Two years ago, after riding part of the Tour de France course, Max Henry and his son Malachi came up with an idea on their flight back home, and that was having an similar stage run of the Tour de France, but with an added twist.
That led to the birth of the Tour de Donut in 2017. Now in its third year, Sunday’s event featured 53 competitors and one team.
“It’s a good way to get people out and doing something, but then also have a unique challenge,” Malachi Henry said. “One of my buddies bet me that I couldn’t eat 13 donuts, so then we wrapped our head around this and how we could get to 13 donuts. Each year, we’ve slowly grown and become a little more organized. It’s a cool thing, and it’s kind of a team effort. You go around, and you’re always with somebody.”
In the Tour de Donut, top competitors biked 12 laps around Grandview Lake, stopping to eat a donut hole after each. Then, they ran the 13th lap. Each lap was 7.2 miles. The laps began and ended at the home of Max Henry.
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Paul Baker, a former Columbus East football and track athlete, competes in many races and was glad to compete in Sunday’s Tour de Donut.
“I’m glad I was able to free up my schedule to do this,” Baker said. “It’s always exciting to do this type of event.”
Michael Reed was the youngest competitor in the event at 10 years old. He didn’t finish the complete duration, only biking eight laps, but it was still quite an improvement from only going close to one completed lap last year.
Reed also went through another grueling event Saturday night, competing in the Columbus Youth Triathlon. He finished third in his age group while battling an ankle injury leading up to it.
It took a toll on his energy, but Reed, a fifth-grader at Southside Elementary, hopes he that he can go the full 12 laps next year.
“It was really hard to do the triathlon (Saturday) because I sprained my ankle,” Reed said. “It feels good to get that far today.”
Of the 53 competitors, nine were able to complete the entire 13 laps. Malachi Henry, an Ironman triathlete, was one of those nine.
Volunteers kept record of every lap and every donut. Prizes from local sponsors of the Tri-812 triathlon club were awarded for those completing six, nine and 12 laps.
Tour de Donut is a tough task to complete, but Malachi Henry said the prizes helped more competitors complete more of the race.
“It definitely gave it more incentive for people to go farther,” Malachi Henry said. “A lot more people have went farther than there was last year.”
Malachi Henry said he hoped the numbers will get stronger in future years, whether the competitors are a beginner or an expert.
“We always want to make this event fun, and this year we didn’t really broadcast that. We didn’t know how the turnout was going to be. We have to thank our companies for doing that,” Malachi Henry said. “Even though it’s a $10 buy-in, six laps in, you get that money back and maybe more than that. You get a heck of a workout, have fun and eat some donuts. It’s a good time for friends and family.”
