Gastric gusto By MIKE AVERILL World Staff Writer 7/26/2008Last Modified: 7/26/2008 2:44 AM Eaters hunger for victorySeventy-one tamales in 12 minutes — just thinking about that can be hard to stomach. That's right: 71 — one short of six dozen. That's the tamale record held by Tim "Eater X" Janus, who's ranked No. 4 in the world of extreme eating. The tamale champ is one of several top-ranked eaters in town for the Cherokee Casino World Barbecue Eating Championship. The 30-year-old day trader said he stumbled onto competitive eating while looking for a fun day away from work. "I was sick of my job and read about a contest near my apartment. I thought it'd be fun and signed up," he said. He admits that he didn't really know what he was doing and finished in the middle of the pack. "Right away, I saw a bunch of areas I could improve. I kept feeling that way, that I could do better, so I stuck with it," he said. His signature painted face was something he did even in that first competition in the spring of 2004. "It's something I enjoy doing at sporting events and thought it'd be fun. People seemed to like it, and in my next competition they actually remembered me," he said. Janus won his first title CM8ShowAd("336x280"); in the winter of 2005 by devouring four pounds of tiramisu (an Italian dessert cake) in six minutes. He's since won titles in burritos, cannoli, nigiri sushi, Ramen noodles and tamales. "There's not a whole lot to it. You try to make sure you feel good that day, and you don't go out and party too hard the night before," Janus said. "A lot of it is figuring out a plan. If you know what you're going to be eating, you can try and pick it up at the store or a restaurant or make it yourself and then figure out the best way to break it down."