The Krispy Kreme Challenge is an annual charity event in which participants run a 2.5-mile (4 km) road course leading to a Krispy Kreme Doughnuts shop, eat one dozen doughnuts (totaling 2,400 calories and 144 grams of fat), and run the 2.5-mile (4 km) back to the finish line in under 1 hour.

[1] The event began in 2004 and is still planned and executed by Park Scholars at North Carolina State University in Raleigh N.C. Profits from the race are donated to North Carolina Children's Hospital, and the 2023 race brought total donations to over $2.1 million.

In December 2004, about a dozen friends gathered in the morning at the Belltower to try the challenge, which had begun as a college dare.

Park Scholar Sophomore Ben Gaddy completed the race in 34 minutes, 27 seconds.

After receiving positive coverage in the campus newspaper and profiled as #85 on the "102 More Things You Gotta Do Before You Graduate" by Sports Illustrated:On Campus, the event organizers decided to publicize the Krispy Kreme Challenge and turn it into a charity fundraising event.

NC State basketball player Chris McCoy is credited with dreaming up the event but it was published that she overslept that morning and did not attend.

This was done to accommodate interested people who wanted to participate but not eat the full dozen doughnuts.

Over 1,000 dozen doughnuts were made and distributed by the Krispy Kreme store and over 450 people successfully finished the Challenge.

NC State undergrad Auburn Staples took first place with a time of 24 minutes, 31 seconds.

Notable 2007 participants included a member of the NC State Board of Trustees, the Student body president, a man dressed as Elvis, a pair of pirates riding a shopping cart, people on rollerblades, and a recently injured engineering student who custom-fabricated a pair of crutches (with old shoes for tips) in order to participate.

[4] The fourth annual event was held Saturday, January 26, 2008 with a record 3,032 participating, and raised over $20,000.

Additional doughnuts from a Krispy Kreme store in Fayetteville, North Carolina were trucked in to meet the day's demands.

As the runners crossed the finish line, sensors picked up radio signals emitted by the chips and automatically recorded their time.

More than 5,500 participants took part in the student-run event this year, raising $35,000 for North Carolina Children's Hospital.

Due to safety concerns, the course was lengthened to a total distance of approximately 5 miles (8 km).

The eighteenth Krispy Kreme Challenge was supposed to be held in person on February 5, 2022, but was cancelled close to the race date due to rising COVID-19 cases in the Triangle area.

Similar to the Krispy Kreme Challenge at North Carolina State, students from KU started the race at the Campanile bell tower, ran to Muncher's bakery where they consumed one dozen donuts each, and ran back.

Florida State University is hosting their Third Annual Krispy Kreme Challenge on Saturday, February 4, 2012.

The University of Kentucky hosted their own version of the Krispy Kreme Challenge on April 17, 2010 with over 300 participants.

The 5K race started and ended at Commonwealth football stadium with a dozen doughnuts being eaten at the halfway point.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosted their First Annual Doughnut Dash in the fall 2011.