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Sunshower 5K - Run


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Centerville, Indiana
United States
Butts A'runnin Race Enterprises
75F / 24C
Overcast
Total Time = 21m 17s
Overall Rank = 4/56
Age Group = M30-39
Age Group Rank = 1/
Pre-race routine:

So first thing's first. This race was clothing optional, which means exactly what you think it means. Yes I raced this race butt ass naked. Okay that's not entirely true. I was wearing socks, shoes, a garmin, and a road ID bracelet. But other than that I was naked as a jaybird.

To help us both through this process I've compiled a handy dandy F.A.Q.

Q. How was this race legal?
A. The race took place on the grounds of a nudist resort in Indiana called the Sunshower Country Club.

Q. How did you hear about it?
A. The Internet. I had read other race reports about nude runs and so for the past few years I had kept my eye on http://www.nuderuns.com/CalendarMain.html waiting for a race to be close to where I live.

Q. Why did you decide to do it?
A. I'm always up for unique races and for whatever reason running naked through the woods sounded sorta fun to me.

Q. Weren't you worried about chaffing?
A. I might have ran a few naked miles on my treadmill to identify trouble spots. Pro-tip: Don't aim the treadmill fan at waist level if you are naked and tend to sweat a lot.

When I turned off the road and onto the driveway leading back to the resort I had to talk to someone via intercom system to open the gate. As I was waiting for the gate to open a naked man on the resort side of the gate ran by. Stuff just got real.

The club had some great volunteers who directly me to a parking spot and then pointed out the office where registration was set up. I wasn't sure on nudist etiquette (did I need to find a bathroom to get naked in or is it okay to just strip by my car) so I walked to the office clothed. Along the way I began to hear what sounded like a race director providing instructions over a loud speaker. This sense of race normalcy was comforting as I passed a number of naked people. Then I saw that the man on the mic was naked as the day he was born himself.

I walked into the office where the race director had set a registration table. She was wearing a shirt but appeared to be wearing no pants. When she asked if I wanted a pink, blue, or green t-shirt I decided on pink because just like I had never race naked I had never owned a pink shirt. This choice seemed to delight the race director and some of the other ladies in the office (all mostly clothed). Next I was directed to the resort's sign in desk where I filled out a form (and was instructed no less than four times not to write my SSN on it) and then had my driver's license scanned.

I headed back to my car and well there was nothing left to do but get naked. I was happy that it was overcast but I still made sure to hit everything was sunscreen. I imagine a sunburn in certain areas would not be particularly pleasant. I have to say it's a weird feeling applying sunscreen to your bare ass standing in a parking lot as other cars continue to pull into the lot. I was particularly aware of a woman sitting in a truck parked next to me who as far as I could tell stayed in her vehicle and read a book the entire duration of the event. I assume her husband/boyfriend dragged her to the race and she decided to stay put, which unfortunately for her meant she saw me naked at frequent intervals.

Time to warmup!


Event warmup:

I wanted to be at the start line about 5 minutes prior to the race starting and I wanted to run about a 10 min warmup so I sorta just walked around the resort for a few minutes. A few things stood out to me. First the recreation facilities all looked immaculate, but the campers and RVs that populated the lots of the resort were in various levels of cleanliness. Next, I felt myself automatically entering locker room social rules as I approached people. Eyes up! Finally, I have to say that naked people are invariably nice and cheerful.

Oh and it was super awesome watching the naked dude do high step warmups. Loved it.

After seeing the sights it was finally time to get after it. I did a quick 2 min run to identify any additional chaffing issues and headed back to the car for some more body glide. Pro Tip: Just body glide everywhere your shorts would normally be. I headed out on the course and did a warmup mile. I was happy to find that the amount of bouncing around was much less than on a treadmill.

About ten minutes til the race director lined us up. Of the race participants I'd say it was 80-85% dudes and 15-20% women. About 95% of the dudes were naked except for shoes and socks. The women on the other hand were mainly clothed (I'd say only 10-15% were completely naked, another 10-15% just wore shirts, and the rest were fully clothed). We lined up, and before you knew it we were off!
Run
  • 21m 17s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 06m 52s  min/mile
Comments:

Looking back I'm sort of amazed at how normal the race seemed. About a mile in I had settled into fifth place and the dude in front of me wasn't a crazy naked dude, he was just the dude in 4th that I needed to catch. I think I was a little more cautious running down hills than I normally am (wiping out naked would suck) but other than that I don't think running naked was really that different than running clothed. I managed to catch the guy in 4th about 2 miles in and I built a solid lead. I wasn't going to catch the guy in third so I just ran it in.

Some highlights of the race for me:

-Out on the loop there was a woman sitting in a chair on top of a RV who cheered wildly each time I popped out of the woods.

-Naked spectators are the best spectators

-The race director. Seriously, this guy never stopped chattering on the mic and I think he nailed every double entendre in the book.

What would you do differently?:

Not a damn thing.
Post race
Warm down:

I ran back to the car, grabbed my gym bag, and hit the showers, which of course were outdoors without any doors or curtains. I then went back to the race and cheered on the rest of the runners. After the last person finished I sat around waiting for the awards ceremony. I took first place in the 30-39 age group which led to the surreal experience of walking up to an awards podium completely nude while being cheered by about 75 mostly nude people. I resisted the urge to flex.

I had a family function later in the day so much to my chagrin I left shortly after the awards ceremony instead of staying for the pool party. Once I got back to my car I reluctantly put back on my clothes and headed home. About 10 miles down the road the entire experience seemed like an awesome dream.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Nothing. I was super close to PRing this bad boy even though I was still recovering from a cold. If anything I learned that it's the clothes that have been holding me back this whole time.

Event comments:

A wonderful experience. I'm totally doing this every year. I'm hooked!




Last updated: 2014-08-03 12:00 AM
Running
00:21:17 | 03.1 miles | 06m 52s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/
Overall: 4/56
Performance: Good
Course: The course started with an out and back on a gravel road and then moved to a two loop course of mostly grassy trails with some small rolling hills.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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