The Ironman is one of the most grueling races that people
compete in today. Not so the
underpants run. The
underpants run takes place on the big island of Hawaii just prior to the quite-a-bit-more-famous Ironman. And this
year some 100 runners turned out, dressed to the nines, or maybe the twos, wearing nothing but their skivvies.
The underpants run was created as a fun alternative…or precursor to the Ironman, and the idea apparently was a
response to all the international athletes who streamed into Hawaii the weeks before wearing nothing but Speedos.
Said one Speedophobe:
“It was a reaction to the abhorrent and unbelievable practice of wearing Speedos around town, in the post office,
the grocery store, even restaurants,” Huddle said. “It’s just a clash of the cultures, between the more conservative
Americans and the whole European and Mediterranean resort vacation thing.”
Normally I tend to side against prejudice, but in this case, the idea of legions of Europeans shopping, buying
coffee at Starbucks, pushing baby strollers, dining in Speedos does set of a taste alarm.