Underwear race for charity returns to the Triangle in all its tighty-whities glory
On Saturday, roughly 100 brave non-athletes will strip to their Batman-themed Speedos and jog a beer-burping almost-mile through downtown Durham — all for charity.
The Cupid’s Undie Run returns after a year of COVID-induced hiatus, and the sight of nearly naked hordes in broad daylight spells a sure sign of spring’s arrival and pandemic’s decline.
Relocated from Raleigh to Durham, the charity race invites participants to wear outlandish forms of legal undress, be it star-spangled panties with matching Chuck Taylors or a red button-up Union suit.
“Usually, I wear a tutu because I’m kind of a modest gal,” said event director Nikki Kunkel. “It is for the kids. No thongs or pasties.”
Since its founding in 2010, the charity run has raised funds to research a cure for neurofibromatosis, or NF, a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body. To date, undie runs nationwide have brought in $21 million.
The original thinking, founders in Washington, DC, explain, was to strip down in solidarity with people affected by NF, who can’t cover up their tumors.
“They can’t be comfortable in their skin,” said Kunkel, “so what can we do?”
The body-positive party starts at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Motorco, where runners who have raised $250 qualify for “open bar level.”
The running should only last 10 or 15 minutes, considering the route stretches less than a mile.
But time should be allotted for occasional whooping. Teams in matching suits are welcome. Telephone pole climbing is discouraged.
Saturday’s forecast calls for highs in the low 60s, which will be a tad nippy for those going the tighty-whities route.
But steel yourselves. Prizes include a pair of socks.
To sign up
To register for the Undie run, go to https://cupids.org/
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 1:35 PM.