It’s a tradition that every student knows well and awaits in anticipation. This tradition, which incorporates running and donuts, is the last combination you’d believe would go together. Yet every year, students and community members alike come together to raise money for a good cause.
Eric Warren, the race director of the Krispy Kreme Challenge and a fourth-year studying biomedical engineering, explained why he decided to direct the race.
“It was something a lot of people really got behind,” Warren said. “[It’s] fully student-led, which I really like because of a lot of organizations of this scale are led by different companies and [the] school.”
Mallory Bryan, the pre-race director of the Krispy Kreme Challenge and a third-year studying biomedical engineering, explained her reasons for helping with the challenge.
“I decided to help with the Krispy Kreme Challenge because I’m actually a child cancer survivor, so supporting the UNC Children’s Hospital is really important to me,” Bryan said.
As Bryan mentioned, the donations help save children’s lives.
“The purpose is to raise as much money as possible to donate to the UNC Children’s Hospital,” Warren said. “So we’re an unrestricted donor to them, which means that we give them a sum of money and they can do whatever they want with it.”
The hospital also provides them with a secure and comfortable environment, as Bryan mentioned.
“I actually just recently visited the hospital,” Bryan said. “It was amazing to see actual places that our donations have gone, and there are huge murals on the walls and so many different things that were able to be paid for by our donations.”
Through the Krispy Kreme Challenge, people from all “runs” of life are able to come together and contribute to children suffering from cancer.
“The purpose of the Krispy Kreme Challenge is to get students so excited and engaged, as well as the Raleigh community, about raising money for UNC Children’s [Hospital], and get the entire community to unite under one cause,” Bryan said.
Even though running five miles in under an hour doesn’t sound appealing, the race allows everyone to take on the challenge.
“I think what makes it fun for everyone is that you don’t know how many people do it,” Bryan said. “I think that participation is my biggest draw to it. Obviously, Krispy Kreme donuts are delicious, and the run is fun. You see everyone in costumes together and all the people coming to Hillsborough at 7 a.m. in the morning, and we have over 6,000 runners.”
Additionally, there are also many ways to register for the run, making it easy for everyone to participate.
“You can register in person on Thursday [Jan. 31] in Talley Expo, which is going to be in the State Ballroom, or you can register on race day,” Warren said. “If you don’t want to register, you can volunteer on the Krispy Kreme Challenge website.”
The Krispy Kreme Challenge provides a way for the entire community to come together, have fun and support a good cause.
“A large majority of the people that run the Krispy Kreme Challenge are a devoted fan base in the Raleigh area, who get to run it as a community year after year,” Warren said. “This is our 15th year, and the same group of people from Raleigh come to support this cause and the students who put it together, so I think it’s a great show of community not only for the Raleigh area, but for the NC State students specifically.”
Finally, Warren emphasized a few reasons to join in on the yearly tradition.
“Make sure you register,” Warren said. “It’s something that you absolutely have to do before you graduate. It’s really fun. You don’t have to eat the donuts if you don’t want to… You can just walk the whole time or jog some, and you can take the donuts home with you. It’s just for fun and for charity.”
The Krispy Kreme Challenge will be held on Feb. 2. The race will start at 8 a.m. at the NC State Belltower and go through downtown Raleigh. More information about the race can be found at krispykremechallenge.com.
