Against better advice, Simon Day takes on the "how many cheeseburgers can you stomach" challenge.

Imagine spending a winter Saturday driving north to south, east to west - criss crossing New Zealand's largest city for the glory of downing 50 McDonald's cheeseburgers in the fastest time possible.



It sounds like the perfect challenge for anyone looking to combine their love of Auckland weekend traffic and competitive fast-food eating.



Those who complete the 50-burger challenge will consume a whopping 580 grams of fat in a 24 hour period, more than five times the recommended daily intake.



Each burger also contains 265 calories – a total of 13,250 for the day. An average adult male needs about only around 2500 daily calories to maintain his weight.



Auckland student Jack Alexander is challenging all McDonald's lovers to take part in the pub-crawl style homage to the humble cheeseburger, with the inaugural Amazing Cheeseburger Challenge, set for the first week of July.

The prize for whoever runs this greasy gauntlet and wins will be flights to any city in the country, provided it has a McDonald's restaurant. But you won't be made to dine there. The winning team will have their fuel and burger expenses covered.

Registrations are being accepted through Facebook.

Peter Meecham How many cheeseburgers can you eat in a session? Against better advice, reporter Simon Day tried to find out.

Alexander said the idea came to him after he saw how many McDonald's eateries there were across Auckland city.

The challenge will see teams consisting of a driver and an eater zig-zagging their way from Bombay all the way up to Orewa stuffing their faces the entire way.

Health and anti-obesity experts were unwilling to comment on the binge-encouraging event and Alexander conceded this challenge wasn't designed with health in mind.

McDonald's HQ has been quick to distance itself from the challenge. New Zealand communications manager Kim Bartlett said there seemed to have been a spate of competitive eating events in the past few months and this wasn't something McDonald's would endorse.

Without sponsorship, Alexander will be backing the event and funding prizes from his own pocket.

Receipts would be required as proof as well as photographic evidence of every burger.

For those continuing the challenge into the next morning, McMuffins will be permitted as a substitute for cheeseburgers during breakfast hours.



Alexander, 23, planned the event to coincide with the end of Junk Free June – a fundraising event encouraging people to give up all forms of unhealthy food for a calendar month.



He said his challenge was likely to set him back about $2000. "I could spend $2000 on something worse. I may as well put it into a bit of fun. I'm interested in events as well and it could turn into something."



So far 19 people have registered to take part but Alexander hopes it could become a more popular annual event.



He plans to take part himself and has mapped out what he thinks is the most efficient route – beginning in south Auckland and going all the way north before doubling back to tackle the west.



As someone who dined at McDonald's on at least a weekly basis, Alexander said the challenge would be pretty easily completed.

'EATING 20 CHEESEBURGERS SEEMED STUPID'

Reporter Simon Day tests his suitability for the Cheeseburger Challenge

The McDonald's worker had to check she heard right when I ordered 20 cheeseburgers.

I was unsure myself. I had been singled out to test the effects of mass consumption of processed food on the human body.

I love a cheeseburger in the right context, when I'm particularly hungover I might even have two. But at lunchtime on a work day felt wrong. Eating 20 seemed stupid. In the end I could only manage six before I felt overwhelmingly ill.

The first was joyous. I hadn't eaten lunch and I was hungry. It was salty and warm, and the solitary pickle cut through the grease. The soft burger disappeared quickly. I thought briefly this wouldn't be too hard.

By the end of the second burger I'd already had enough. I enjoyed number two, but now I was full.

After burger three my mouth was slimy with grease and simultaneously dry. I had an intense thirst. The burgers seemed to be collecting in a heavy ball at the top of my oesophagus.

At this point I realised my tactics were all wrong. I had eaten three cheese burgers in about three minutes. I had gone for hard and fast. It was too late to change.

The fourth burger made me feel properly sick. It was cold and dry. I think the McDonald's chef had stopped putting love into their craft after the first three. I wanted to stop.

I did stop after my fifth. I had eaten them in under ten minutes. I got up and tried to walk it off. After I belched, long and loud, and had a drink of water, I felt I could do one more.

Half-way through my sixth burger, I quit. I didn't want to throw up at work, even if spewing into a brown McDonald's bag would have made great footage.

Sitting at my desk writing this I feel lethargic and heavy. Intense nausea was on momentarily relieved by a burp. I'm embarrassed I only ate six. But I wouldn't wish seven cheeseburgers on anyone.