There are longer races and more prestigious competitions, but the International Taco Bell 50K demands an unusually literal form of intestinal fortitude. Its athletes must cover more than 30 miles while repeatedly stopping to eat from one of fast food’s heaviest menus.

The ninth annual ultramarathon gets underway this weekend in Denver. Runners must visit at least nine of the ten Taco Bell locations positioned along the route, ordering and finishing a menu item at every stop they make.

This is not simply a running event with a few casual snack breaks. The restaurant visits are central to the competition, turning an already punishing distance into a rolling test of speed, appetite, digestion and determination.

Taco Bell does not sanction the event, according to the source. The runners and organizers are doing it for their own love of the challenge, without official company involvement in the ultramarathon.

Competitors also cannot glide through the course by ordering only the lightest available choices. Drinks do not count as food, and the race rules force participants to confront several substantial menu items before they can reach the finish.

By the fourth restaurant stop, every runner must have eaten either a Chalupa Supreme or a Crunchwrap Supreme. That requirement arrives while the competitors still have plenty of running and eating ahead of them.

By the eighth stop, participants must have finished either a Burrito Supreme or Nachos Bell Grande. Beyond those required selections, runners have freedom to choose other qualifying food items from the menu during their remaining visits.

Finishing means completing the ordeal within 11 hours without vomiting. Competitors also cannot use Pepto, Alka-Seltzer, Pepcid A/C or Mylanta during the race, removing several familiar options for anyone whose stomach begins protesting the repeated combination of running and fast food.

The result is a race with a higher DNF rate than the 100 mile Leadville 100 Trail Race, according to the source. Runners must manage the distance, the clock and a stomach filled at stop after stop.

Even one Taco Bell meal can make immediate exercise sound unappealing. In this event, however, athletes consume far more than an ordinary meal and then continue running, knowing another restaurant and another required order are waiting farther down the route.

The Denver setting adds another cruel feature. Participants are not merely running just over 30 miles after consuming repeated combinations of tortillas, meat and cheese, but doing so at altitude.

For runners who somehow decide the basic event is not difficult enough, the ultramarathon includes optional challenges that intensify the menu burden. The Baja Blast Challenge requires participants to drink a total of 2 liters of the tropical flavored soda.

Then there is the Diablo challenge. Runners attempting that version must eat each item with Diablo sauce before completing a Diablo shooter at the finish line.

Those additional demands sit on top of the original requirements, including nine restaurant visits, mandatory menu items and the 11 hour limit. Vomiting still disqualifies the effort, and the prohibited stomach remedies remain unavailable during the course.

The International Taco Bell 50K transforms a familiar fast food order into an obstacle repeated across more than 30 miles. For anyone who completes it, the finish represents an athletic achievement built as much on intestinal resilience as running endurance.