Cupid's Undie Run in bitter cold #wtop #EndNF pic.twitter.com/6RR11aGwQs
— Dick Uliano (@DickUliano) February 13, 2016
Guess they're wise to be wearing hats Cupid's Undie Run #wtop pic.twitter.com/maVmnHYbjV
— Dick Uliano (@DickUliano) February 13, 2016
Cupid's Undie Run is on despite icy cold #endNF #wtop pic.twitter.com/Wh8XZ3oFis
— Dick Uliano (@DickUliano) February 13, 2016
WASHINGTON — Nearly naked in the bitter cold, runners folded their arms, shivered, jumped up and down and then bolted down I Street Northwest, toward 18th Street.
Hundreds of men and women dressed only in their underwear braved sub-freezing temperatures to run jog, or walk nearly a mile in the seventh annual Cupid’s Undie Run on Saturday.
“This is all a fundraising party. … We’re all here to support the Children’s Tumor Foundation,” says Chad Bartlett, organizer of Cupid’s Undie Run DC.
Because the weather was dangerously cold, the length of the run was shortened from 1.5 miles to 7-tenths of a mile. But the frigid temperatures didn’t seem to discourage participants. Organizers say 1,600 took part.
“It’s the perfect bucket list opportunity. It’s something you’re never going to have the opportunity to do anywhere else and you’re going to be able to have a super fun time and raise a ton of money for charity. … It’s just a blast,” says D.C. resident Bobby Gill.
There were women dressed in bras and panties with neck scarfs, men in boxer and jockey shorts with knit caps. There’s no requirement to run in just underwear, so some compromised and donned tights or knee socks. The less daring wore jackets or coats.
“It’s just everyone out here having fun from all walks of life, any age, any background … everyone is welcome, all body types,” Gill says.
Last year’s Cupid’s Undie Run raised $3.5 million for research into the debilitating genetic disorder neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors to grow in the nervous system of affected children.
Organizers estimate that this year’s run in D.C. has raised $300,000.
