Central Park Underwear Run 2009
More Underwear Run photos | Watch the slideshow
I found out about this about 30 minutes before the event on Twitter. It sounded ridiculous and sort of gross, so of course I decided to go!
It’s basically an annual pre-triathlon celebration. Here’s an excerpt from the official website, they put it best:
The Central Park Underwear Run is a 1.7 mile fun run that takes place every year on the Friday before the New York City Triathlon. No transitions, no timing chips, no expensive race gear, just 500 strangers running around in their underwear. Another typical summer evening in New York City!
They were trying to break the world record (most people in underwear running together, something like that), so they had the sign-in post set up:
Today on their website they announced that they did break the record with 300 sign-ins, congrats.
In addition to the run, they also had a Jamaica themed costume contest where the best costume wins a trip to – you guessed it – Jamaica. There were a lot of Bob Marley themed costumes of course:
Not sure if they’ll announce the winner in public but I hope this Jamaican bobsled team wins. They were great, and they actually finished the run like that with everything still intact:
The run was open for everyone, not just for grown ups or humans or land creatures:
The “mayoral candidate” Naked Cowboy was the official starter of the run, and people really ran once it started. It wasn’t like a slow parade:
First finish was at around 9 minute mark:
The weather was hot and sticky (which was quite appropriate for this run). Yes, it was a hard run and was exhausting for many. But at the same time, it also gave another reason to smile and celebrate for many:
Note: this event took place on Friday, July 24th, 2009.
