They came. They ran. And despite the rain, they conquered.

Uncooperative weather was apparently no match for participants in the eighth annual Krispy Kreme Challenge on Saturday as throngs of people took to Hillsborough Street to run this unique N.C. State tradition.

The Krispy Kreme Challenge is an annual race from the Belltower to the Krispy Kreme on Peace Street, 2 miles away, and back—but once the Challengers arrive at the Krispy Kreme they are given a box of a dozen glazed donuts to hurry and eat before racing back to the Belltower.

For veteran runners like Taylor Myers, the prospect of finishing such a race—even with the almost-freezing rain—is more than enough motivation to keep going.

“The rain didn’t affect me at all. It rained last year too so I thought if I could do it last year I could do it again this year. I run better when it’s cold outside anyway,” Myers said. “This experience is awesome though. It’s a really cool feeling when we’re starting and seeing all the people running and then a really cool feeling coming back and seeing all the people cheering for you.”

Many runners chose to forgo eating all of their donuts, but still opted to run the race, including Maura Carter, sophomore in biology.

 ”We ran the race because we heard it was a lot of fun—something you have to do—and it raises money for a great cause. I think our experience was a bit different from everyone else’s because we didn’t actually eat the donuts, but I think this is a good first step. Maybe next year we’ll graduate to eating the donuts,” Carter said. “But we saw some pretty crazy things. There were people wearing onesies, and people not wearing much of anything; there was a guy with a big donut on his head. It was insane.”

Whether the runners were challengers or casual runners, people were definitely cheering, including freshman chemical engineering major Allison Coats and freshman civil engineering major Tiffany Preddy, who came out like so many others to support their friends and family in the race.

“Our bible study leaders are running, and so our members of our bible study wanted to support him even though it’s raining. I mean at first we were like ‘Do we really want to come out in this?’ But then we decided it was worth it,” Preddy said. “It’s a good tradition, and it’s cool to be a part of it.”

For some, the tradition is so ingrained in their memories of their college lives that they decide to continue to run the race even after graduation, such as a group of five men, two of which were 2009 N.C. State alumni.  They had a different approach to coordinating costumes.

“Our experience was epic. Honestly, we did this for the story,” Sean McBride, one of the alumni said. “We’re five guys dressed in Suggies who come out here every year just because; it’s a tradition.”