WOODTV Covers The Donut Dash 2025
We are so grateful for the media covering our fun event!
This is written by: Adriana Doria from WOODTV8
Please watch/read the Story Here: https://www.woodtv.com/news/grand-rapids/runners-complete-donut-dash-5k-to-support-grand-rapids-police/
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Who would have thought paczki, donuts and running could go hand in hand?
On Tuesday, dozens of people ran the Donut Dash — a 5k held for the past seven years on Fat Tuesday. The event raises money for the Grand Rapids Police Foundation through t-shirt sales and donations.
Chief Eric Winstrom of the Grand Rapids Police Department spoke at the event and then laced up to run with the crowd.
“The Police Foundation does so much on the periphery in everything that we do to keep this city safe,” Winstrom said.
It was a standard 5k style run, with stops at Gazelle Sports downtown and the Bridge Street Market to pick up a paczki along the run to help them reach the finish line.
“This is the pre-race fuel, everyone knows runners, you fuel up before, you fuel up during, we will get on the course, we will fuel up after to replenish our bodies, we will have our third one at the end,” Sunter said.
The events organizer Jessica Gutowski-Slaydon, who is also president of the event’s main sponsor, Swift Printing, said the Donut Dash all started as an idea, that grew into seven years of tradition.
She said it’s all about giving back and bringing people together.
“The fact that we get to support a cause in the process and celebrate Bridge Street and the West Side, I mean there is nothing I find more fun than bringing people together and being able to support a cause,” she said.
Over three miles later, everyone crossed the finish line — maybe with the help of the donuts.
“We are going to be running all over town and people are going to be looking at us and say who are those people leading the charge? And I am going to say, we are people that love this town that want to celebrate some great Grand Rapids traditions and eating some delicious food,” participant John Donovan said.
