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Schools

Fifth Annual Burrito Mile Combines Athletics, Charity

High school athletes endure cold winds and sickness for philanthropy event.

It seems nothing could have stopped the 200-some teenagers at Tilden Middle School’s outdoor track Saturday, Feb. 26 from continuing a 5-year, countywide tradition – not the early-morning hours, the 30-degree breeze, or the vomit.

The students, representing various middle schools, high schools and colleges across Montgomery County, converged for the fifth annual Mid-Atlantic Burrito Mile Track Classic, a series of races organized by students at in which competitors must run a mile after eating a one-pound burrito.

The event has repeatedly been Walter Johnson’s largest moneymaker in a local competition, Pennies for Patients, to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

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“Most schools around here do some sort of fundraiser and this is just WJ's; it’s a pretty excellent one,” said Eric Holmstead, a senior at Poolesville High School and competitor in the day’s races. Though he attends a different high school, he said the Burrito Mile connects cross-country athletes throughout the county. “Anyone who wants to do it can come and show up."

The event consisted of four races: two one-mile races, one “elite” – or extra-fast – mile race, and one 4-by-800 meter relay. Competitors in the mile races were separated by age group and the relayers used burritos as batons.

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Qdoba Mexican Grill provided around 300 burritos for the event at a discounted rate. Students collected their overstuffed sandwiches one by one and, at the sound of a siren, rushed to scarf down its insides before the line of runners beside them.

Then it was to the racetrack. Four laps – if they so lasted – marked victory.

“The second lap I felt awful,” said Rafeh Qureshi, the winner of the first mile race. “But after that, it wasn’t so bad. I don’t feel as good as I usually do after a race, but I feel really accomplished.”

Michael Patschak, who won the elite mile, said he’s been competing in the Burrito Mile for three years. Though now attending college in Pittsburgh, he said he made a special trip home because he “had to come back” for this weekend’s event.

After crossing the finish line, Patschak, and several others, vomited. But he said the occurrence further enabled him to perform: “I feel a lot better now that there’s nothing left in my stomach … I’ll be going on to the next race,” he said, with a smile.

The event made for an entertaining – and at times, gross – show, as high school track stars showed off their athletic talent (and the contents of their full stomachs). 

Walter Johnson has been a consistent frontrunner in the region’s Pennies for Patients contest; last year, they raised $29,954. Their goal this year was to surpass that amount, said Walter Johnson junior and Burrito Mile coordinator Joshua Ellis.

“[The race] looks like a lot of fun, but it’s really crazy,” said Adrianne Ali, a first-time attendee of the Burrito Mile. “I can’t even eat half of a burrito, so I don’t think I could ever do that.”

Despite their lack of participating, Ali and her friends said they showed up this year to support their Walter Johnson classmates. Many students dressed in matching costumes, such as colorful ties, togas, and jerseys, and cheered loudly in encouragement for both teammates and competitors. A definite sense of unity overwhelmed the field.

“The event has been going on so long that we now have a steady fan base,” Ellis said, adding that a public Facebook invitation for the races received more than 400 confirmations. “Now, every February, people just expect to be running the Burrito Mile.”

As customary, the group charged $10 for competitors and $5 for guests, but also sold student-designed t-shirts and extra burritos this year in order to achieve its goal. Despite the new implementations, Ellis projected at the end of the event that the group hadn’t reached the $30,000 mark. He attributed this year’s smaller crowd to the winter formal his class had the night before, causing students to sleep in and consequently miss the race.

“That’s just the nature of throwing a charity event,” he said. “Those are definitely things to take into consideration ... but everyone had fun, that’s what’s really important.”

All first-place winners were:

    •    Freshman & Sophomore Mile: Rafeh Qureshi, Sophomore, Walter Johnson  High School, 7:29
    •    Junior & Senior Mile: Jordan Psaltakis, Junior, Poolesville High School, 8:34
    •    “Elite” Mile: Michael Patschak, Sophomore, Robert Morrison University, 6:40
    •    4-by-800 Meter Relay: Luke Shannon, Will Conway, Mark Henry, and Matt Kogan – “Team Swakker,” Juniors, Winston Churchill High School, 24:00

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