Stripping down to their underwear for charity, more than 1,300 confirmed guests on Facebook are expected at the first annual Texas Tech Undie Run kicking off at 6 p.m. tonight at Urbanovsky Park in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record.
According to Stephanie Foster, a senior advertising major from College Station and founder and principal of Whipper-Snapper Advertising, which is hosting the event, the Guinness record for the largest gathering of people wearing underpants was broken in New York in July by 500 people. If most of the people who said they were “attending” the event on Facebook actually do attend, they will be able to beat the record.
“Even if half the people come, we still break the world record and we have pretty good chances,” she said.
After hearing about the idea of an underwear run from other college campuses, Foster said she and the group organizing it think it could be a fun way to support a charity.
Like other undie runs, this event will benefit a charity. All proceeds will go to the Sean Kimerling Testicular Cancer Foundation, and all clothes left at the starting line will be donated to Goodwill Industries International Inc. Foster said they chose the Kimerling foundation because “it kind of goes along with underwear.”
Just because the event will have participants stripping down to their underwear, a dress code will be enforced, Foster said. No thongs will be allowed. Underwear cannot be see-through and must cover the runner, she said. The underwear shouldn’t be more revealing than something seen at a track meet.
“It’s not supposed to be something inappropriate, it’s supposed to be who can donate the most clothes or who can help the Sean Kimerling Foundation the most,” Foster said.
Stripping down to the bare minimum isn’t a requirement. Foster said she plans to wear tights under her underwear because it shows people the run isn’t just about being naked and really is to support the cause.
“It’s just a funny way to do it,” she said.
People can take this event one of two ways, Foster said. They can either embrace the event as something raising money for charity or they can see it as a bunch of college students running around in their underwear for no reason.
“We really are helping two great foundations,” she said. “Have an open mind and come and support us.”
Although the purpose of the event is to raise money for charity, some people aren’t as excited for it as others, Foster said.
Madison Proctor, a sophomore international business major from Roswell, N.M., said this is a creative way to raise money and awareness but has mixed feelings about the run.
“I feel like it’s a little inappropriate,” he said. “How do you monitor thousands of people? It’s for a good cause, which is good, and it’s creative. I like that, but I just have not good feelings towards people running around in their underwear.”
The people in charge plan on making sure the dress code is followed by checking runners when they register.
“You wear bikinis and stuff like that to the swimming pool, so its really not that much different,” said Jessica Hensley, a sophomore business major from Denton.
Registration beings at 6 p.m. in the pavilion and the run starts at 7:30 p.m.
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