Paul Knepley doesn’t want to miss out on another national competition.

Last year, the senior architecture major qualified for the USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship race, but couldn’t make the trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, due to high travel costs. But this year, as SU’s club triathlon team captain, Knepley feels partially responsible for getting all six of his teammates to compete in nationals.

The large number of club sports at SU prevents the university from providing each with sufficient funding to travel off campus, Knepley said. Without the university’s financial backing, each member of the triathlon team would need to pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket to go to nationals, and they aren’t always able to.

Knepley decided to team up with his co-captain, Dan Larkin, to replicate a charity event they heard proved successful at universities such as Purdue University and Indiana University East. Hearing of their success at raising funds with a Nearly Naked Mile run, they wanted to try the event at SU.  

The first Nearly Naked Mile: SU Edition will take place Friday at 8 p.m. on the Quad. Registration for the event costs $5. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to the Westcott Community Center, and the rest will go toward the SU triathlon team for the nationals competition on April 9.  

‘We’re just trying to draw attention to the Westcott Community Center, as well as ourselves,’ Knepley said. ‘We want to help club sports become more visible on campus and in the community.’

At the starting line, students will strip down to their underwear or wear a costume of their choice. The Department of Public Safety won’t tolerate indecent exposure, said Larkin, a senior environmental science major in the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. All clothing taken off before the race will be donated to the Westcott Community Center.

Knepley and Larkin wanted students to have the option of wearing a costume because it provides those who are self-conscious about stripping down with another opportunity to participate.

Students will run approximately one mile around campus — beginning at College Place in front of the Connective Corridor bus stop, down University Place, uphill past Crouse College, around Eggers Hall and the Carrier Dome, and then back to where they started.

The team had difficulty raising money from their indoor triathlon charity events in the past because students were intimidated by having to run, bike and swim like in a real triathlon, Larkin said.

‘We were just trying to figure out an event that would attract people to come, because in the past, that’s what we’ve had a problem with,’ Knepley said. ‘So we tried to make a distance that was short and an event that was fun for everyone.’

The team hopes to encourage even more school spirit by inviting Otto the Orange to the race.

Fast runners and students with the best school spirit will receive prizes. Larkin said local businesses were generous in donating gift certificates and vouchers for the event.

‘It’s our first time doing an event like this, so it’s a learning process,’ Knepley said. ‘But we definitely tried to hit the nail on the head with this one.’

Larkin and Knepley said they decided to have the event in the evening because it would be more accessible to students. They hope traffic will be at a minimum because students will be running in the street.

Junior Laura Head, a special and inclusive education major, thinks the event is a good way to build camaraderie between students and plans to attend the event no matter what the weather is like.

‘It’s only a mile — as long as you’re wearing tennis shoes and put on a sweatshirt at the finish line, I don’t think it’s a concern,’ Head said. ‘I’m not worried about it at all.’

Head, who loves running, said she is excited for the event because it provides her with the opportunity to use her passion for a good cause.

‘It makes a good story, and it’s something I want to say I took part in.’

egsawyer@syr.edu

Published on March 30, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Liz: egsawyer@syr.edu | @3sawyer