4th Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge at N.C. State University to benefit North Carolina Children's Hospital

January 22, 2008

4th Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge at N.C. State
University to benefit North Carolina Children's Hospital

RALEIGH, N.C. - One hour. Four miles. Twelve doughnuts. 2400 calories. Thousands of dollars to North Carolina Children's Hospital! North Carolina State University students and their supporters will participate in the fourth annual Krispy Kreme Challenge on Saturday, January 26, 2008, in an effort to raise money for North Carolina Children's Hospital in Chapel Hill. Nearly 1,400 students took part in last year's Krispy Kreme Challenge, and organizers expect more than 2,000 registrants this year.
     
Challenge participants run two miles from the N.C. State Belltower to the Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store on Peace Street, eat a dozen doughnuts, and then run two miles back to the Belltower. To successfully complete the Challenge, participants must complete the entire Challenge in less than 60 minutes.
     
The inaugural Krispy Kreme Challenge started as a dare among ten N.C. State students back in December 2004. When the Challenge made the pages of Sports Illustrated: On Campus the following year, word about the zany event quickly spread, and organizers decided to turn it into a charity fundraiser. The second annual Krispy Kreme Challenge in January 2006 drew more than 150 runners—40 of whom successfully completed the Challenge—and raised $800 for North Carolina Children's Hospital. Last year's third annual Challenge in January 2007 was exponentially more successful, drawing nearly 1,400 total participants and raising more than  $10,000 for N.C. Children's Hospital. Approximately 600 runners successfully completed last year’s Challenge, one of them setting a new time record of 24:32.
     
The challenge has enjoyed the continued support of Herman Dubose, owner of the Peace Street Krispy Kreme store in Raleigh; Jim Micheels, owner of Raleigh Running Outfitters; and Raleigh-based apparel company, Bay Six USA. This year, local businesses such as Village Draft House and Ba Da Wings will support the event with corporate donations and donated prizes. This year’s prizes include a $100 gift card to Tir Na Nog Irish Pub, gift certificates to Harris Teeter, and $40 to Cameron Village’s Café Carolina and Bakery. Prizes will be awarded to the first five runners and first three teams who successfully complete the Challenge, as well as to the competitors who best exemplify the light-hearted spirit of the race. Last year’s top ten competitors all finished the Challenge in under 31 minutes, averaging less than 8 minutes per mile on the four-mile course.
   
Online registration is open at www.krispykremechallenge.com. For $15, participants can register as a full Challenger (i.e., committing to eat a dozen doughnuts) or a Casual Runner, eating as few doughnuts as they prefer. For companies and organizations that prefer to register a team of six or more runners, registration packets are also available by mail. The registration fee includes both the doughnuts and an event t-shirt. Casual spectators or supporters may additionally purchase t-shirts online for $10 each or make a general donation in the amount of their choice.
     
The Krispy Kreme Challenge will start at 9 a.m. on January 26, with onsite check-ins beginning at 8 a.m. at the N.C. State Belltower. There will be additional pre-race check-ins the week leading up to the race.
     
Members of the press are invited to cover this unique event. The public is also encouraged to attend and lend their support. Participants will run a route that takes them down Peace Street to the Krispy Kreme store at the intersection of Peace Street and Person Street. Spectators often arrive at the Krispy Kreme store as early as 8 a.m. in anticipation of the doughnut-eating spectacle, while others congregate at the N.C. State Belltower to witness the beginning and end of the race.
     
For more information about the Krispy Kreme Challenge, please visit www.krispykremechallenge.com.
     
The Krispy Kreme Challenge is not operated by Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation or its affiliates. The Krispy Kreme trademark and Bowtie logo are registered trademarks of HDN Development Corporation, and are used under license from HDN Development Corporation.

Hospital Media contact: Danielle M. Bates, 919-843-9714 or dbates@med.unc.edu

Krispy Kreme Challenge media contact: Theresa Crowgey, 919-920-1724
or Trcrowge@ncsu.edu
     
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
Each year, more that 60,000 children from all 100 counties across the state make over 200,000 visits to North Carolina Children's Hospital. The hospital relocated to a state-of-the-art facility in 2002, which includes a comprehensive children's outpatient center and 136 inpatient beds in a child-friendly, family-focused environment. It is the first children's hospital in North Carolina to bring together complete inpatient and outpatient care in one location. For more information about North Carolina Children's Hospital, please visit the NCCH website at www.ncchildrenshospital.org.

ABOUT UNC HEALTH CARE
The UNC Health Care System is a not-for-profit integrated health care system owned by the state of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill. It exists to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina and to provide state-of-the-art patient care. UNC Health Care is comprised of UNC Hospitals, ranked consistently among the best medical centers in the country; the UNC School of Medicine, a nationally eminent research institution; community practices; home health and hospice services in seven central North Carolina counties; and Rex Healthcare and its provider network in Wake County.