The Naked Truth about Nude Running

It just keeps getting better.  This winter's weather that is.  Today is another gorgeous late-winter day: high temp in the 40s with abundant sunshine.  The only negative is a stiff northwest breeze, but that can be ignored unless you're running into it.  I did an easy one-hour maintenance run--my final run before this weekend's 22-mile long run.  I still haven't settled on a day--either Saturday or Sunday.  Tomorrow is cross training.  I prefer to do the long run on Saturday, but I'll let the weather dictate the date.  Right now, Sunday looks to have an advantage, but it's slight.  Mostly a difference in wind speed.  That's not enough to change my mind.   So, unless the forecast changes, it'll be Saturday.  Stay tuned.

Sports Illustrated's annual swimsuit issue came yesterday.  I don't subscribe to the magazine, but my wife brings it home from her dental office.  Not just the swimsuit issue.  Every issue.  Of course, I read it--the swimsuit issue--for the articles.  The truth is that there's not much in the way of sports' writing--or any other writing--in the issue.  It's mostly nearly-naked--or naked in the case of the models wearing nothing but paint--women in exotic locations strutting their stuff.  And, I guess SI is to be commended for not pretending the issue is something it's not.  This is about s-e-x.  Pure and simple.  Sex is used to sell almost everything else, so why not sports?  Or, at least, sports' magazines.  

I subscribe to two magazines: Trail Runner and Backpacker.  To my knowledge, neither of them has done a swimsuit issue.  But, in its latest issue (March 2012), Trail Runner does have an article on nude racing in which they promise to reveal "The Naked Truth" on the subject.  Of course, this kind of thing invites bad puns.  If not bad runs.  Maybe this is why the editors call Trail Runner "One Dirty Magazine." Or, not.

Among other things, Jen Burn, the author, introduces us to Sue and Gary Butts--yeah, I know--who run a series of clothing-optional events along the east coast.  The piece even includes a sampling of nude events including the Bouncing Buns 7K Trail Run in Pennsylvania.

I can't see myself racing naked.  The world's not ready for that.  But, with naked runners in the field, I bet there'd be less crowding at the starting line.  But, before you conclude that nude racing is for you, you need to answer one question: Where do you pin the race number?