To begin to tell this sordid story of things that shouldn’t be seen, I need to first set the tone:
It’s cold here. Not necessarily super cold, like sub zero, but cold none the less.
Good, now that’s established, on to the story. I left the Reg a little before five today in hopes of catching a $1 latte at the Divinity School Coffee Shop. It’s a Friday tradition here at the U of C and one I take full advantage of whenever I can. On my walk through the first quad I notice something strange:
Lots of people lined up on either side of the quad, forming a corridor of sorts. I get a little further and notice this:
I can’t say whether it was NBC or Telemundo who had sent a camera crew to the U of C. Curious as to what might be going on I asked one of the people what was up. They said it was The Polar Bear Run.
“Polar Bear Run… What’s that?” I replied.
“Part of the Winterfest”
“Winter what?”
“Oh… You must be a grad student… HERE THEY COME”
And then they came:
Fifty or more students. Mainly male with a spattering of females in there. All running. All missing clothes. Some all of them… burr…
And the first thing that ran through my mind is: I need to blog about this… Cell Phone Camera, AWAY!
quick aside on ethics: the only reason I photographed this was because I knew that the camera wouldn’t have enough resolution to capture faces. Beyond that, this was clearly a public event and therefore the people waived a lot of their rights by participating. And besides, they’ll all be shown on Telemundo anyway.
So apparently, there’s a Winterfest going on. It’s the type of thing they don’t tell the grad students about )we’re too busy studying). And this Polar Bear thing has been going on since 1983.
Anyway… What can I say. I’m scarred. Especially after watching some of the people do somersaults. Let’s just put it this way… Cold weather is not a friend to the naked.
I would’ve thought someone from Rochester would have somewhat thicker blood! It’s a mixed blessing for you not to have to shovel–every time I feel a little chill (my house has no intramural insulation), I just go out and clear the walk again to warm up. At the rate the snow’s falling, I’ll have met the government’s guidelines for moderate-to-vigorous exercise for the week by the end of the day.
Cheers and hot cocoa,
Victoria
The blood’s pretty thick. However, it’s important to note that Rochester is a driving city. So I haven’t spent this much time walking out in the cold in quite a while. Since my undergraduate in fact. So yes, I’ve definitely gone a little soft. However there’s a difference between being a little soft and running naked through the snow.
And your right, trudging through snow is a great exercise.
If it’s breathing the cold air that’s trouble for you (as it is for me with my cold- and exercise-induced asthma, what fun!), you should consider getting one of those polarfleece neck gaiters. It’s like a cross between an extensible turtleneck (with no shirt attached) and a really fitted scarf. The double layers ensure that no cold makes it to your lungs. Wonderful!
You’re right–I wouldn’t recommend naked outside in this weather, and frankly, naked outside any time in Chicago is a risky proposition.
Victoria
Let us hope this does not catch on here in Ra-cha-cha. Usually the people you see nekid are not ones you would choose to see nekid.