The Krispy Kreme Challenge is an annual charity event where the profits from the race are donated to North Carolina Children’s Hospital. The challenge of the race is to run a 2.5-mile course leading to Krispy Kreme, eat a dozen donuts, and then run 2.5 miles back to the finish–all in under one hour.
I am not sure how I was so easily convinced to do this challenge, my friend just casually asked with the expectation that I would say no, but I surprised us both by agreeing to sign up. Let’s keep in mind that I had not run at all since having to run the mile in my freshman year of high school, almost eight years ago. And because I decided to do this at the last minute, I only had a week to train.
During my three days of “training,” I would go on the treadmill and start by running for as long as I could. The first time I only ran for five minutes before giving up. The next time, I got to just under a mile, and on the third day, I was able to make it to a mile. I would then walk at a speed of 3.5-4.0 mph for about a song or two, then run for the next song, and repeat this until I could not do anymore. Then, I would walk at a slower speed to cool down. I did my best to follow this routine all three days and stayed on the treadmill for a total of an hour each time.
On race day, we met at one of our friends’ houses since she lived very close to the Memorial Belltower, where the race started. Her house was about a twenty-minute walk from where I live so it was a good way to warm up. We got to the Memorial Belltower early so we could warm up and stretch before the race. Since my friends run on a regular basis, I knew I would not be able to keep up with them and would fall behind pretty quickly. I stayed with them for about the first mile before I decided to slow down to ensure I would not tire out too quickly by trying to keep up with them at their pace.
I ran for a little over a mile, then walked for a minute or two, then would run for a minute. I tried to stick to this as much as possible, though I definitely took longer walking breaks at timers. Once I made it to Krispy Kreme, I tried to look for my friends to see if I could catch up with them and eat some donuts with them, however, I could not find them. I had to stand in line for a few minutes before getting my dozen donuts. I ate four donuts, drank some water, and then was on my way again. Also, if you are like me and did not get to finish your dozen donuts, you are free to take them back with you, though the downside is that you now have to run while carrying a box of donuts. With the line being so long, I spent about ten minutes here, which was longer than I would have liked.
On the way back I was slowed down by the donuts (both the ones I ate and the ones I was carrying), but I still tried to keep the same routine I did on the way there. I definitely walked a lot more on the way back compared to on the way there. I was able to finish the race in an hour and eleven minutes, which I am proud of. As much as I would have liked to have completed the race in under an hour, I am still very proud of myself for having done this and completing it in a good amount of time.
As you can see, you do not have to be a runner to participate in this challenge at all, if I can do it I promise you guys can as well. This whole experience has made me want to get into my running era. I will definitely be participating again next year, where I hope I can run the entire five miles, eat six donuts, and complete it in under an hour.