It’s probably a good thing that Tim Sundermeyer didn’t eat breakfast last Friday. He contemplated skipping supper the night before, too.
It was part of the training to become champ of the first hot dog eating contest at Hot Dog Day at West End Plaza.
Sundermeyer, 42, was half way through his eighth hot dog when the contest’s five minutes were up and he was declared the winner. He narrowly surpassed Will Erikson and Beau Severtson, who both had started on a second plate of five dogs and buns.
The three were challenged by three young people, Chloe Peters, 12; and her cousins, Olivia Peters, 11; and Owen Peters, 13. None made it past the first five hot dogs.
But Owen Peters, admittedly a slow eater, kept chowing after the time was up, casually munching until his plate was clean. Why, when everyone else was passing up any more bites? “Because it doesn’t go to waste,” he said looking at his plate.

The contest was part of an annual event sponsored by Ramsdell’s F&M, in which anyone who stopped by got a free hot dog and lemonade. Organizer Kari Burggraff said the company purchased 1,000 hot dogs and probably had served more than 300 people.
Sundermeyer said he was a little nervous before the competition began. “I don’t want to throw up,” he said. “And I want to eat a hot dog again after this.” He said once lunch was over, he would return to work at Ekerns. “I don’t want to be miserable.”
For his effort, he earned a Pelican cooler.
Severtson took the plunge and dipped the buns in his cup of water in order to get them down. “I’m a rookie,” he said.
Sundermeyer used the wet method, too.
“The buns were the hard part,” he said.
But the contest overall was easier than he thought. “When you go to a buffet, I eat 10 times that amount. I just eat slower.”
Each contestant had access to a plastic-lined garbage bin but would have been disqualified if they used it. They had to hold down their hot dogs for a minute after the contest was over.
No one puked.