Dunkin Donuts Munckin Run 5K Recap ...

Location: Midlothian, VA
Date: 11/19/11
Temperature: 45 degrees @ start, sunny
Official Time: 31:25 (with donut deduction)
Garmin Time: 31:55

The Good:

Race Concept - If nothing else, the concept of this race was fantastic. Eating Munchkins while running a 5K is pretty much my idea of heaven. And the vast amount of food I consumed, once again proved that old habits die hard. Without some serious self control, I could easily revert back into my former self.

The Outfits - Seriously, how fantastic do J and I look? And I didn't even have to ask him to coordinate.

Munchkins - Did I mention there were munchkins? Yeah, like tables full of munchkins every mile or so.

Pace - I ran the first 2/3 of this race with J. Just after the mile 2 mark, he asked if I just wanted to finish the race. I did. So, after averaging an 11 minute pace in those first two miles, I ran an 8:50 last mile, which included two Munchkin stops and two photo stops (when I saw J).

My moving average was 7:30 and somewhere in there I was running a 5:26. It's like all that sugar gave me turbo boosters.

Swag - Not only did you get all-you-can-eat Munchkins on the course, hot chocolate and coffee before the start and a race tee, every runner left with a coupon for a free box of 25 Munchkins and a refillable coffee mug. Insane, considering that the race only cost $15.

Extreme Eating Challenge Title - As you know, this race was never about speed for me. It was about donut eating. With no intention of letting J (or anyone on the course, for that matter) beat me, I consumed 22 Munchkins over the 3.1 miles. That's equivalent to 7.33 regular donuts. And I could have eaten more. It didn't bother my stomach one bit.

(empty munchkin cups. had to be carried to the finish for credit.)

The Bad:

The Course - Since the route had to stay on school property at all times, the course looped like crazy over rather uneven off-road terrain. It was sloped. And muddy. And not what I am used to. I was constantly concerned that I might roll an ankle.

Munchkin Fail - So, before the race we were told that each Munchkin would be in a cup. Once you ate the Munchkin, you had to carry the cup to the finish. Each Munchkin consumed would be a 10 second deduction from your time. Fabulous. I figured I had two things to do.

1. Eat more than J.
2. Eat enough to get some serious time taken off.

And I totally did both. But, since I wasn't paying attention well enough to the announcements at the start (which were impossible to hear), runners only got deductions for the FIRST THREE (3) MUNCHKINS. WTF? So the 3 minutes and 40 seconds worth of Munckins (also known as 1,400 calories) were for nothing.

The Ugly:

Organization Fails - I know this was a first year event. And I know it was thought up by a high schooler. But, there were some serious fails for this race coined as an "Extreme Eat-Run Challenge"

1. The 3 Munchkin Cap - On what planet is eating 3 Munchkins EXTREME?
2. No Separate Divisions - There should have been two divisions for this race: Donut-Eaters and Non-Donut-Eaters. There also should have either been a set amount to eat at each donut stop or the ability to get a time deduction for each Munckin consumed.
3. Order of Donut/Water Stops - At each stop the water came BEFORE the donuts. Totally needed to be the other way around.

With that said, I'd totally run this race again.