two in 10 minutes.

Asked if he liked eating turkey legs, Guard said jokingly, "Not no more ... ha ha, they were delicious."

Guard's food was still settling in the wake of his win.

"I'm feeling a little bloated," Guard said. "I don't need anything else to eat now ... I'm just gonna be looking for a bench."

The grand prize was $100 ... not too shabby for eating food that one likes.

Guard's competition may not have captured the blue ribbon, but it was not for lack of trying.

Pam Chambers was in a very close second place. The Hartsville woman indicated she was "feeling a little full" after the competition.

"I was almost done with my second leg," Chambers said.

Chambers mentioned that she doesn't have a lot of practice eating turkey legs.

"We have it at Thanksgiving like anybody else," Chambers said.

Her husband, James, also threw his hat in the ring and, sitting opposite Pam, and watched her bring home second place. The couple was going to split a turkey leg as they walked through the park. They didn't imagine eating almost two a piece.

"Guess we don't need one now," Mrs. Chambers said.

The Chambers approached the competition with a little bit of strategy.

"I told her to find the smallest turkey leg she could," James Chambers said.

James Schaffer's wife and two children share a birthday. It's this Saturday. Schaffer was hoping to earn a little extra spending money to spoil the apples of his eye. Thankfully, with the third-place finish he was able to do just that.

"I heard $100, well, I gotta have a little extra birthday cash," Schaffer said.

Schaffer grew up around the area but joined the Army and was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina for four years. When he returned to his stomping grounds, he brought with him a wife and two children.

Schaffer is now going to school at Cumberland University.

"I just started this semester," Schaffer said.

Preparing for a turkey-leg-eating contest is not part of his normal routine, but the active exerciser keeps him looking for his next meal.

"I swim, bike and run a lot," Schaffer said. "I'm very, very active, so I'm always really hungry. I would much rather it have been sweets, like brownies, but when you hear $100, I'm going to win that money."

Any competitive eating contest requires an official judge to pass down the ruling. Lebanon's Ed Riley, of the Two Fat Men Group, served in that capacity for the contest.

Riley had judged eating contests before and laid out the keys to success.

"I think speed and training go a long way," Riley said, but he acknowledged that he had never competed.

Wolfing down a meal may compromise savoring the taste and comfort, but Riley indicated, "It's all in the spirit of competition."