I got the chance to sit down with Jarett Lopez and Brad Galbraith to discuss the Nearly Naked Mile, which they are hosting Sunday October 26th in Sandy Hill. A run which is open to students of all running skill levels that involves running slightly less than a mile throughout our beloved campus.
Brad explained that the premise of the run is simple: show up in whatever clothes you intend to donate, and upon registration you will then remove your clothing and take place in the run wearing only your underwear.
The significance of this is two-fold;
1) The run is meant to collect clothing for homeless people in this rapidly approaching winter, so by taking part in this run in minimal clothing the participant is given a taste of what it is like to be in our harsh climate without the proper resources.
2) Promoting positive body image. Jarett stressed to me that he is interested in any organization that strives to promote positive body image, in both genders, and would love if anyone who works at such an organization could promote it on the Nearly Naked Mile Facebook page.
The guys decided on this event because they felt it would drum up excitement among students, and it is a way to donate to a good cause while also taking part in a fun and simple event. Jarett compared it to the ALS bucket challenge, which students loved taking part in, but many students did not care about the cause as much as they cared about the challenge. With the Nearly Naked Mile, the hope is that students will be interested in the challenge of running across campus in only underwear, as well as bringing awareness and understanding of the issue of homelessness in Ottawa.
With “charity” based events there can sometimes be a question of where exactly the money is going to, but this is not the case for this event due to the fact that it is a donation-based event. All of the clothing that is collected at the beginning of the run is going to be used productively by many homeless people throughout Ottawa.
If you are interested in taking part in this exciting event, go to this website where you can find out information and register for the run: http://www.thennmile.eventbrite.ca/
It costs $30 to purchase entry into the event and includes a Naked Mile Kit, which has an event shirt, water bottle, stress ball, and drawstring bag. After the event there will be an after party at the Laurier Social House in Sandy Hill, so be ready to party!