2023-02-04 at 8:00am
5.15 miles (07:35/mile)
Raleigh, North Carolina

Classic running challenge/event in the area since 2004...run two and half miles, eat a Krispy Kreme dozen donuts, then run back...all within an hour. Held on the North Carolina State campus in Raleigh, starting and ending at the Memorial Belltower.

The race has received acclaim in multiple areas and was ranked as #85 out of 100 in the 2008 Sports Illustrated "101 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate", and included in Denise Malan's "The Runners Bucket List: 200 Races to Run Before You Die"...

There are two major categories for runners...Challengers or Casual. In order to satisfy the "challenge" portion of the event, the Challenger class is required to eat a dozen donuts in a donut staging area next to a Krispy Kreme store at the midpoint of the route, before exiting the area. The Casual class can grab a box of donuts, eat one, some, or none...and carry the rest back to the start.

Thus, the challenge involves careful calculation of not only running pace, but also the pace at which a dozen donuts can be consumed.

Weather conditions were very cold (for the area) and moderately windy. In some ways, the cold made it easier to eat the donuts (glaze was not as sticky, donuts were easier to handle). In some ways, the cold made it a challenge (hands were stiff, even in gloves, and I was always aware that my body was cooling as I stood there and ate).

Our running "team" was comprised of Martin Wileman, Jeffrey Husen, Don Von Hagen, and myself...all of whom had run the event before. New to the event was Laura Maile. She handled the donut consumption like a professional and nearly beat us all in getting back to running. While we ran together, we did not run as a team...call it a loose confederation.

All in all, happy with the results, with a three minute improvement over last time running the Krispy Kreme Challenge...more research is needed to determine if that was due to improved eating technique...or running faster...