Organizers for the Krispy Kreme Challenge are expecting a surge in participants from last year’s 1,400, with expectations between 2,000 and 3,000, according to co-chair Barton Strawn, a junior in architecture.
The challenge on Saturday will be the fourth-annual, and co-chair Thomas Finch, a senior in biochemistry, said it has grown significantly since it began.
“[The first year], 12 friends got together and decided to do it for fun,” he said.
The following year, there were around 140 challengers, and that multiplied by 10 for last year’s event, Finch said. Proceeds will still go to the N.C. Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill.
They donate to the N.C. Children’s Promise, which Strawn said is a general fund that the hospital can use for anything it needs.
“We’re looking on building out relationship with the Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill,” he said. “As we gain publicity and as we get a little more money, we can make a bigger impact over there.”
According to Strawn, organizers will encourage as many people to come as possible but must have some registration restrictions to keep it organized.
“We plan on closing down online registration hopefully at 3,000 people,” Strawn said. “If we do happen to hit that, we are going to still allow registration at our pre-race check-in.”
Strawn said 1,024 people have already registered, and with over a week to go, and registration days in the Brickyard next Wednesday and Thursday, they expect a big turnout.
“We’re encouraging [the registration days] because it gives us a chance to connect with the N.C. State community a little more,” he said.
The challenge involves running two miles from the Bell Tower to the Peace Street Krispy Kreme, eating a dozen donuts and running back.
The race is much more well-known this year, according to Jordan Pung, also a co-chair and a junior in biomedical engineering, and the growth has made for a lot more planning in the event.
“We definitely have to be more organized, so it’s not completely chaotic on the day [of the race],” he said. “We like it to be somewhat chaotic — that’s part of the event.”
The event’s organizers have heard complaints in the past for not completing the challenge themselves, Strawn said, so some of the committee members are planning to complete the race the Friday night before the event.
“We want people to get the chance to come out and make fun of us as we complete the challenge,” Pung said.
Finch said that while he thinks it’s a good idea, he will not be competing the night before the challenge.
“I’ll probably be so busy [preparing],” he said. “I’m not planning on sleeping the night before the race.”
