The Chicago skyline was barely visible in the morning haze as the participants gathered at Northwestern University’s Lakefill just before 10 a.m. on Sunday. With the exception of one young man in a Speedo, the crowd was largely clad in a vibrant array of winter hats and coats.
The temperature was 38 degrees Fahrenheit and rain seemed inevitable, but these runners weren’t worried about the weather. They were focused on the Krispy Kreme 5K that awaited.
“It’s a really great event that takes a mix of two unlikely things [doughnuts and running] and puts them together,” said 19-year-old runner Miguel Baliwag, a Northwestern chemical engineering major from Berkeley, California.
The event, which is hosted by Northwestern Triathlon Club, was held during the university’s Family Weekend. Pre-registration cost $15 for students, $20 for family members, and $30 for community members.
“We use the money to subsidize our trips to different races and nationals and for people who are unable to pay their dues,” said Emma Feldman, Triathlon Club Fundraising and Relations Chair, “and then 10 percent of the proceeds go to World Bicycle Relief.”
Triathlon Club has hosted the race since 2011, but until now, the runners’ final times were calculated after the race by subtracting time for each doughnut they ate.
“This year, we have a new advisor, Scott Ogawa, and he was really excited to create a race where the person who crossed the finish line first was the winner,” said Feldman, “so we changed it so that there are different doughnut stations and depending on how many doughnuts you eat, you run less distance.”
Ray Ramljak, 44, of Schaumburg, IL, has run in the race every year and also participated in the original Krispy Kreme Challenge in Raleigh, North Carolina three years ago. He won last year’s Krispy Kreme 5K by eating 15 doughnuts to lower his final time from 25:04 to 10:04. His strategy with the new rules this year was simple: “I’ll just eat ‘em as fast as I can.”
Considering that there is a two minute penalty for regurgitation, others decided on an approach with minimal eating.
“I feel like there’s an optimal doughnut to running ratio,” Baliwag said, “and it doesn’t involve that many donuts.”
Among those trying to find the perfect ratio were some members of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign triathlon team, who make the trip to Northwestern every year. Although they didn’t sweep the top nine spots like frontman Griffin Bojan of Highland Park, IL had predicted, their own Jean-Baptiste Bouvier found success with 12 doughnuts.
“When I began, I wanted to eat 20, but then I changed my strategy because I assumed I could win,” said 22-year-old Bouvier, a graduate aerospace engineering student from Lyon, France. “I didn’t think so from the start. I wasn’t running for the win.”
Bouvier’s final time of 17 minutes and 9 seconds won him first place out of 99 racers. He and the other top finishers received bags, water bottles, sunglasses, and gift cards donated by Wheel and Sprocket.