51ĀŅĀ×

As a doctoral student at 51ĀŅĀ×, Jack Legath has a lot on his plate.

He takes challenging classes, spends a lot of time readying and studying, and will be involved in clinical work as part of his program. He also makes time for running, working out and occasionally eating up to 30 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

You see, when Legath has a lot on his plate, he attacks it both figuratively and literally. In addition to being a doctoral student, he is also a successful competitive eater who has set records in the U.S, and the U.K., and can eat more than you can likely imagine.

Recently, he set a new record at the well-known Hillbilly Hot Dog restaurant in West Virginia for eating the Homewrecker Hot Dog. The Homewrecker is a 15-inch, one-pound hot dog with a bun and two pounds of coleslaw and vegetable toppings.

At the popular restaurant, if you are one of the few who can eat the whole meal in 12 minutes you get a free t-shirt.

Legath ate the huge hot dog in just 2 minutes and 32 second, breaking the record by 2 seconds and getting his meal for free, along with . Legath enjoyed the free meal, the competition and the opportunity to visit the hillbilly themed restaurant.

ā€œItā€™s really cool,ā€ Legath said about the business.

That's just one of many competitions the OHIO student has won in the last two years. But how do you become a competitive eater and how much can he really eat?

Also, how does he not get sick when eating so much?

And while we are asking questions, whatā€™s the point of dipping hot dog buns in water like you see in the Fourth of July competitive eating competitions?

And finally, how does this fit with Legathā€™s area of study in OHIOā€™s College of Health Sciences and Professions?

We had a full menu of questions for Legath, and he indulged us by telling us his story.

What brought him to 51ĀŅĀ×?

Originally from Mentor in northeast Ohio, Legath earned his undergraduate degree in exercise science - sports medicine from Bowling Green State University. At OHIO, he is in the doctor of physical therapy program in the College of Health Sciences and Professions.

ā€œGrowing up, I was involved in a lot of sports,ā€ Legath said. ā€œWith that much activity, you are destined to get injured.ā€  After suffering his first serious injury, Legath was in a rehabilitation program where he met ā€œthis amazing physical therapist,ā€ who helped him tremendously.

He later had another injury, where he was helped by the same physical therapist who took the time to listen to his questions, create a personal connection and help him with his recovery.

That experience led Legath to realize that he wanted to help people in this way, too, and started him on his path to becoming a physical therapist.

ā€œBeing able to help people, I feel like thatā€™s one of my main passions,ā€ Legath said, ā€œI understand the struggle of physical therapy.ā€

He chose to study at OHIO because of the affordability of the nationally-known program and the focus of the program. The OHIO program was the first Doctor of Physical Therapy program in Ohio and has been consistently ranked among the top physical therapy programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

Legath was also attracted to OHIOā€™s scenic campus and the opportunity to be involved in the community.

ā€œIā€™m really enjoying it already,ā€ he said, explaining that he started the program during the first summer semester session.

ā€œMy cohort is great and the faculty are great. The second-year students are very helpful, too,ā€ Legath said. ā€œEveryone supports one another, and we are creating connections and helping each other.ā€

The students are also learning fun facts about each other, including the fact that Legath can eat a 26-inch pizza in 6 minutes and 30 seconds. This has led to more questions for Legath, and a few challenges from people he has met at OHIO.

How did he get started in competitive eating? And how does it feel?

When he was growing up, Legath and his family members often watched the popular television show where the host would go to different restaurants and try their eating challenges.

About two years ago when Legath was trying to lose weight but was allowing himself to have ā€œcheat meals,ā€ he was reminded of the show and decided it would be fun to try one of the challenges for his ā€œcheat meal.ā€

ā€œI did it and I felt absolutely terrible,ā€ he said. At the same time, though, it was a fun experience, and he was happy he was able to complete the challenge.

So, six months later, in December 2023, when he wanted to have another ā€œcheat mealā€ he tried the eating challenge at the in Luckey, Ohio. In this challenge, he had to eat a three-pound smash pattie with a pound of waffle fries on the side in less than 10 minutes.

ā€œI did that and broke the record,ā€ Legath said.

It was fun to win the challenge, but Legath said that he also appreciated one other bonus.

ā€œAs a college student, you get a meal for free, and youā€™re likeā€¦this is great,ā€ he said.

