Each runner brought a dollar to practice and kept it hidden in his shorts. Coach was not to know that they were celebrating Tate Schienbein’s birthday by stopping during practice at the local doughnut shop, about four miles away from Purdue University’s campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“I’ve always loved sweets,” Schienbein, 24, told Runner’s World during a telephone interview. “I’m more of a cookies and ice cream guy, but I do love doughnuts and other baked goods.”
The Purdue team took off for their destination. Each athlete devoured a baked delight at Mary Lou Donuts, the closest such shop to campus. Schienbein went with the jelly filled.
Schienbein appreciated his team’s gesture, but he was not a fan of the eight miles roundtrip they had to travel for a single doughnut. Then, after a few drinks one evening in his senior year, he and his friend, Dillon Hinen, had a solution: They should open a doughnut shop near campus.
Upon graduation, Schienbein departed the area for a job in Colorado, but he and Hinen continued to work on their dream. They created a business plan, purchased a property, made a recipe, and, in August 2017, Hammer Donuts was born.
Quickly, Schienbein took on 18-hour shifts. Hinen was busy with graduate school, so he was not able to help much with day-to-day operations. The long hours in the shop meant Schienbein had less time for running. For someone who has enjoyed distance running since age 8, he craved miles like he does sweets.
What little time he did have for running he put toward training for this year’s Boston Marathon. He had qualified with a 2:25:26 at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in November 2016.
His training early in 2018 took a serious blow after a cook quit. Even when he hired another, he had to train that person, so he wasn’t able to get in the miles he wanted. There were a only few weeks he managed 50 miles.
About 10 days out from Boston, he, like most participants, started to realize that the weather was going to be crummy come race day. But this was Boston; there was no way he wasn’t running. He had his favorite doughnut—Boston cream—and two pieces of Boston cream pie the day before the race. “Calories are calories,” he said.
When he toed the line in his doughnut-themed singlet, he felt good standing with the elites. He was surprised when they went out abroad on a rough-weather day. He stayed with them for a while before slowly dropping back. But not too far back—he crossed the line in 2:28:53, good for 17th overall.
“I just decided to run my own race and I was really happy with my time,” Shienbein said.
She Qualified for Boston With Pool Running Tracksmith. The company offered a bathrobe for the first race finisher to get to their store near Boylston Street. After collapsing into the arms of finish line volunteers and consuming a beer, Shienbein rushed over to the store, received his robe, and ended up getting a partnership with Tracksmith to celebrate National Doughnut Day—June 1—with the annual doughnut Graboys men’s shirt and women’s tank. He also released a Races & Places.
Now, back in the shop again, Shienbein is fully staffed, and he has returned to normal 40- to 60-hours work weeks. In addition to expanding his doughnut offerings in store (he recently added one that is dipped in Oreos and contains peanut butter), Shienbein also wants to get his times faster on the roads. Business has slowed as college students have left for summer, but Shienbein says the shop is thriving and that he’s happy for a bit of a break.
“I just love running,” he said. “I want to break the 2:19 standard to qualify for the Olympic Trials if I can when I run the Berlin Marathon in September.”
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The Best Songs to Run to This Month Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.
