Alligator Online
By BRETT KELMAN
A stampede of scantily clad students scurried from campus at midnight Saturday.
In a pair of black boxer-briefs, UF graphic design major Beau Bergeron sprinted the first steps of The Great Underwear Dash II and signaled more than 500 students to follow from the Hub, through parts of campus, down University Avenue and back again.
As the runners tore through the city bar scene, shouts echoed among the sea of skivvies bellowing enjoyment, embarrassment, exhaustion and just how great it is to be a Florida Gator.
"It was bigger than I ever could have imagined," Bergeron said afterward.
The run, which was advertised mostly by word of mouth, easily reached its goal of 500 runners, according to Bergeron. He said Sunday that the rave reviews posted on facebook.com left him thrilled.
"So many people had such a great night," he said.
University Police was present at the dash but did not interfere.
On the runners' return trip, some on-campus traffic was blocked, but drivers were mostly content to honk, high-five, join in or stare. The half-naked horde returned to the Hub less than 15 minutes after they had left, now sporting wider smiles and breathing deeply.
For some, the race was not over.
Some runners had abandoned their clothes at the Hub under bushes and in Alligator distribution bins.
A handful of students, who insisted on being identified only as the Knicker Knockers, had snagged about 20 runners' clothing during the dash. A homemade sign was left in their place.
"Want to see your precious knickers again? Been to Gator Nights recently?" it read.
Moments later the confused runners gathered outside the Reitz Union, where they found a second clue that pointed them to the infirmary. "For the hell of it!" someone in the crowd shouted as they sprinted a short side-trip down the lanes of Gator Nights' blacklight bowling arena, and then the hunt began.
Clues led the group from the infirmary to the chemistry labs, on a dash across the Plaza of the Americas, to the rear of Criser Hall, and to a sculpture at the architecture building, with each stop leading them closer to their missing clothes.
Finally on the third floor of Little Hall, almost an hour after the run, the runners found their knickers, the several knockers who had nabbed them, and a pile of candy.
"We figured that once you take your clothes off and throw them on the ground, all bets are off," a male Knicker Knocker said. Runners had mixed feelings about the heist.
The Knicker Knockers had originally planned to videotape their theft and the ensuing hunt for a video-arts project, but were "freaked out" when they saw how many students turned out for the dash, he said. All the Knockers ran the first underwear dash in April.
After the success of Saturday's run, a Great Underwear Dash III is guaranteed, Bergeron said, adding that he wanted to control the next run with UPD's help and that he wanted to hold off until late Spring.
"I want people to forget about it, and then I want it to come back again," he said.