Cupid’s Undie Run
This past weekend, hundreds of people stripped down to run through the streets of Washington for charity.
The fifth annual Cupid’s Undie Run, in which participants ran through the winter weather in their underwear, raised more than $2.6 million for the Children’s Tumor Foundation on Saturday. A few hundred runners 21 and older scampered down Pennsylvania Avenue, many covered by a “liquid blanket” from the alcohol available in prerace festivities, showing a lot of skin and sporting apparel reading, “I’m with Cupid.”
“We are putting the hilarity in charity,” said Bobby Gill, co-founder of the run and 2006 university alumnus. “There are people in crazy outfits; it’s wild all around. We’re worldwide. We’re raising millions for a great cause, and we’re having a great time doing it.”
Brendan Hanrahan, who graduated from this university with a doctorate in 2013, and Gill came up with the idea for Cupid’s Undie Run with their friend Chad Leathers in 2010, hoping to support Leathers’ younger brother, who has a rare genetic disorder called neurofibromatosis.
“We wanted to do something that would help our friend’s little brother, but we didn’t want to do your basic 5K or happy hour. We wanted to do something that made a big splash in the bucket in terms of fundraising,” Gill said. “So here we are, five years later, and we are now the biggest fundraiser for the Children’s Tumor Foundation that exists. I’d say it was a success.”
With events in 27 cities in the U.S. and three in Australia, Cupid’s Undie Run doubled its donations for the Children’s Tumor Foundation from 2013, Gill said, and the co-founders expect fundraising to continue into March.
“It’s really a four-hour party with a brief run sandwiched in the middle,” Hanrahan said. “Everyone gets here at noon, they make new friends, they strip down to their undie outfits, and then at 2 o’clock we hit the streets of Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Among those trekking around the nation’s capital in their underwear were senior studio art major Sarah Fitzsimmons and her sister Megan Fitzsimmons, 28.
Megan Fitzsimmons came to the event two years ago to support friends, and she has wanted to participate ever since.
“Everyone’s kind of united in their own way. You pull together with strangers for the same reason, and that’s a really cool experience,” Fitzsimmons said. “They’re an amazing cause, they help families that have children with terminal brain tumors. Anything I can do to help someone be healthy and happy.”
For Sarah Fitzsimmons, participating with her sister was a special experience, and she hopes more people will get involved in the future.
“It was amazing. We’ve never done anything like this together before,” she said. “It’s just a simple thing to do, to run a mile in your underwear. It’s a lot of fun and especially for a good cause. Definitely worth it.”
A few months ago, Gill quit his engineering job to commit full-time to Cupid’s Undie Run, something he never expected when Hanrahan first shared his idea.
“His idea was: Let’s get people together, let’s throw a really big party, people in their underwear, and then let’s run around in the freezing cold on Valentine’s weekend,” Gill said. “And I looked at him and said, ‘Brendan, you’re an idiot, but that’s a great idea. Let’s do it.’”
The event has grown each year, with people from many generations showing up in crazier outfits and with more enthusiasm. Hanrahan, though, said he thinks the most incredible part is the impact people are making.
“The craziest thing I’ve seen is the amount of fundraising the people do for this cause,” he said. “People will come into it because it sounds like a crazy party and then you’ll set the hook and they will do $10,000, $20,000 in fundraising. It’s crazy good.”
Megan Fitzsimmons wished she had a camera to catch her unique perspective as she navigated the crowd in her wheelchair.
“From a bottom-only type of view, it was definitely interesting,” she said. “It’s worth it. You can’t put a price on helping people with a terminal illness. And what does it cost you? You ran in your underwear. We will definitely do it next year.”
Gill hopes that in the future more university students and fellow alumni will sign up to support their cause and join the fun.
“If you’re 21, come out. I guarantee it will be better than anything that happens at the Knox Boxes or on Frat Row or a Bentley’s party,” he said. “Cupid’s Undie Run, hands down, is far better and we raise millions for charity.”
