Krispy Kreme Challenge
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The Krispy Kreme Challenge is an annual charity event at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. All profits are donated to the North Carolina Children's Hospital. To complete the Krispy Kreme Challenge, participants start at the iconic NC State Belltower on Hillsborough Street, run two miles to the Krispy Kreme store of Raleigh, eat one dozen doughnuts (totaling 2,400 calories and 144 grams of fat), and run back to the Belltower, all under 1 hour. The Krispy Kreme Challenge is not affiliated with the Krispy Kreme company.
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[edit] History
In December 2004, a few friends gathered in the morning at the Belltower to try the challenge (which had begun as a college dare). Sophomore Ben Gaddy completed the race in 34 minutes, 27 seconds. After receiving positive coverage in the campus newspaper and profiled as #85 on the "102 More Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate" by Sports Illustrated:On Campus, the event organizers decided to publicize the Krispy Kreme Challenge and turn it into a charity fundraising event. NC State basketball player Chris McCoy is credited with dreaming up the event but he overslept that morning and did not attend.[1]
[edit] Second Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge
The 2nd Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge took place in January 2006. The turnout was much larger than the organizers had expected. Over 150 runners participated, with at least 40 runners completing the challenge. The fastest time was set by graduate student Edwin Barry, with a time of 29 minutes, 02 seconds. The event raised $800 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital.
[edit] Third Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge
Race participation in 2007 grew over four fold. It was held on January 27 and, for the first time, significant planning went into the race. Contacts were made in the local running community of Raleigh, such as with the Raleigh Running Outfitters store owned by Jim Micheels. Sponsorships were also sought out in both money and prize donations. In contrast to the heat system the previous year, all the runners were to be released at the same time. This required the roads to be closed off and supervised by the Raleigh Police Department. New participant types were created, such as the "casual runner" and "observer" categories. This was done to accommodate interested people who wanted to participate but not eat the full dozen doughnuts.
With 1500 students and members of the Raleigh community showing up to participate, the event dwarfed the scope of previous years. Over 1,000 dozen doughnuts were made and distributed by the Krispy Kreme store and over 450 people successfully finished the Challenge. NC State Chancellor James Oblinger blew the starting whistle. Auburn Staples took first place with a time of 24 minutes, 36 seconds. Notable participants included a member of the NC State Board of Trustees, the Student body president, a man dressed as Elvis, a pair of pirates riding a shopping cart, people on rollerblades, and a student who modified a pair of crutches in order to participate. He completed the course in 1 hour, 9 minutes. [2]
Approximately $10,300 was raised for the North Carolina Children's Hospital. The event received widespread press coverage, being featured on the front page of the City & State section of Raleigh's The News & Observer, local TV stations, and radio stations.
[edit] Fourth Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge
The fourth annual event was Saturday, January 26, 2008 with a record 3,032 participated and raised over $20,000. Additional doughnuts from a Krispy Kreme store in Fayetteville, North Carolina were trucked in to meet the day's demands. [3][4]
As noted on the Krispy Kreme Challenge website, the results were as follows[5]:
[edit] Top 10 Finishers
Place — Name — Time
- Philip Curley — 31:20
- Bradley Belifore — 31:35
- Auburn Staples — 31:50
- Bobby Mills — 32:10
- Jamie Barnes — 33:18
- Patrick Quinn — 33:45
- Andy Lanier — 34:24
- John Ellis — 35:29
- Nicholas Lehman — 35:34
- Andrew Misenheimen — 35:40
[edit] Top Female Finishers
Place — Name — Time
- Laura Eynon — 39:00
- Dee Baker — 41:00
- Sarah Mulikins — 42:00
[edit] References
- ^ "Run the Krispy Kreme Challenge at NC State.", Sports Illustrated. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
- ^ Lindenfeld, Sarah. "Krispy Kreme run is sweet charity", The News & Observer, 2007-01-28. Retrieved on 2007-04-30.
- ^ "Students, police and Krispy Kreme employees contribute behind the scenes in the biggest Challenge to date", WAVY TV 10. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ "More than 3,000 turn out for Krispy Kreme run", Technician, North Carolina State. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ "Krispy Kreme Challenge >> Results", Krispy Kreme Challenge. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
