The "Krispy Kreme Challenge" has a lot of heart (even if it's bad for it)

It's called the "Krispy Kreme Challenge," and it's probably the least healthy thing you'll ever read about here on That's Fit. Brought to my attention in a recent email from a reader, I was intrigued -- from the title alone -- to learn more.

Considering that That's Fit is a website promoting health and fitness, I at first wasn't exactly sure that writing about a donut eating challenge would be the best idea. I mean, it's almost akin to working at a gas station and informing your customers of the many ways to start a fire. But, after more research into the Challenge itself, I discovered that it involves far more than a bunch of college students stuffing their faces with glazed donuts.

Now in its third year, the "Krispy Kreme Challenge" 2007 had a record 1,400 participants and raised $10,000 for the North Carolina Children's Hospital. The Challenge itself is basically broken into three separate, but very related, parts: 1) Run 2 miles, starting at the NC State University bell tower and ending at a local Krispy Kreme, 2) Eat 12 glazed donuts, and 3) Run 2 miles back to the bell tower. All three parts must be completed in less than one hour. Oh yeah, and if you puke you're disqualified. Yummy.

Now, what could possibly be healthy about consuming 2,400 calories, 144g of fat (48 of which coming from trans fat), 60mg of cholesterol, 1140mg of sodium, and 120g of sugar in one sitting? Absolute nothing, of course. But, it's for a great cause and it will likely make the participants so sick of Krispy Kreme that they'll steer clear of it for the rest of the year. That is, unless they feel the need to start "training" early for next year's race.