The Krispy Kreme Challenge In the Archives
January 28, 2019
This Saturday, February 2, an amazing event is going to happen, involving donuts, running, and raising money for a great cause.
The Krispy Kreme Challenge has been a yearly NC State tradition since 2004, a wacky relay race fundraiser for the UNC Children's Hospital. The race takes off at NC State's Memorial Bell Tower, and participants run 2.5 miles to Raleigh Downtown's historic Krispy Kreme store, eat a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts, and then run all the way back to the Bell Tower. Yes, dramatically upset stomachs from the sugary donuts do occur. In its 14 years, the event has raised over $1.5 million and has inspired other national donut runs.
The part of Special Collections Research Center's Rare & Unique Digital Collections is the collection Edward T. Funkhouser Photographs, photos documenting the recent history of NC State and North Carolina. Here are some photos of the 2009 Krispy Kreme Challenge.
Another item in our collections is the 2007 constitution of the student organization for the Krispy Kreme Challenge.
NC State students have had fundraisers selling Krispy Kreme before, like in this photo for the Sailing Club.
Students fundraising by selling Krispy Kreme donuts, circa 1990
If you're interested in the history of Krispy Kreme, we have architectural drawings for a 1947 Winston-Salem Krispy Kreme Mix Blend Plant.
You can register to run in the Krispy Kreme Challenge at their website or donate here to the UNC Children's hospital without all that running and sugar.
These featured collections have also helped our students in their studies and research, as graduate students in David Zonderman's fall 2018 Museum Studies class made use of these and others in creating an exhibit highlighting the history of the Krispy Kreme Challenge. The exhibit is on display until March 8, 2019, in Withers Hall.
If you would like to learn more about the Special Collection Research Center and our thousands of digitized materials, please visit the Rare and Unique Digital Collections for access to images, video, audio recordings, and textual materials documenting NC State's student activities and other topics. You can also visit Historical State for a timeline of the history of the NC State. To view Special Collections materials in person, please contact us through our online request form.