For those who have ever wished to run down High Street yelling “We’re going streaking!” like Will Ferrell in “Old School,” tonight’s your chance.
Ohio State students and AXE, a male grooming brand, have teamed up to bring the first OSU AXE Undie Run Challenge to Columbus.
Tonight’s run encourages students to give the clothes off their backs — literally — to the homeless, and then run about a mile in their underwear to celebrate their philanthropy.
All the clothing shed will be donated to a local homeless shelter, the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless.
The challenge is between OSU and nine other universities. AXE will provide bins and will weigh clothes donated at the event. Whichever school donates the heftiest load of clothes wins a half-naked statue to put on its campus. So far, Arizona State University is in the lead with a donation of 5,300 pounds of clothes.
But students don’t have to strip to donate. Everyone, including those who might be too shy to run around half naked, are encouraged to bring bags of unwanted clothes to donate.
The run will begin at 9:30 p.m. on the corner of 15th Avenue and High Street. Runners will head eastbound on 15th, turn left on Indianola Avenue, then left onto Woodruff Avenue. From Woodruff, runners again turn left on High Street, ending up back at 15th, where they can attend an after-party at O Patio & Pub. The route is less than a mile long.
According to AXE’s Facebook page, Undie Runs are a “way to unwind and give back to the community” by having students “run buck-ass wild across campus.” Other schools have hosted their own undie runs in the past, but this is the first year AXE is getting involved.
AXE chose 10 universities across the country to participate in AXE-sponsored Undie Runs on or around their campuses. They had each school partner with a local homeless shelter to receive the clothing donations.
AXE has also pledged to make a $5,000 donation to the charity associated with each school’s Undie Run.
Even though there’s a start and finish line, the run is not a race. The run is to give students an opportunity to let loose and have a good time, said Jake Schnall, a third-year in marketing and logistics and one of the organizers of the run.
To kick off the event, AXE representatives will be on hand giving out underwear and other free items. A disc jockey will also be on the scene. Schnall said he wants people to have fun with the event and get creative. Although students can’t run completely nude, they can wear just about anything else.
“As long as it’s covered, go for it,” Schnall said.
Students don’t have to get skimpy to be charitable. Schnall said he heard of students at other runs wearing lots of layers and then stripping them off as they go.
Students can even run with their clothes on, “but we are hoping (they’ll) be in underwear,” Schnall said.
If the event is a success and a lot of people participate, Schnall said he would like to see it continue as an annual event. And he might see that happen because more than 2,900 people said they will be attending on the OSU AXE Undie Run Facebook page.
To learn more about the OSU Axe Undie Run, visit facebook.com/AXE.
