Tucson teacher breaks pasta-eating world record

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - This is Michelle Lesco, a math teacher and speed eater, and the latter title is the reason she's at Oregano's today.

"Time to beat is 41 seconds," she said.

Fresh off her second place win at Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest in New York, Michelle has been practicing with pasta, trying to eat it fast enough to break that 41-second Guinness World Record.

"I had to cook up a bunch of bowls of pasta with the right amount of noodles and the right amount of sauce," she said.

She practiced up until last night and this morning, she prepares for glory. All of it is to help St. Mary's Food Bank as they partner with Oregano's for their "Carbs for a Cause" event.

"It's really near and dear to out heart," said Mark Russell, founder and CEO of Oregano's. "St. Mary's has been fantastic with us. It's our fifth year partnering with them on something, but this one has a big impact."

Russell says last year they were able to feed more than 50,000 people, and this year they're hoping to do even more.

As for Michelle, despite her tiny figure, she put that entire bowl of pasta down! She finished the whole thing in 26.9 seconds, beating the world record.

She's happy to do it to support a great cause.