Krispy Kreme Challenge begins registration

Registration has opened for the Krispy Kreme Challenge, an event where participants run from the Belltower to the Krispy Kreme in downtown Raleigh, eat a dozen doughnuts and run back to the Bell Tower, within a one-hour period.

Organized by students, the event will be the third annual challenge, with the proceeds going the N.C. Children's Hospital.

Chris McCoy, a 2006 alumnus and basketball player, came up with the idea as a challenge for him and a few of his friends in 2004, and the idea continued to flourish and develop after that first year.

The event became a fundraiser before last year's challenge, as Greg Mulholland, a senior in computer and electrical engineering and one of the founders of the event, said they coordinated with Dance Marathon volunteers.

The proceeds of the event go to the Children's Hospital after the event itself is covered, with participants paying a registration fee to participate and receive free T-shirts. This year, there are different categories for students to register for, including competitive and non-competitive.

"As much as it is a fundraiser, we don't make our prices high enough that we make a big donation," Mulholland said. "We decided it was about having a good time."

Mulholland said the organizers have approached the Parks Alumni Association to help out because so many of the members are Park scholars. The organizers hope to get sponsorship and tax-free status from the Association.

This year, Mulholland said, organizers are encouraging people to register early to make sure they have enough T-shirts and doughnuts. The event will take place Jan. 27 at 9 a.m.

Organizers are attempting to work with Raleigh Police to have the road blocked off for race participants during the challenge. Because this will be costly, according to Mulholland, the registration fee has increased slightly, but they hope to cover costs an increased number of participants.

Mulholland said even though the challenge is intrinsically tied to the Dance Marathon, it is in fact, independent. The event, though, does rely heavily on Dance Marathon volunteers.

Greg Wilson, freshman in fisheries and wildlife sciences and one of the event's publicists, said the organizers have been trying to solicit sponsors from different businesses and organizations around Raleigh.

"We started planning early. We got support," he said. "We're trying to get even more support."

According to Mulholland, after McCoy and a friend came up with the idea for the Krispy Kreme Challenge, their group of friends decided to take on the challenge but McCoy ended up sleeping in.

Mulholland said he and some of his friends went ahead and attempted the challenge, something that was originally intended to be "a stupid thing 12 guys did."

After word got out about the challenge, the event gained publicity from various sources and was added to the list of "102 Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate," in Sports Illustrated on Campus. The challenge continued to grow from there and became annual.

"I want to see [the Krispy Kreme Challenge] grow into an N.C. State tradition," Mulholland said. "At least 60 percent of the [volunteers] are freshmen, so having them come on board so quickly, next year and for the years to come, it'll continue to grow and grow until people wonder how N.C. State would be without it."

According to Mulholland, last year, the original organizers of the event started planning for the event after winter break, which was not enough time because although the week before the event, they had 75 people registered, 126 people actually showed up.

"We had a hard time dealing with the numbers," he said. "Last year, we decided we can't do this on our own. We need serious manpower."

The manager at Krispy Kreme donates the first 50 dozen doughnuts and sells the rest at a reduced price for the challenge.

Michael Shields, a senior in animal science, said he is considering participating with his friends in the challenge this year.

"I always thought I wanted to because it always sounded neat, and it was for a good cause," he said. "It would be fun to do with friends."

Shields said it could possibly become a tradition for the University since it does not have that many traditions.

"I hope it continues," Mulholland said. "I know after last year, some people who didn't know about the event were kind of angry they didn't know."

Mulholland said he hopes the challenge will be here 25 years from now when he returns for his reunion.

"The people doing it, they're good people," Wilson said. "They do it because it's something they like, something they do for fun, and now it's helping other people."

Wilson said this is his first year doing it and said if he can "dodge" throwing up, he will be fine.