Dashing for a dozen doughnuts

Well ladies and gentlemen, I did it. I completed the Dozen Doughnut Dash this morning. And I feel great! No, really, I do.

It was a personal UNC bucket list item of mine, one that I added last year after having covered the inaugural Dash for The Daily Tar Heel.

For those that don’t know, the Dozen Doughnut Dash is a competition modeled after N.C. State’s Krispy Kreme Challenge. Our race is a little different from theirs though. In the Dash, competitors run a 2.5-mile loop, eat a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts, and then run another 1.5-mile loop to the finish.

The race is a fundraiser for UNC Lineberger Cancer Support Center.

I decided to enter the race as a competitor- one who is committed to running the race, eating all 12 doughnuts and finishing without throwing up.

There was an option to put your doughnuts is “doughnut daycare” if you couldn’t eat them all, but competitors weren’t allowed to do that.

Well, the first loop was easy. I was by no means one of the fastest runners out there, but I finished feeling pretty well. And feeling hungry!

I got my doughnuts, and actually finished the first six without really thinking about it. It wasn’t hard, having not eaten breakfast and having just finished a run.

But the next six weren’t so easy to get down. Fellow runners crushed their doughnuts into tiny balls and some flattened two or three together to make the doughnuts easier to eat. By the end, I was smushing up my doughnuts too.

But, I finished them all! And I did so well before some ROTC guys who had started eating before me (just saying!). I felt so full!

I started the final loop after getting the “X” drawn on my race number to prove that I had finished my dozen.

I don’t think it is physically possible to just get back to the same running pace after eating that much. I power-walked and jogged the final part, finishing in just over 62 minutes. (Side note: I later learned that the top guy finished in about 28 minutes, so apparently it is physically possible.)

The event ended with a raffle and prizes for the top three guys and top two girls (I finished second!).

Would I compete again? No, probably not. In fact, I think I will live a happy life if I don’t see another glazed doughnut again, but I would recommend it to anyone who is adventurous and competitive. There are definite bragging rights available to anyone who finishes, and of course, the race entry fee and fundraising that all participants are encouraged to do is for a great cause.

Any questions for me about the race? Any comments at all? Tweet at @PitTalk or leave a comment below.