OK, this one's a little unusual!

I'm still trying to figure out the attraction of participating in the annual race for men at a New Zealand venue.

Gutsy contestants at the Shepherd's Shemozzle in Hunterville, New Zealand, had to run 50 metres with a bull's testicle in their mouth.

The bizarre challenge was only part of the endurance competition, in which entrants also had to down dry Weetabix and a raw egg, washed down with a can of beer.

Fifty-six competitors ran out of the Hunterville Town Hall last Saturday, racing to find and claim their dogs before heading to the nearest high hill for the lineup of culinary delights.

This year's winner, Josh Masters, said he had never carried a bull's testicle in his mouth before – but he claimed that it was "not too bad".




"Best of all, they weren't connected to anything," he said. Mr Masters won a jacket for his efforts and his dog, Scruff, was awarded with a bag of dog biscuits.

The competition was marred this year by a rumour that one spectator ate a raw testicle. Organisers refused to comment on the tale, saying only that they tasted "lovely" cooked.

Uh . . . OK. If you say so.

Only last month I wrote about the first testicle cookbook and the World Testicle Cooking Championship. Perhaps they should hold the next championships in New Zealand? Then the contestants in the Shepherd's Shemozzle would actually get to eat the damn things - and cooked, not raw!

It'd add a little realism, methinks. What say you?



Peter