Krispy Kreme Challenge

Haven’t run this race, and never will. I enjoy running, and I enjoy eating healthy. Never did like donuts in the first place. Never ever would I consider eating so many of them that I would hope to puke. While on a brief break during a run. Some friends ran this race several years ago. They didn’t puke, but wished they had. After the race, the man went to the gym for 2 hours in a vain attempt to get rid of the sugar high. He felt awful for days, and has never eaten another donut. This sounds extremely physically challenging, but in a drunken frat kind of way. When I read about how it started as a dare by some NC State under grads, I wasn’t surprised. Stay away, far far away.

My friends ran this race two years ago and told us about it and how much fun it was, so my husband and I decided to do the race this year and we had a blast! We traveled from Maryland to participate in this race with the friends that told us about it. My parents also came and my dad ran with us as well. This was the first year there was a race expo with packet pickup the day before, which is great because packet pickup the morning of a race makes things too hectic. The expo was great and we picked up some official K2C gear (mugs and gloves!) and also some discounted running gear at some of the other vendor stations. There was also a place to take your picture with some inner tubes decorated as donuts :)
The actual race itself was great. It is capped at 8000 runners, so it is pretty large, but it is very well organized. It’s 2.5 miles to the donuts, eat the donuts and then 2.5 miles back to the finish line (same start and finish line). This year the race was on Valentine’s Day, so there was an added running group called «Dynamic Duos» and you could sign up with a partner and split a dozen donuts (and save some money on the registration cost). This is what my husband and I did. My father was a Challenger (need to eat 12 donuts and complete the race in under an hour) and our friends were Casual runners (do not have to complete the race in under an hour and do not need to eat all 12 donuts). For as many people as there were, the volunteers handing out the donuts did a wonderful job getting them to everyone. People were eating donuts everywhere! It was a sight to see! So were some of the costumes that people wore and it was just an overall fun race.
Timing chips were on the bibs and race times were available through text messages (if you signed up) or available a few days later through the website. I thoroughly enjoyed this race and would love to do it again in a few years, but for now I never want to see another donut!

The KKC began a few years after my departure from the glorious NC State University. Rumblings of its success and desire to consume the cold winter Saturday mornings of many of young, old, athletic, out-​of-​shape, could be heard all the way in my travels throughout the US.
So this year was the year I took the Challenge — head on.
But enough about me. Let’s get to the donuts!
Here’s the trick — eat some Krispy Kreme donuts weeks in advance. You will want to get at least the taste, texture and feeling of eating more than 3 in one sitting down. It definitely helps if you can run without stopping for 3 miles, even if its at a slower pace. The power of the crowd will help you get through.
Make sure you pace yourself and get two cups of water to sip on when downing the 12 at the halfway point. That was my strategy, and those of my teammates. We all finished our 12 and did so under an hour!
It is an event YOU have to do once while in Raleigh. So grab some friends, make a donation to the NC Children’s Hospital, gear up, and make your mother proud when you DO NOT vomit at the end of the mother-​of-​all-​eating challenges!

The KKC has only been around since 2006, but it has quickly become a Raleigh tradition. It’s one of the things that make the city I call home a great place to live.
I’ve ran the race twice. In 2010, I downed a measly 3 donuts. This year, I upped the ante and managed 6. I’m aiming for a full dozen in 2012. Look out!
After completing the C25K program (Couch-​to-​5K) in the summer of 2009, the KKC was my first race. Unfortunately, the C25K does not train you to eat donuts in the middle of your runs. Even after being a runner for a year and a half, I still didn’t feel prepared to eat a dozen donuts.
As Monica mentioned, the race is advertised as 2 miles — eat 12 donuts — 2 miles, but it is well over 2 miles. In 2010, it was bitterly cold. But, that didn’t stop the funny costumes (and lack of clothing altogether). My favorites were the samurai and the guy with the donut hanging in front of him on a stick. This year, on a cold rainy Saturday morning, there weren’t as many costumes, but it was still just as fun. Lots of people come out to support the runners!
How could the race be more fun? Well, the water stations are few and far between. Last year, it took me forever to get my hands on some water. This year, I knew where the water was, but it was still challenging to find it! There definitely needs to be more water stations.

