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Friday, April 10, 2009
Running nude
Think you can run faster without the burden of clothing? You can find out at the Bare Buns 5K Run at Star Ranch in McDade.
The nude race kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 18. Typically, it attracts between 80 and 125 runners.
“The majority of them run in the nude,” says Debra Leverington, office manager at the family-oriented nudist park, which opened in 1957. “Usually all the men do. The heavier-chested women usually wear a sports bra. Some run barefoot, but most wear tennis shoes.”
Wondering where to put your race number? On your hat if you’re wearing one, on a string around your neck if you’re not, or directly on your shoulder, with a marker.
The cross-country course runs through the Star Ranch grounds in Bastrop County, east of Austin. There’s also a 1K fun run for kids 17 and under. Registration is $25 and includes gate fees and a race T-shirt. You can sign up between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. race day on site.
Not everyone who does the race is a year-round nudist. “For some, it’s the one time of the year they get nude,” Leverington says.
Star Ranch is a member of the American Association for Nude Recreation. It’s got swimming pools, tennis and volleyball courts and playgrounds. You can dance, hike, play shuffleboard, darts, billiards or bingo, all sans apparel. Cabins are available for rental.
“It’s not a swingers club, it’s not an alternative lifestyle club,” Leverington says. “We are a family-oriented clothing-free club … We do encourage people to be nude, because we don’t want to encourage voyeurism.”
While nudity is encouraged, it’s not required. “We’re nudists, but we’re common-sense nudists. If it’s cold, by all means wear clothes. Or if you have medical reasons, like skin cancer, wear clothes.”
The park does sexual predator and criminal background checks on everyone who walks through the gate, she says.
For more information, call 866-705-5978 or go to www.starranch.net.
Would you run nude?
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