Charleston, South Carolina — The 10th Annual #Race4Wanza Doughnut Dash 5k is just a week away, and as the date approaches, two key organizers appeared on “Good Morning Charleston” Friday to help get everyone excited about the upcoming race.
Daniel Stern, a race board member, and AJ Harley, the race’s co-founder, are working to organize the 5k in honor of TyWanza Sanders, the youngest victim of the 2015 Mother Emanuel Church Massacre.
Though the race has come a long way since its humble beginnings, Harley recalls how surprised everyone was by the community’s support as Sanders’ love and memory live on.
“The way that this has evolved over the past 10 years is crazy to all of us,” Harley responded. “Something that just started as a brain child of Daniel coming to us and basically wanting to partner up and do something to help us build our scholarship.”
He describes how the race proceeds have transformed Race 4 Achievement’s scholarship into the TyWanza Sanders scholarship.
Previous event successes have resulted in a total of $25,000 in scholarships being awarded since the race’s inception.
Harley and Stern also went over the race’s details with those who had never participated before.
“Its a 5k, you start at South Windermere and you go down the greenway, you go to Krispy Kreme which is AJ and I’s station,” Stern told the crowd. “And then whether you are participating for fun or competing you eat a certain amount of donuts.”
He claims that the number of donuts a participant must consume varies depending on whether or not they are competing, and the runner’s strategy for getting the donuts down while continuing to run varies.
“They smash it and pour water on it,” Stern said.
“The first time we did it, we were kind of amazed. Some of the competitors had done it in other areas, so when we first saw it, we were like, ‘What is going on?’ but now it’s kind of normal,” Harley said.
Following the race, Paisano’s Pizza will host an afterparty for participants. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., runners and walkers can enjoy pizza, wings, a skate party, and other activities at Kids Garden following the race.
