Arrange the bread-eating race! A roundup of fun, exciting, and hilarious ideas
The bread-eating race has long been a classic and popular event at sports festivals.
It’s a unique competition where bread is hung along the course, and participants bite it with no hands and run to the finish line.
If you’re going to do it, why not add your own twist to make it even more exciting? To meet that need, this article introduces variations on the bread-eating race.
We’ve gathered ideas from three perspectives: rule modifications, ways to hang the bread, and even ideas for hanging items other than bread.
Please use them as a reference.
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Hanging method variations (1–10)
Hang just a bite-sized piece of bread.
Watching someone dynamically chomp down on a big piece of bread can be fun, but eating a piece so tiny you can barely see it is amusing too.
If it’s a community sports day, there might be lots of people who can’t see it well because of presbyopia.
And the surprise factor might make it entertaining for everyone to watch.
Plus, since it’s just a single bite, the event could proceed without crumbs or drops, which is an advantage.
If you’re getting bored of the usual routine, try experimenting with different approaches.
Hang it at a height where you can’t reach it without jumping.
Bread-eating races usually have the bread hanging around mouth level, but here’s a variation where it’s hung much higher, so you have to jump to reach it.
To keep things fair, it’s best to have competitors of similar height.
If someone just can’t reach it even by jumping, you could allow special rules like letting a teammate give them a shoulder ride.
However, you might also add a balancing rule, such as awarding fewer points than for grabbing it by jumping on your own.
Change the score depending on the height at which the bread is hung.
How about adding a scoring system to the bread-eating race, where competitors vie to reach the goal while holding bread in their mouths? You can vary the height at which the bread is hung, assigning higher scores to the bread placed higher up.
Final rankings would be determined by combining the score of the bread taken and the order of finishing.
Choosing whether to spend time aiming for high-scoring bread or to grab easily reachable bread and dash to the finish should make for fun strategic play.
Since the bread will be placed at various heights, it’s recommended to allow participants to grab the bread with their hands.
This approach doesn’t involve using the mouth, so it’s also reassuring from a hygiene standpoint.
Make it a food other than bread (1–10)
Speaking of variations on the bread-eating race, in addition to changing how the bread is hung and adjusting the rules, an easy and recommended option is to hang things other than bread.
Depending on the shape, you can also increase the difficulty, and whatever participants grab becomes their prize as is, so choose items that fit your budget and suit your participants.
Here, I’ll introduce several recommended items to hang instead of bread.
Umaibo
Umaibo, a classic Japanese snack, is hugely popular with both children and adults.
Its thin shape makes it easy to hold in the mouth, so it’s especially recommended when small children are joining in.
chilled prepared foods
For a community sports day or a company sports event, how about hanging chilled ready-made dishes that you can buy at convenience stores or supermarkets? Pouched hamburger steaks, grilled fish, potato salad—since it’s an idea no one’s seen before, it’s sure to be a hit! You could even announce, “Please use the side dishes the athletes grab as part of your lunch bento as-is,” which would probably go over even better (lol).
toy
You can still enjoy a so-called bread-eating race without using bread, which is perishable and hard to manage hygienically.
For example, small items that can be put in bags—like little plush toys or rubber duckies—can be used instead of bread, so give it a try.
If it’s a bread-eating race for kids, they might actually prefer those kinds of items.
It’s also a big plus that they can have fun with them afterward.
Try choosing items that participants will be excited to receive.
Things from 100-yen shops could work well, too.
French fries
Here’s a fun idea that’s sure to get everyone excited: French fries! When we say French fries, we usually think of thinly sliced potatoes deep-fried in oil.
Many kids probably love them, right? In the post, there aren’t actually any fries—only the container is hanging.
Still, trying to make it a reality sounds like it could be a lot of fun! It would be great for a small group of participants, or even as a competition for teachers to join in.
Definitely give it a try!