Krispy Kreme Challenge: North Carolina State Students Run for Charity

The Krispy Kreme Challenge is a fairly new North Carolina tradition that's gaining popularity faster than you can say "doughnuts." The Krispy Kreme Challenge is a race with a twist: Halfway through, the participants must consume a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts before completing the race. The race begins at the North Carolina State Belltower, just off of Raleigh's famous Hillsborough Street. From there, competitors run two miles to the Krisy Kreme bakery on Peace Street. Once the runners reach the Krispy Kreme, they must eat a dozen doughnuts before making the two-mile run back to the Belltower.

As if running two miles after downing 12 sugary doughnuts (that's 2,400 calories) isn't challenging enough, the run must be completed in under an hour. That's right, 4 miles and 12 doughnuts all in under an hour. Many participants have thrown up on the way back in past events. As the warning says on the web page for this event: "The Krispy Kreme Challenge is not for the faint at heart." For safety purposes, the Raleigh Police Department will be shutting down roads and manning intersections. There may also be an EMT unit at next year's event for further safety.

Participants in the Krispy Kreme Challenge typically include NC State students, other UNC system college students, local high school students, as well as local residents of Raleigh, North Carolina. Many participants run the race as a personal challenge to themselves. According to the Technician Online, one student stated he participates in the race for the glory and the shirt (participants get a T-shirt). While everyone has their own reasons for participating, theThe Krispy Kreme Challenge is more than just an excuse for North Carolina State students and Raleigh residents to run through the streets and eat doughnuts. In addition to testing their endurance as well as gastrointestinal limits, runners in the Krispy Kreme Challenge participate to raise money for the North Carolina Children's Hospital. The donation money comes from several different sponsors.

You may be wondering how this challenge came about. It all began in 2004, when a sophomore, Chris McCoy, came up with the idea. He originally planned for the challenge to consist of him and a few friends running from the Belltower to Krispy Kreme, eat a dozen doughnuts, and run back.

However, the challenge was only a rumor until December of 2004. On a Saturday, students Peyton Hassinger and Greg Mulholland gathered some friends to actually run the challenge. About 10 students participated and the challenge was featured in Sports Illustrated: On Campus, issue #85, which helped spread the word about the Krispy Kreme Challenge. In January of 2006, the second annual Krispy Kreme Challenge was held. This time, the race was much larger than the first event. Over 150 runners participated, raising approximately $800 for the North Carolina Children's Hospital. The following year, in January 2007, the 3rc challenge too place, this time with a whopping 1,341 runners. The 2007 annual Krispy Kreme Challenge raised over $10,000 for the North Carolina Children's Hospital.

The challenge is scheduled to take place January 26, 2008. Participations is expected to be even higher than this year's huge turnout. Registration for the race isn't open yet, but if you live in or near the Raleigh-Durham area and would like participate you can register in the fall and find more information at the Krispy Kreme Challenge Web page: http://www.saketvora.com/kkc/index.php.

Sources:

Krisy Kreme Challenge Home Page.

Josh Hines, Saja Hindi, The voracious, the victorious and the vomiting, Technician Online.