Dozen Doughnut Dash raises funds for Lineberger Center

More than 100 runners braved chilly temperatures and the threat of gastrointestinal problems to raise money for UNC’s cancer center at the University’s first-ever Dozen Doughnut Dash on Saturday.

A four-mile race along University sidewalks, the event raised about $11,700 for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, said sophomore Ty Fenton, one of the event’s organizers.

The runners began at the Old Well, ran a 2.5-mile loop, ate 12 Krispy Kreme doughnuts and then ran a 1.5-mile loop to the finish line.

Roommates Fenton and sophomore Bobby Mook, the event’s organizers, modeled the event after the Krispy Kreme Challenge — N.C. State University’s race that began in 2004 to raise money for the N.C. Children’s Hospital.

Fenton said he first got the idea when Krispy Kreme opened its doors on Franklin Street last year.

One of the main reasons the two wanted to hold the fundraiser was to honor Mook’s grandfather, who recently died of melanoma.

Friends Katie McDowell and Jaclyn Rockwell traveled more than an hour to participate in the race.

Their husbands are stationed at Fort Bragg, and they run a race together once a month.

“We like a challenge,” McDowell said.

Sophomore Reagan Henderson signed up to run the race with friends.

Henderson said eating doughnuts was the part of the race she planned on doing well.

The race began at 9 a.m.

When the runners returned to the Old Well, they grabbed cups of water and their own box of a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts.

Participants used different doughnut-eating methods to complete the task. Some runners ate two doughnuts at a time, while others crushed their doughnuts into balls and dunked them into water before eating them.

Before the runners could finish the race, they had to bring their empty doughnut boxes to a volunteer, who marked an “X” on their hand to prove they had eaten all of their doughnuts.

Thirteen-year-old Eli Rose finished eighth out of the more than 100 contestants.

“I feel pretty good,” Rose said. “It might be the sugar.”

Fenton said he was happy with the way the event turned out. He credited the event’s sponsors and the help of many student volunteers with the event’s success.

“I think it’s easy to say that my favorite part of the event was seeing everyone on the start line cheering and excited to race,” said Fenton.

“It was just amazing to see, after all our hard work, such a positive result right there in front of us.”

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