Category Archives: Krispy Kreme Challenge

The Krispy Kreme Challenge And Me

Posted on by
Leave a reply

For more of Michael Naclerio’s photos from the Krispy Kreme Challenge, check out a photo slideshow by following this link.

RALEIGH — I am a failure.

I know this, because I watched a post-menopausal lady eat a dozen doughnuts in the time it took me to eat eight. I then watched her run off while I stood, doubled over, in front of a gas station on Peace Street, trying in vain to keep the pounds of deep-fried dough and sugar in my stomach. I realized at that point, as I regurgitated doughnut No. 9, that I had made a terrible mistake in running the Krispy Kreme Challenge.

I woke up early Saturday morning and drove to Raleigh, parking my car in a deck in the middle of the N.C. State campus. I then trekked over to the area around the Bell Tower to register for the race. I was immediately struck by the utter absurdity of the entire situation–attire was, if I could best describe it, Tailgate-lite: There was a guy in a women’s swimsuit, a couple of ‘Where’s Waldo?’ doppelgangers and an overabundance of body paint. ESPN was there, and there were television crews recording the whole sordid scene. At the registration tent, I found out that there had been a slight mix-up, and I would not be running the race as an actual registered runner. (Don’t worry, I’m giving a donation to the hospital because I didn’t get to pay the entry fee).

I lined up with 5,000 other runners, as well as hundreds of spectators watching from the side of the road. The race began, and, as inspirational music blared (think Eye of the Tiger), we began to run.

My first thought: This isn’t that bad. It was downhill almost the entire way to the restaurant.

Continue reading →

Video: Krispy Kreme Challenge

Posted on by
1 Reply

The Chronicle sent multiple reporters to run in the Krispy Kreme Challenge Saturday in Raleigh–immersion journalism at its finest–and while none of our reporters beat the winning time of 29:50, they did have just as much fun. And that’s all that counts, right?

Three videos below: Arriving at the Challenge, catching up with ESPN’s embed and arriving at the Krispy Kreme station. Apologies for the shaky camera and lack of breath.

Checking In Before The Krispy Kreme Challenge

Posted on by
Leave a reply

I considered posting my last will and testament at the end of this blog entry–for tomorrow, I run.

My training has gone well this week. I jogged outside at a conversational pace, per Jan Ogilvie’s instructions. I swam once, but the water was cold, so I got out after a few minutes. I watched my diet and only went to Chick-fil-a three times. I researched competitive eating tactics, like soaking the doughnuts in water. I feel fit and loose and ready.

Like a cheetah before the strike.

Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m., I will join an estimated 5,000 other runners, as well as an ESPN crew, outside of the Bell Tower on N.C. State’s campus to embark on an epic journey to the Krispy Kreme on Peace Street. There, I will eat a dozen doughnuts and run back to the Bell Tower. The forecast calls for clear skies and 65 degree weather.

Sounds like a day for legends to be made.

Crafting A Training Regimen For The Krispy Kreme Challenge

Posted on by
3 Replies

For the first time ever, The Chronicle has assigned a writer to cover the Krispy Kreme Challenge to be held Saturday in Raleigh.

This writer will run two mile to the restaurant, eat a dozen Krispy Kremes and run two miles back-all in under an hour.

This task has fallen to me.

I am not totally sure why I have decided to do this. I work out very irregularly, and when I do run, I’m not exactly Usain Bolt-or Forrest Gump. I am, however, taking this endeavor seriously, and three days ago, I interviewed Jan Ogilvie, the former women’s cross country coach and a familiar face to those who frequent Brodie Gym, where she teaches physical education classes.

I entered the interview in hopes of receiving a training regimen. What I got was a cold hard dose of reality:

So, how should I train for this?

The problem is, when you train for something, for instance, if you go out on the track and run a mile, you don’t run at mile pace the whole time. You build a base, so in order to train for something like this, which sounds ludicrous in the middle, but essentially you’re running a four mile race.

Oh, you’ve got to do it in under an hour.

OK, what I would do is have a car sitting nearby so you can jump into it halfway through your first mile and take it to the doughnut station.

I don’t think I can do that. Should I run this week to build up for the race?

Basically, the last week before the race, you should be tapering. You should have already built up for the race. Essentially, right now, what you’re trying to do is dig yourself out of a hole. If I had to say, though, what I would do is to jog at a reasonable pace this week, and rotate that with swimming. Three or four days before this, you don’t want to be building up, because you will get out of the car and not be able to move. You’re doing this whole thing backwards. I would definitely have a stretcher at the end, and maybe a wastebasket…. You should not run it, but jog it. Can you take the doughnuts with you on the last leg?

I don’t know, would that be smart?

It’s not smart no matter how you do it. But what I would do is jog easy and drink plenty of liquids. This is still probably one of the most ludicrous things I’ve ever heard.