They say confession is good for the soul. And after all, who among us hasn't had an indiscretion or two? So, here goes. A couple of years ago, the day before the Louisville Ironman, I was wandering around the waterfront taking in the sights and was approached by volunteers who asked if I would consider running in a short charity event. There was a catch. It was the Louisville Underpants Run, which meant that everyone would be running in their underwear.
First I made sure it was legal. (I didn't want to be arrested, especially if it would be on TV.) Then I made sure that I wouldn't be the only one running. Turns out, the event is organized by one of the local triathlete clubs and many of the triathletes would be running, including several people planning to be in the Ironman Louisville the next day. The inspiration for the event comes from Kona where a number of years ago, they started a similar run the day before the Kona Ironman contest.
Soooo, I gave them $10 and stipped to my skivvies. I have to admit it felt a little funny standing around on the waterfront in front of the Belle of Louisville in my underwear. But before I knew it I was joined by about 100 or so co-exhibitionists. Many had come prepared with all sorts of underwear being displayed. Others like me were completely unprepared, as I heard a few folks confess in their invitation to run in their underwear, that they weren't wearing any. Some of the ultra-prepared runners offered them extra pairs that they had brought and they disappeared into a trailer to change and join the run.
I managed to finish that run in anonymnity. I tried to avoid getting my picture taken and while I did show up in the videos on the news, I was in a crowd and no one would have recognized me, if they weren't looking for me.
So, I am sure you are wondering why on earth I would confess this now. After all, who would ever know?
Wellllll, 2012 was a different year. I may have mentioned this to my buddy Andrew, and I may have challenged him to do the event, and I may have even showed him my 1.5 mile sticker I had hidden in my console of my truck.
Andrew was psyched! Andrew invited everyone he could think of to participate. Andrew went out and bought Batman underwear with a cape on it for the run. Andrew had his sister paint his chest with a big Batman symbol and put all kinds of Batman art on his back.
As you might have guessed, when Andrew showed up, he stood out among the crowd. I was in some of my running underwear, subtle black but with a blue waistband. But because I was with Andrew, I was in a lot of pictures. I was in pictures for the Courier Journal and for the Voice. Luckily, I didn't show up in the Courier but I am in pictures on-line.
So anyway, there is a pretty good chance if you saw a picture that looked like me and maybe even was labeled as being David McCoy, that it was me. I considered telling the reporters that my name was John Doe and when I didn't do that I considered trying to start a rumor that a guy named John Doe was trying to steal my identity. But truth is, I really don't like to lie and after all, if I'm gonna do it, I might as well own it.
Truth is, it was a lot of fun. The money went to the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies. I got to run with a bunch of fun people including a number of ironmen participants. It definitely wasn't X rated. In fact, it really wasn't even PG-13. It was just a lot of fun. In fact, I would encourage you to participate in years to come.
AND I got a new water bottle (which I really needed) and another 1.5 sticker (which is hidden in my truck console with my other one.)
Have a great day!
David (reluctant exhibitionist)
No comments:
Post a Comment