After a long grueling week of early classes, Saturday mornings usually mean sleeping in for most NC State students. Saturday, February 7th, was a different story. Instead of getting in those extra hours of sleep, many students woke up early with one thing on their mind, The Krispy Kreme Challenge.

This unique race is four miles long, beginning at NC State's Bell tower. The participants' race two miles to Krispy Kreme on Peace Street in downtown Raleigh and then race back to the bell tower. The main event of this race is not just the running, but the eating of a dozen doughnuts in the middle of the race. This is wake makes the Krispy Kreme Challenge one of the most famed races in Raleigh. Growing from 12 participants in 2004 the 2009 race had more than 5,038 runners.

"It's just one of those things you've got to experience while you're a student," said Brad Boggs, Senior in Civil Engineering at NC State. The massive crowd of people lined up on Hillsborough Street at about 9:20 a.m. There were runners as far as the eye could see. Children and even dogs were geared up to run the race. The brisk morning air quickly faded away as the crowd prepared to start running. At 9:32 a.m. the race began. The gigantic herd of people raced down the street lead by a city of Raleigh Police Car.

Once arriving at Krispy Kreme the first few participants grabbed their doughnuts, threw cups of water all over the tops of them, and began cramming them into their mouths. As more and more participants arrived at the doughnut shop some began to get sick to their stomachs. Many were not able to hold back the sickness and began throwing up the half-eaten doughnuts.

After most of the participants gulped down as many doughnuts as they could, they began the two mile run back to the bell tower to finish the race. The run back was not nearly as easy as the run there. Many participants carried their sickness from the doughnuts with them as they made their way to the finish line littering the streets with their left over consumed doughnuts. "I just knew I was going to throw-up and everyone around me was gagging but somehow I made it without puking," said Andrew Boggs, Junior in Chemical Engineering.

The event as a whole was quite an experience. Many of the racers dressed up as doughnuts, wearing inner tubes around their wastes. Some even wore Halloween costumes and bathing suits. The race was unlike any other race you'll get to experience here in Raleigh. The KKC was named as number 85 on the list of "102 More Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate" by Sports Illustrated. This race was also for a good cause. All of the money raised by the Krispy Kreme Challenge was donated to the North Carolina Children's Hospital. Coordinators of the Krispy Kreme Challenge expect even more participants for next year's race and hope to continue raising money for such a good cause.