the race started and tim and i started weaving to find some space. we settled in to a decent pace about .5 mile in, but never pushed it too hard since we wanted to be comfortable when we started eating.

we made it to the KKC in 15:39 and grabbed a box and some water near the front of the building. we found a spot to sit but the parking lot was filling very quickly. the first 3 doughnuts were all laughs and tasted great. what a fun idea. we realized we were running low on water already so tim got a few more cups and we finished the second 3 without a lot of trouble. it took us 6:45 to eat the first 6 and we were doing fine, but things were going downhill fast. no one was looking good at this point and everyone was getting pretty quiet. each doughnut became an effort to get through and the place took on the feeling of a 3rd world sweat shop. a lot of people bunched tightly together quietly working away at your task. there was the occasional glance into the eyes of the person next to you and a shake of the head as you both wondered how you got into this position and how could you get out of it without anyone knowing you quit or more importantly, without taking another bite.

the 10th and 11th were the worst. i never felt full, but i was actually gagging with every bite. my body was rejecting them like i was trying to do shots of bourbon. i knew i was in trouble when i couldn't even manage to bite all the way through to the hole. i considered moving to the street and slamming then down knowing they would come back up, but i hadn't seen anyone puke yet and didn't think being the first was a good idea.

i finally got the 12th down and felt surprisingly good. as long as i wasn't actually trying to eat one, i was ok. tim was still finishing so i went over to talk to dck who was similarly miserable. he still had 2 left, and we were nearing the cut-off so once tim was done, we headed out. it took 23 minutes to eat the last 6!

the run back was pretty uneventful. we saw some nice piles of puke, but noone actually in the act. tim threw up some water shortly into the run, but other than that we just kind of plodded back. i was ready for a bathroom, but knowing i didn't have to eat another doughnut, i was ok running. we ended up missing the cut-off by a few minutes, but we finished the doughnuts and the race.

who knows. eat faster? eat more doughnuts for a while to get used to the sugar? drink more water. drink less water? eat something so i wasn't on an empty stomach? i feel confident i will never perfect the KKC.

didn't see any bathrooms so we took off to go back to the hotel. ate nothing for ~5 hours and then had a big salad.


great event and great race. i definitely underestimated what it would be like to eat that many doughnuts. if you have the urge, it is fun, cheap, for a good cause and well run. if you don't have the urge, i completely understand.