"We thought this was an amateur competition," said Matt Crawford, whose team finished second after biking, running, inner tubing and eating its way across Durham.

When you're talking about an event like The Doughman, which wedges in breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and a snack between legs of a traditional triathlon -- "amateur" would seem implied.

Yet word had it that the race's winner -- Team Phelan -- had a ringer: cyclist Linus Owen-Garni, who races for Bull City Cycling. Owen-Garni had done the 5.6-mile cycling leg -- after downing an egg, ham and biscuit sandwich, potatoes and fruit -- putting Team Phalen firmly in the lead.

But in making his team's case, Crawford inadvertently revealed that he's a professional soccer player, having played last year with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.

That begged a visit to the third-place team, the Green Devils, who turned out to have full sponsorship -- free uniforms, paid team registration -- courtesy of Duke University's Office of Sustainability. A pro team, essentially.

Not that anyone really cared. True, there was the glory of hoisting the coveted Doughman bucket. But most seemed more into the event's goal of touting Durham's home-grown eating establishments and raising money for SEEDS, a program that lets inner-city kids grow food for themselves and sell it at the Durham Farmers Market.

Emily Egge, one of the organizers, said they modeled The Doughman on Raleigh's Krispy Kreme Challenge, in which competitors run two miles, eat a dozen doughnuts, then try to run two more miles.

But whereas a dozen garbage cans line the Krispy Kreme Challenge finish line, The Doughman tries to ensure Durham's street cleaners don't work overtime. Four team members share the eating and competing relay style, and the portions are smaller. (Although the wisdom of eating a Luther's chili dog and five hush puppies, then running two miles and jumping in a pool is still questionable.)

Get $150+ in coupons in every Sunday N&O. Click here for convenient home delivery.