Ryan Lemond fails the KSR donut challenge for $5K -- plus another $5K for charity

It was a valiant effort, but Ryan Lemond could not, in fact, eat 10 donuts in 15 minutes — at least not of the thick cake variety from Jeff’s Donuts in Lexington.

In KSR’s donut challenge with $5K on the line and another $5K potentially going to charity, Ryan powered through 8.5 donuts before reality hit him down the stretch. He tried dunking them in water, double and triple stacking them, and even rolling them up in a ball, but there just wasn’t enough gas in the tank to get them all down the hatch.

“I feel like I let my team down,” he told Matt Jones on the air after throwing in the towel. “I tried taking it one donut at a time. There is no ‘I’ in KSR, but I feel like I failed my team and everybody who donated. I’m very sorry.”

When did it start hitting him that he’d come up short? From the first bite, essentially.

“One,” he said. “I got halfway through that first one and thought, ‘This is a mistake.’ It’s so thick, man. They’re so thick.”

Ryan kept a consistent pace and found a second wind late, thanks to his best friend Donte Key giving him some words of wisdom from the fence. When Matt tried calling it in the final minutes, Ryan pushed back and said he had it in him. He never quit until he quite literally had to quit before blowing chunks everywhere — at least they had the medic from Shannon The Dude’s 50-mile walk by his side, just in case.

Maybe the best part of the whole challenge? Weigh-ins.

Ryan started at 216.8 pounds before eating 8.5 donuts, and after, he finished at 217.8 — exactly one pound gained in a matter of 15 minutes (for now). We’ll see how much that shifts in the coming days.

It was slobbery and gross and all of the things, but you can’t deny Ryan gave it his all with $10K on the line and potentially $5K going in his pocket. But close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, not cake donut challenges for cash.

Final donut tally for @ryanlemond: 8.5 donuts, one pound gained (for now 😂)

Close, but no cigar for the $5K prize — plus another $5K to charity

“I feel like I let my team down.” pic.twitter.com/LP7QuYjk8G

— KSR (@KSRonX) July 11, 2025

He’s not Joey Chesnut, but we’re proud of him. You’ll get ’em next time, champ.