Atomic Time Addiction: 2009 Krispy Kreme Challenge Race Report!

Some things in life are just too crazy to imagine. Like having this guy as a neighbor:

Yes, it's a zany world out there. Enter the Krispy Kreme Challenge.

Brainchild of NC State University students several years ago, the concept is simple. Run 2 miles from the NC State Bell Tower to the Krispy Kreme donut shop on Peace Street, eat a dozen glazed donuts, run back. All this of course, in one hour. For those of you counting, that's 2400 calories in one sitting!

The race has been a phenomenal success. In fact this year attendance was the greatest ever recorded, 5519 runners raising over $35,000 for the NC Childrens Hospital. Good for them.

Now onto the festivities.

Saturday February 7, 2009

My day begins at 02:30 hrs and goes like this- Wake up, perform the Chi ceremony, eat, dress, and drive 3 hours to Raleigh, NC. Thanks to Ron Horton (www.tricharlotte.com) and a Magellan Roadmate GPS unit, I find my way without a hitch. The time is 0735 hrs. I follow friendly volunteers directing me with silly orange flags to the parking deck just a half mile away from the Bell Tower. I'm a happy camper.

The Check-in Area

Walking down to the check in area, I'm surprised there aren't more people hanging around. Well it is 0745 hrs and this is a college crowd. I get my race bib, t-shirt, and timing chip then hump back to the parking deck and wait. It's a little chilly this morning but temperatures are expected to warm up later. Still, I decide to run in my lightweight running jacket. Looking back, I could have done without it.

Operative word- EAT!

The race is slated to begin at 0930 hrs. so I walk back up to the start around 0830 hrs to take in the crowd. Glad I did.

It was a complete circus. Combine a 4 mile run, 12 glazed donuts, a time limit, and you can guess who's gonna show up. Lunatics, geeks, and costumed fools. I'm right at home.

There's an assortment of characters. Some of the most memorable ones I saw were the Bridesmaids, a guy in a tuxedo, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Elvis, Superman, a cow, Santa Claus in a large red foam cowboy hat, and other assorted misfits.

This is gonna be a good run........

Santa gettin' down!

The Bridesmaids

No race is complete without Thing 1 and Thing 2!

COW!

Superman and Elvis! All is well!

This guy was nothing but warm

What? Donuts without coffee? NAW!

Tuxedo Man

Time to check out the port-a-johns. They have only 10 for this event. A little on the slim side but it doesn't cause a problem. While I stood in line I struck up a converstation with a veteran Krispy Kreme Challenger and asked him if they had water at the donut shop. "Oh, it'll be zoo down there, you better bring your own water" is what I was told. This ended up being the best advice of the day.

All in a row

I make my way to the official Start and get right up front. It's about 10 minutes before the start and people are still trickling in. I look over my left shoulder to a group of guys that have constructed a Viking warship out of cardboard complete with a dragon mast and tail. Heck, there's two of them! I'm cracking up with laughter until I look to my right. It's a guy wearing a red negligee. Well, Valentines day is just around the corner.

Scene at the Start

The gun sounds and we all begin running. I'm always worried at the start of a race. So many people pushing and wanting to get up front. It's prime time for a fall. But this is different.. Everyone behaves themselves and the pack evens out.

Now the path to the Krispy Kreme shop on Peace Street is virtually all down hill. I can't help but think the return trip is going to be brutal. It's all good. I should be on a good sugar high on the flip side.

Arriving at the donuts shop was interesting. They directed you around the back of the shop then back toward the front. All of this is designed to control the crowd of runners but there's still chaos. All along the perimeter of the parking lot were tables containing boxes of donuts and I only saw one table that had any water being distributed. Glad I brought my own.

The Smash 2 and Cram technique was good to me!

I grabbed a box of glazed, wandered off to a nice spot near a curb, and began the process of consumption. "Less talk, more eat" was my motto. The technique that worked the best was dubbed "smash 2 and cram". It was pretty simple- devour two donuts at a time by smashing them together like a sandwich and cramming them into your mouth. After each course you definitely needed a sip of water or risk choking on the sugary mush in your mouth.

The process continued until the box was empty. Everything went well until the last two donuts. They were definitely the hardest to get down. Success! I got all twelve down...........and they stayed down!

Thank goodness I overheard someone say you had to show your empty box before you were allowed through the timing chip tunnel for the return trip home.

I'm off. It's an uphill run, but after all , you're on the greatest sugar high on earth! I settle into a comfortable pace and enjoy the sensation of my feet gliding above the asphalt. I'm not Italian at this moment, I'm a Kenyan. A fleet footed Kenyan..... Yippee!!!!!!!!!

Before long I see the Bell Tower in the distance and cross the timing mats. The beeping is amazingly loud for some reason. Could it be all this damn sugar in my system? Maybe.

Scene at the finish

In the Finish area volunteers cut off your ankle strap timing chip and directed you through a fence tunnel out the opposite side of the Tower. It worked pretty well and kept the crowd moving but I've heard others complain of a massive bottleneck in this area afterwards. Oh well, maybe next year the organizers can work out the kinks.

The insanity is finally over

This run was a blast! It's definitely one to run again (with friends). Next year I'll have a costume for sure.

The Results

I'm pleased with my times considering the remarkable physical and mental ability required to complete such a gastronomical event. Here's how I stacked up.

-- ran the first 2 miles in 17:42 (8:51 pace)

-- consumed 12 donuts in 11:10

-- ran the final 2 miles in 19:23 (9:42 pace).

-- Placed 349th overall in the Challenger Division

Total time 48:03. YEEHAW!!!!!!

This is the best YouTube video I've seen so far. Thanks meddyteddy!

Post Race Fun

After the race I met Russ and Mandy Barringer in Durham, NC for a beer. Russ and I hooked up on the Trans America Bicycle Trail last year and have kept in touch ever since. It was great to see them and the kids.