By Katie Spencer
Carrboro Commons Writer

Just prior to the torrential downpour Sunday, a storm of runners descended on Carrboro for a pint of Maple View ice cream.

I was among the 250 willing to fill up on dairy halfway through a five kilometer run, all for a good cause.

Nick Hutchins and Matt Hamrick perform for the crowd’s applause. The duo barely beat out the “dancing cow” to win best costume.
Staff photo by Katie Spencer

The event was called the Maple View Challenge, a local version of North Carolina State University’s Krispy Kreme Challenge, where runners eat a dozen doughnuts in the middle of a four mile race.

We started at the Morehead Planetarium and went down Cameron Avenue to the Roberson bike path. At the end of the path we found a well organized ice cream eating station. Anyone competing had to finish off a pint of strawberry sorbet or vanilla, chocolate-chip or double-chocolate ice cream before heading back the same way, full of dairy.

I have never seen the bike path so crowded. The returning runners had one thing on their minds: keeping the ice cream down.

The idea came from UNC-Chapel Hill students David Campbell, a senior environmental studies major, and João Toste, a junior economics major, who were training for a triathlon at the time. The two stopped at Maple View Farm just north of Carrboro, where they joked about an event that combined physical exercise with eating ice cream.

“Going from just being ridiculous and goofy like that, within 10 minutes we had planned the whole thing,” Campbell said.

I was at a loss as to whether or not the event could be considered a net gain for my health. On the one hand, you have the running; on the other, the pint of creamy sweetness.

Either way, it was a gain for Nourish International, a UNC-CH group dedicated to eradicating poverty by partnering with communities in Latin America and worldwide. All proceeds went to the organization.

UNC senior Mallory Cash made a last-minute decision to participate. She said she saw the looks on the faces of the leading runners and decided to walk the second half of the race, a pint of Maple View in hand.

The first returning runner, third year medical school student Kevin Crosby, had already eaten his flavor of choice and begun the run back before I even saw any ice cream. I was on the bike path when he passed me going the other way.

He won the race and picked up a gift card to Rockfish Grill, as the top male finisher, and an iPod touch, as the overall top finisher. The winning female went home with a $100 gift card to Maggiano’s.

Participants ranged from competitive to crazy, to just plain fun. I was feeling pretty good about myself when I cruised into the ice cream station behind some guys from the UNC club cross country team. Of course, there was a reason they were running at my pace: they were decked out, head to toe, in ridiculous costumes—and I believe they stopped to do some dancing and other antics along the way.

Among their ranks there were a gorilla, a banana and a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. One of them donned roller skates for the occasion, and, after seeing him stumble his way over roots, steps and uneven bricks with reckless abandon, I would not say he had a competitive advantage.

The gorilla and the banana, senior exercise and sports science major Nick Hutchins and sophomore Matt Hamrick, respectively, took the costume prize. They won tandem skydiving tickets with Carolina Sky Sports.

The prizes, supplied by Nourish International, were left over from Hold ’Em For Hunger, the annual fundraising poker tournament that was cancelled this year due to legal concerns. Nourish International has been rushed to recover and raise enough money for this summer’s projects.

As for me, I won no prizes, but finished strong with a stomach full of strawberry sorbet, which was delicious, by the way. I did receive some criticism for choosing the non-dairy option. I believe the word “cheating” was even tossed around. Not cheating, I argue, clearly just strategic.

Nick Hutchins and Matt Hamrick perform for the crowd’s applause. The duo barely beat out the “dancing cow” to win best costume.

Staff video by Allie Maupin