At the second annual Tallahassee Krispy Kreme Challenge on 5 February 2011, 2010 champion Justin Harbor was not on hand to defend his title.Does anyone do this thing twice?
Trying it once to see if you can do it is almost understandable--run four miles, stopping midway to scarf down a dozen Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnuts, and complete the course in less than an hour. But after that, well, there are better ways to enjoy a four-mile run or a box of doughnuts.
Still, there are plenty of folks who haven't tried it yet, and drawing on that population, hundreds showed up for Tallahassee's 2011 edition of the Challenge. The course was slightly different from last year, but still made a circuit of the FSU campus, starting and finishing in the shadow of the Westcott Building. The doughnut "loading zone" was near the Devoe Moore University Center, and what went on there is better imagined than described. I have a good enough imagination that I stayed well away from it.
On the way to the doughnut loading zone, Peter Wood was the clear leader, wearing a cape and running well ahead of the rest of the field. Post doughnuts, it wasn't so easy to see how the race was unfolding. Some runners competed as "Slackers," eating only one doughnut. Still others were "Butterflies," eating no doughnuts at all. For the spectator, it was hard to pick out the true "Challengers" from these pretenders.
If it was hard for the spectators, it wasn't easy for the competitors, either. Peter Wood knew that he had taken a long time to down his dozen doughnuts, but he didn't know that one of the runners ahead of him was another Challenger, Nate Sukolsky. Sukolsky crossed the line in 31:41, five seconds ahead of Wood's 31:46. Ten minutes later the first female Challenger, Taylor Leedy, lurched to the top of the hill on Copeland Street and the finish line, clocking 41:05. 
Even after the one hour limit was up, unsuccessful Challengers continued to make their way up the hill toward the finish line, although the FSU police working traffic control opened the street to vehicles and tore down the finish chute.With two years in the history books and an older parent event at N.C. State in Raleigh, it looks like the Krispy Kreme Challenge is here to stay, much like hot-dog eating contests and Beer Miles.
Links:
- More photos of the 2011 Tallahassee Krispy Kreme Challenge
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3079740&id=5215641&l=3ec79d4576 - Even more photos of the 2011 Tallahassee Krispy Kreme Challenge
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3079821&id=5215641&l=4a07f696a3 - "A dozen glazed or 26.2 paved? Tallahassee chooses!"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/02/doughnut-marathon.html - "The Homer Price Challenge? It's not Goofy!"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2011/02/homer-price-challenge.html - The 2010 KKC: "Harbor holds on to his lunch at the Challenge"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/01/harbor-holds-on-to-his-lunch-at.html - "Tallahassee joins the Krispy Kreme Challenge circuit"
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2010/01/tallahassee-joins-krispy-kreme.html - Find less stomach-wrenching races in the Tallahassee region at Trouble Afoot!
http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
Poor Peter Wood blew his doughnuts just before the finish line, then again 4 more times as he exited the "chute." This act disqualified Wood & prompted the race director to make an impassioned phone call to the folks who were supposed to have supplied vomit receptacles (trash cans) but hadn't brought any to the finish line! This event is so much fun to watch! Thanks for the pics & story, Herb!
ReplyDeletejudy
I've heard a couple of different versions of Wood's passage through the finish chute; Wood himself did not add his own account. I saw the trash cans at the end of the chute, and was less than favorable impressed by how poor the Challengers' aim had been. But now that you've told me the trash cans hadn't been there the whole time, I guess it wasn't a problem of aim after all.
ReplyDelete"Does anyone do this thing twice?"
ReplyDeleteI've done it twice. I got second last year and was hoping to improve on that. But, like last year, my prowess in the loading zone wasn't enough to make up for what I lack in running speed. I plan to be back for thirds next year; and maybe I'll even train harder for the run portion.
See, that's why I'd like to see FSU SUW publish complete results of their Krispy Kreme Challenge. Otherwise, stories like yours go undocumented and unnoticed.
ReplyDeleteHerb.