Even when I was young, healthy and ran track I didn’t care much for running, ugh! A quarter mile at a time was as far as I would go… But the Krispy Kreme Challenge (KKC)?! Now that is my kind of race because it’s always about the food for me. The greasier the better! Registration online was pretty easy for the KKC, choose between Challenger (eat all da donuts) and Casual, plunk down your $ 40 as a donation for the NC Childrens Hospital and you’re good to go! Pick up your race packet early because day of the race has got to be crazy. Registration was capped at 7,500 «runners».
While the weather could have been more cooperative, the 2011 KKC was a LOT of fun! The rain and 38 degree temps did little to dampen spirits and enthusiasm. Men in dresses, donut cops, chicks in bikinis, you name it and it was out there! And even with 6,000+ people at the line, things flowed pretty smoothly. Down Hillsborough, up St. Mary’s, across on Tucker and off to Peace Street we went. Adrenaline pumping, rain pouring on us, nothing could keep us away from the donuts!
As we hit Blount, the pack slowed down and bunched up to grab their precious box of glazed sweets. I watched as Phil G plowed through his dozen like a starving homeless dude. And the usual over-orderer’s, Christina G and me?! We finally had a sense of our mortality, knocking down a measly two donuts apiece. Thankfully, we only saw one nasty splatter of partially-​digested and regurgitated donuts, phew!
Then it was back on the road with the other donut-​laden runners. Except all those downhills were now uphills! But mercifully, the rain slowed down. As we hit Hillsborough, spectators with signs cheered us on. People on balconies waved at the group and finally we finished… Ahh, the best thing about running is when you stop, woohoo! KKC 2011 was done and it was time to go home and break out the ibruprofen. But you know what, it was worth it! As I walked home I saw a single, sad little donut float by on the street, washed away by all the rain. A fitting end, I was bummed this cool event was over.
But come on out next year because I promise you, events like this don’t happen often in Raleigh. And the weather has GOT to be better in 2012…

I don’t know what it is about NC, but we seem to just love combining gluttony with athleticism. (The more you work out, the more Southern food you can justify eating!) You throw some crazy college students into the mix, and you get the birth of the Krispy Kreme Challenge: 1 hour, 4 miles, 12 donuts, 2,400 calories. And all for charity!
I signed up this year to live the legacy — but opted for the safety of the «casual runner» category… so I could eat as many or as few donuts as I wanted. On our Unilocal team of 6 racers, we only had one challenger stepping up to down the full dozen. Our team total was 22 donuts, and our average finish time was about an hour. In hindsight, our Unilocal red shirts sure looked a lot like NC State red (booo).
Despite the constant rain and the chill factor, this year’s race turned out quite a crowd. And I have to say, I was impressed with the array of superhero costumes, giant hats, –and particularly– one girl running in her bikini. Yay, Raleigh! I was also impressed at the lack of vomit; bonus!
Things that could be better for next year: more than one water station, and one that’s not so hard to find amidst the boxes of donuts; some compilation of team scores, instead of just individuals; and an official after-​party by the bell-​tower! The absence of rain wouldn’t hurt either…

The Krispy Kreme Challenge is a race to remember! A couple of logistical hitches aside, it was quite the fun race — with lots of people coming out (even in 35 degree/​rainy weather), wearing costumes, and having a GREAT time calling out to each other and running. And eating. Lets not forget the eating!
The best part is, the race raised about $ 100k for the NC Children’s Hospital.
The costumes and camaraderie were fantastic. Everyone was really into it, and the course was laid out very well and appropriately protected by the fuzz. Thank goodness for our CM, who brought Unilocal panchos to help with the rain!
Things for improvement: The crowd was a little confused at first since there weren’t very clear instructions at the starting line (did anyone else hear an announcer?), but worked through it quickly. The crowd at the donut stop was substantial — a side route for people like me who declined to eat around the crowd would be nice!
The course was actually 4.77 miles (shown on the website) instead of 4 miles — good for me since I had to up my mileage today, but not good for anyone not paying close attention to it! The first half of the course was practically all downhill, which means… you guessed it! Lots of uphill on the way back. For the brave souls who were challengers, I commend them for having an easy run down, stuffing their faces, and then booking it up at least four notable hills.
Major kudos to Phil G. for eating the full dozen!