Participating in his first, but not last, Krispy Kreme Challenge, Jeff Glick, a U.S. Army captain, won the race in just less than half an hour. 

Glick, 27, of Fort Bragg, North Carolina officially completed the race in 29 minutes and 31 seconds.  Eric Mack, of Raleigh, North Carolina, came in second place with a time of 30 minutes and 22 seconds. 

Saturday was his first, but not last, time running in the four-mile-long race and eating all one dozen doughnuts at the N. Pearson Street Krispy Kreme, according to Glick.

 ”I dunked [the doughnuts] in water, kind of like competitive hot dog eaters,” Glick said. “I thought I would have trouble keeping the donuts down, but I actually had a couple burps, but other than that, it was all good.”

Originally from Buffalo, New York, Glick graduated from West Point in 2005 and has been in the military ever since. He said he heard about the race from friends, and considered it “so ridiculous” that he had to give the race a shot.

Glick said he had heard the competition at the race could be fierce.

“I knew there were a lot of competitive runners who did it,” Glick said. “I just moved to North Carolina.”

According to Glick, he almost did not register for the race in time.

“I got in like half a day before it closed out at 7,500 runners,” Glick said.

All proceeds from the race went to the North Carolina Children’s Hospital.  The race raised $100,000 this year.

“I’m glad everything goes to a good cause,” Glick said. “It was a great race. Everyone had good spirit.”

Runners and spectators congratulated Glick as he stood on the steps of the Belltower, waiting to receive his trophy.

“Will you take a picture with me? You know you want to,” a girl said to Glick. “You are the man.”

Although this year’s race winner was not an N.C. State student, Wolfpack runners braved the weather and gave it their all.

Ashton Lawren, a junior in chemistry, ran the race with three of his friends.

“[The weather] makes you stronger. It builds character,” Lawren said. “It could be worse. It could be better, though. Better would be nice.”

On Saturday, runners came not just from North Carolina, but from all over the United States to participate in the Challenge.

Anthony Beamon, an N.C. State alumnus of the class of 2000, drove to Raleigh from Maryland for the race.  Beamon completed the race in 1 hour and 4 minutes. 

“It’s a four and a half hour drive,” Beamon said.

Christie Johnson, a high school student from Georgia, drove with her family to Raleigh on Friday to participate in the race.

“My parents told me about it,” Johnson said. “We came and ran last year too.”

The weather on Saturday was cold with rain throughout most of the event.

According to Beamon, the damp, frigid air didn’t bother him as long as he had his friends with him.

“If I didn’t have all my friends here, I wouldn’t do it,” Beamon said

Glick said he is already planning to participate in the Krispy Kreme Challenge in 2012, but is hoping for better weather.

“I’ll definitely come out here next year, but I hope there’ll be nicer weather,” Glick said.  “My experience was great.  This is a great scene, especially before the race, and definitely a good college scene where people can have fun.”