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RECORDS ARE MADE to be broken.
But it's nice when the one who breaks your national record is an old pal from high school.
That's the case for Shahrouz Nouri, the Stafford County resident who tied the IHOP restaurant chain's national pancake-eating record by chewing through 39 in one sitting several weeks back.
Michael Kessler, who played football with Nouri at Brooke Point, read about his pal's record-breaking meal.
He also noticed that the IHOP restaurants in Fredericksburg and Garrisonville were having special pancake-eating contests on Tuesday of this week, with proceeds to go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Kessler, a 21-year-old who works for S.W. Rodgers, decided he'd give the pancake-eating contest a try.
Because his mother was turning 45 this week, the Crystal Lake resident set that number as his goal: 45 pancakes in one sitting.
Rudy Garcia, a waiter at the Garrisonville IHOP who's been challenging customers to beat or tie the chain's national record of 39, spurred Nouri on to tie the record last month.
And when Kessler came in on Tuesday, shooting for 45 pancakes, Garcia was ready to help another young Stafford resident challenge for the record.
"I didn't really think I'd make it," said Kessler. "After eating 18, I was feeling like I was finished. But I just kept going, even though it took five hours. Now I have the record all my own at 45."
Like Nouri, Kessler said he ate the pancakes plain, without butter, syrup or anything else to make him feel over-filled.
He started attacking pancakes in stacks six deep, but when he got past 20 it helped to take them two or three at a time.
"But by the end, I was back to six and seven at a time," he said. "Then it was all about getting finished."
Kessler said he's never done that much in the way of competitive eating before, other than friendly family challenges to see how many pounds of shrimp they could eat.
For his pancake-eating feat, Kessler got a plaque and a $50 gift certificate, and will get notice in the national IHOP newsletter.
Soon after winning, Kessler said, he called and then visited Nouri to talk about the new record, old times and the 84 pancakes the pair finished off between them.
"I told him it would be neat some time to have a head-to-head pancake-eating contest," said Kessler. "If he beat my record then, I wouldn't be that upset, because the title would stay here in Stafford."
Garcia said the pancake-eating has generated a lot of fun for newcomers and regulars alike at the local IHOP restaurants.
He noted that on Tuesday, several groups came to take part in the fun of the pancake-eating contest, but also to make a donation to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
"One group came from an office, I think it was the DEA, and they'd taken up donations ahead of time," said Garcia. "They brought $80 to donate."
Kessler said the event didn't turn him against pancakes, though by the time he'd consumed 45 on Tuesday, he didn't want to see a pancake for at least a few days.
"I reached a point in the five hours where I really felt stuffed, but Rudy wouldn't let me give up," he said. "I just kept going till I hit 45."
We're getting to be the hotbed of pancake-eating champs.
Make mine with blueberry syrup.
To reach ROB HEDELT: 540/374-5415 rhedelt@freelancestar.com