So, he started researching food challenges where he could earn more free meals and now has done more than 100 official challenges, in addition to several unofficial contests. He has been on YouTube channels (including this and this ), was on the popular and has competed against and teamed up with several other competitive eaters.

A few of the items he has eaten, including some he didnā€™t like as much

Legath has traveled around the U.S. to take part in different challenges and even took part in contests in the United Kingdom where he broke several records and made some money.

ā€œI did a bunch of food challenges there,ā€ he said, adding that many of the challenges have large social media presence and popular livestreams.

One challenge included a cottage pie that was more than 10 pounds in under an hour. The record was finishing it 7 minutes and 40 seconds, and Legath beat the record by more than 30 seconds.

Legath also took  on the spicy , which included eating a green chili cheeseburger, chili dog and chili cheese fries in less than 10 minutes.

He and another competitive eater also teamed up to eat a 200-ounce steak, along with chips, onion rings, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic bread and coleslaw in a record time of 44 minutes and 36 seconds, winning a free meal and a cash prize.

Also in the UK, he was in a competition where he had to eat a giant pasty. He did not know what it was before he started the competition, and he found that he is not a big fan of the food item.

ā€œI donā€™t know what it was about it, but it did not go well with my stomach,ā€ he said. ā€œI didnā€™t like the taste, but luckily it was a team competition.ā€

In a competition in the U.S., Legath also tried sushi for the first time, and ate 13 large sushi rolls.

ā€œI wasnā€™t too familiar, but I thought ā€˜Why not try it?ā€™ Tuns out, I donā€™t like sushi,ā€ he said.

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Other challenges he has completed include:

• A 13-egg omelet with a pound of potatoes on the side. ā€œItā€™s very filling.ā€
• A 6-pound burger challenge with a side of coleslaw and fries.
• 30 hot dogs in 10 minutes (Legath said dipping the buns in water, as they do in Fourth of July eating competitions makes them easier to swallow, but he doesnā€™t like this in most challenges. He thinks food eaten in challenges should be eaten the way it is meant to be eaten.)
• A 33-inch team pizza challenge.
• from a bakery in 11 minutes, 30 seconds, breaking the previous record of 14 minutes. Also, with this one, he felt great after the 12 giant cookies, so he ate a total of 18 in 25 minutes.
• Eating two foot-long West Virginia Dogs, one large order of fries and one bowl of soup in under 15 minutes at Hometown Hot Dogs in Millersport. Itā€™s a lot of food that .
• Winning the for eating the most Atomic Horseradish at the MustardFEST event in Springfield. The championship belt was presented by well-known competitive eater Joey Chestnut.

How does competitive eating fit with his major, and how does he stay healthy?

The day before a challenge, Legath will typically fast for 24 hours. Everyone prepares differently, but it works best for him to eat a low-calorie, high-volume meal before he fasts to expand his stomach, and then he also drinks a lot of water on the day of the competition

The day after a competition, he continues to drink a lot of water to flush out his system, does not eat much and goes for a walk.

ā€œI feel horrible,ā€ he said. ā€œYou are filed with salt and electrolytes, and you feel all puffy.ā€

And on days when he is not preparing for a competition, he eats healthy and exercises a lot.

ā€œOn my days off, I like to work out,ā€ Legath said. He runs up to 15 miles a day and stays active before and after his classes.

On most days, he tends to eat just one meal per day, usually in the evening after his classes.

As someone who is in a health-focused major and wants to work with people to help them with their physical ailments, he knows the competitive eating may sound strange. But he overall eats healthy and stays in good shape, he just sees the eating challenges as an occasional treat.

And while he only eats one meal a day, he ironically does not get hungry on most days.

ā€œI donā€™t usually get hungry, but once I start eating, thatā€™s where it flips,ā€ Legath said. 

That flip has benefited him in the competitions, and he is thankful he has gotten involved in the events.

He has gotten plenty of free meals, visited places he never would have visited, met a lot of great people and made some fun memories.

ā€œIā€™ve learned a lot from all of this,ā€ Legath added. ā€œPlus, I ā€˜ve had some of the best food Iā€™ve ever had.ā€

If you want to learn more about Legathā€™s competitive eating you can follow him on social media as on Facebook, Instagram and several other social media channels.

You likely may also see him eating large amounts of food on or around the 51ĀŅĀ× campus over the next few years while he moves forward in his doctoral program. He is enjoying his time as a Bobcat and is working toward his goal for his dream career, while taking on all of the challenges that are ahead of him.

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