Dozens of students clad in their undies take on Naked Man Run

Photo description: Naked Man Run participants sprint from Dorcas Hall to the quad. 

Photo credit: Sower Staff

Nora Betts

Sower Staff

About 40 students dressed only in their undies ran across Concordia’s snow-covered campus on Dec. 3 for the yearly “Naked Man Run”.

The Naked Man Run occurs every school year on the night of the first substantial snowfall. Details about the time and starting place of the unofficial campus event spread by word of mouth.

The run is named after the Son of Man, Be Free statue that stands at the center of campus, which students nicknamed the Naked Man.

Participants on Sunday night gathered in the Dorcas Hall lounge, took off their shoes, and stripped down to their underwear or other minimal clothing.

Students cheered and chanted as they readied themselves for the run, then bolted toward the quad at 9:30 p.m. They ran three laps around the Naked Man statue, did three snow angels, and ran back to the warmth of the dorm.

Junior Cameron Schroeder said she could hear the participants coming before she could see them.

“I really enjoyed hearing the screams before I actually saw anybody participate,” said Schroeder.

One participant, sophomore Gracin Hahn, said the worst part of the run was the exertion, not the cold.

“The worst part about it was the hard breathing feeling from running a lot, you know, like you do when it’s hot,” Hahn said. “You aren’t even out there long enough to really start to shiver or anything. It’s just the shock of the cold. You don’t actually get cold at your core.”

Another participant, freshman Stephen Weston, said he had heard about the Naked Man Run ever since he got to Concordia.

“I was like, ‘Why not?’” said Weston. “A lot of people are doing it, so why not?”

Schroeder said the Naked Man Run is a great community-building initiative for Concordia students.

“I really like this event because it brings people together, like genuinely brings all kinds of people together to do something fun on the first snow of the year,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder watched the event two years in a row and said that the number of participants and spectators proved the event’s popularity.

“In all honesty, more people participated this year [than last year] which I think is great,” Schroeder said. “That means it’s not a tradition that’s dying.”