Visalia man to compete in national hot dog eating contest

VISALIA, Calif. -- A South Valley man is hoping to set a new personal record during his third appearance at Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Saturday.

Pablo Martinez is in New York for the event known as the "Super Bowl" of competitive eating. He's one of 16 men from around the country who will chow down on hot dogs and buns for a chance at the top prize, which includes $10 thousand.

Martinez has been training since March by doing test runs at home, and by stretching his stomach out. And since he's already been on that stage with the best of the best two other times, he's hoping to do better this time around.

Martinez qualified for Saturday's event by taking the top spot in a competition in New Hampshire last weekend. He says once the contest is over, it takes a few hours to recover from eating so much. His goal is to eat more than 30 dogs and buns.