by Marie Canavan

Brace for the cold and take off your clothes. This Wednesday will mark the fifth annual Undie Run.

The Undie Run is a student-organized event, which involves stripping down to your skivvies and running across campus.

The Undie Run takes place on the Wednesday of Finals Week in both fall and spring. The clothes participants shed are donated to charity.

“You take them (clothes) off and donate them to the Undie Run,” said Evan Morris, the Undie Run founder. “As soon as the run is over, the clothes will be donated to Helping Through Him at Southland Christian Church.”

“I ran the Undie Run two years ago in December,” said Lloyd Smith, a 2010 UK graduate. “We also brought our house dog, Beefers, along and outfitted him in some men’s briefs.”

The number of participants varies from the December Undie Run to the spring Undie Run, because of the cold weather.

“I was freezing at the beginning, but after a quick warm up lap and the run I felt pretty warm,” Smith said.

A warm up lap around the library will begin at 11:50 p.m., then at midnight the run  itself will begin.  The students will run  from W.T. Young Library through the middle of the sorority houses, and through the sidewalk that runs between the President’s Mansion and the Fine Arts Building.

It continues to the Patterson Statue outside of the Patterson Office Tower where runners take a break and take pictures, then take the same route back.

The number of students who  participate in the December Undie Run is usually between 150-200 people, but last spring more than 400 students participated.

Morris said the Undie Run has two main purposes. One is for students to take a break from the stress of finals, and  the other is to donate clothes for people who need them.

“I started the Undie Run because I felt that UK didn’t have many traditions that students did consistently, so I decided to make one,” Morris said.  “I plan on being the Bill Kneightly of the Undie Run.  Hopefully when I’m 70 years old the Undie Run will still be around and I can sit on my motorized cart and still be a part of it.”

Any students wanting to participate should meet the group at the W.T. Young Library by the Rose Street entrance Wednesday before 11:50 p.m.