It is not often you see someone running around campus in nothing more than boxer shorts or spandex. The Nearly Naked Run hosted by Student Ambassadors on March 5 gave participants the opportunity to run nearly naked around campus for a good cause.

“Participants donate generously used clothes and they get nearly naked,” Katie Martin, senior ornamental horticulture major, said. “They strip down to as little as they want and they run a half-to-three-quarter-mile race around campus.”

Martin is a third-year Student Ambassador who served on the committee for the event.

The clothing that runners take off to donate is collected by the Student Ambassadors and given to local groups.

“The donations go to several groups,” Katie Friar, events planner for alumni services and the foundation, said. “Charity organizations, social services, woman shelters, thrift stores, or anyone that shows need.”

Runners could participate individually or as a group. Many of the teams came as part of a club or organization and dressed with a theme. The outdoor recreation club wore spandex and rock climbing gear that clanked as they made the run around campus. One participant ran in UW-Platteville wrestling shorts, while another ran in white boxer shorts with hearts on them.

The run itself took only a few minutes, but clothing collected will help many in need.

“We collect hundreds of clothing items from pants, T-shirts, hoodies, shorts, to dresses,” Friar said.

Participant Dakota Lins, junior Ag Business major, was the first to finish the race.

“It’s a great cause and I had a lot of fun with my team, the Collegiate FFA,” said Lins.

This was also Lins’ second time participating in the event.

After the run, participants received free subs donated from Jimmy John’s, who has been a sponsor of the event for all three years.