Registration opens for Tour de Donut

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TROY — For its 12th anniversary and its second year in Troy, the Tour de Donut is planning an event that will start and end around the square of historic downtown Troy, Aug. 25.

The inaugural event in Troy brought 2,300 riders, the largest participation number to date. This number is expected to increase as the demand of interested cyclists grows. Being Ohio’s largest one-day, bicycle event, cyclists traveled to the 2017 Tour de Donut from 30 states.

New for 2018, the Tour de Donut has named Be The Match as its official charity partner. For runners and walkers, Be The Match will host the Buckeye Donut Dash. This 5K will begin in downtown Troy at 8:30 a.m., Aug. 25, running simultaneously with the Tour de Donut. Information can be found at www.bethematchfoundation.org/TheBuckeye. The Buckeye Donut Dash raises funds to help patients in need of a bone marrow transplant.

The Tour de Donut is a unique bicycle event in which participants’ ability to eat donuts is just as important as their ability to ride their bicycles. During this timed bicycle event, riders visit donut stops along the course. For each donut the rider eats and keeps down, five minutes will be deducted from his ride time. The Glazer, a special donut stop, will return by popular demand. Each donut eaten at this stop will be worth a 10-minute deduction in ride time. A competition between area donut shops during the Troy Strawberry Festival in June will choose the coveted special glazer donut.

Event organizers will offer three distances for cyclists in 2018. New and improved routes are being designed, free of trains, that will offer riders a fun, challenging experience through rural Miami County.

The Donut Mini, a 16-mile course, will return with one donut stop. The Mini awards its own prizes and allows younger riders and families to take part in the fun due to the shorter distance.

The 32-mile course, the Tour de Donut, will offer two donut stops. And, for the experienced cyclist, the Double D Challenge is a 64-mile ride with three donut stops. Prizes will be awarded for these courses in age group classes. Special awards will be given for the most donuts eaten, fastest time (without donuts) and the coveted golden Tour de Donut championship belt for the best adjusted “donut time.”

A free children’s event will take place at 8 a.m. along N. Market Street. All children participating will receive a free T-shirt, finisher medal and all the donuts and milk they care to eat, courtesy of Orthopedic Associates of Southwest Ohio.

Online registration is open. Cyclists should visit www.thetourdedonut.com and runners and walkers should visit www.bethematchfoundation.org/TheBuckeye to register.

Groups interested in assisting with the ride at a donut stop volunteering with organizers, should email [email protected].

Staff report

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