1 hour
4 miles
12 donuts
2400 calories
It’s a 2 mile run from NC State’s bell tower to the Krispy Kreme in downtown Raleigh, a rush to eat 12 original glazed donuts, and a 2 mile run back. That, in a nutshell is the “Krispy Kreme Challenge.” But there are a few more numbers that really describe how crazy this event has become: 3,000 people signed up this year and were able to donate over $20,000 to the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. This is just the fourth time this event has occurred and the growth has been exponential each time. When you watch footage from this race, it’s hard to tell if you’re watching a marathon or a zombie flick. I rounded up some competitive eating tips the night before the race. I think they were pretty effective because I didn’t throw up at all, unlike a lot of the challengers. So here was my strategy:

  • Drink a ton of water the night before, have a little in the morning
  • Eat a huge amount of dense, but low calorie food, like salad or cabbage the night before to expand your stomach (it’d probably be a lot more effective if this was done for days beforehand)
  • Eat something small the morning of: a banana is always a good compromise
  • Eat the donuts in stacks; I used stacks of three
  • Dunk the donuts in water (if that doesn’t gross you out too much)

I’m sure some people will take issue with the health aspects of this race. You know what? I don’t think it’s that bad. Sure, the running doesn’t offset the calories in the donuts, but it’s just one day. Some dieters even think that occasionally spiking caloric intake is an effective weight loss tool.

I finished in 1:03, technically not completing the challenge (you need to get in under an hour), but surpassing my expectations. I couldn’t even jog a single mile this time last year, so I’m pretty happy. And there’s always next year:

Krispy Kreme Challenge