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Hey Mayor McCheese, nice buns!

Posted by Chris Forsberg, Boston.com Staff April 20, 2009 04:44 PM

Running with a foam cheeseburger around your waist is hard enough. Then come the catcalls.

"I got 'Nice buns!' and I got 'Where's the beef?'" explained John Koss, the 28-year-old Boston resident, who endured that and more R-rated banter thanks to a gigantic cheeseburger -- complete with lettuce, tomato, and onions -- strapped to his waist as he trekked the 113th Boston Marathon in 4 hours, 34 minutes, 29 seconds Monday.

Koss agreed to be a human toothpick for the local B.Good burger joints in order to raise money for the Run for Research foundation that benefits the American Liver Foundation.

"In a year like this, when donations were hard to come by, we looked for everything and B.Good was good enough to work with us," said Koss. "The challenge to me was to actually finish in this."

Running his second Boston Marathon was decidedly more difficult than the first (which he ran sans beef). The burger tutu didn't exactly weight him down, but it proved to be quite bulky, particularly in crowds.

Racers and supporters had a good time with Koss, who enjoyed the supports (and jabs) from the crowd.

"The kids, that's the best part, the kids' faces," said Koss. "I don't know if they have it any more but, Mayor McCheese, (I'm) kind of like the life-sized version of Mayor McCheese."

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1 comments so far...
  1. So is this video series supposed to be like a Marathon Freak show?

    Posted by Bobby Chez April 21, 09 08:23 AM
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Welcome to Boston.com's Boston Marathon blog. We'll bring you updates on a variety of running topics as the marathon approaches. From winter training tips, to what to wear, to breaking news on the professional entrants, we'll be your Boston Marathon source.

Contributors

John Powers -- Globe staff
Shira Springer -- Globe staff
Steve Silva -- Boston.com staff
Jack Fultz -- Jack, the 1976 Boston Marathon men’s champion, teaches sport psychology at Tufts University and is also the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge training advisor. Jack will provide tips for getting you ready and keeping you on schedule to have a successful marathon day run.
Rich "Shifter" Horgan -- Rich is a 15- time Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team member who runs in honor of his father who died of colon cancer. He will provide updates on local running events with a focus on the charitable organizations that provide Boston Marathon entries for their organization’s fund raising purposes.
Jesse Williams -- Jesse is the sports marketing manager for Brooks Sports. Jesse will provide tips on the best types of running shoes to consider for training, the latest in running apparel, and what to wear on marathon day.
Ty Velde -- An 8-time Boston qualifier, who's completed seven consecutive Boston Marathons and fifteen marathons overall, Ty is now training for his eighth Boston run and will provide training tips for those who train solo, and run along the Charles River.