Photo by Donald Miralle / IRONMAN

(BIVN) – The traditional UnderPants Run was held on in Kona Thursday morning, a part of the series of events leading up to the VinFast IRONMAN World Championship in Kona. 

More than 800 people participated in the event, said to be “an iconic staple of race week and one of the most well attended events” of the IRONMAN race week. 

The UnderPants Run was conceived in 1998 by Chris Danahy, Tim Morris, and Paul Huddle as a protest against wearing Speedos in inappropriate places, the IRONMAN organizations say. The event has since morphed into a “pre-race icebreaker”, officials say. 

The UnderPants Run is presented by The IRONMAN Foundation. This year the event raised over $36 thousand in non-profit giveback for the race communities, race officials say.