WASHINGTON 鈥� If Bobby Gill ever dreamed of gracing the cover of a national magazine as a child, he probably didn鈥檛 see it like this.
Wait, let鈥檚 back up.
Gill is only in this position because of his own creation, an event in which thousands of otherwise decent and professional people strip down to their underwear in the middle of winter to run around the middle of the city.
鈥淧eople start showing up at noon, the drinks start flowing, people start taking their pants off 鈥︹��
Alright, hold on, let鈥檚 go further back.
Gill, a Beltsville, Maryland native, was living a fairly normal life as a 20-something in the D.C. area after graduating from the University of Maryland. He had a good job working as a biomedical engineer for the Food and Drug Administration. He had picked up an interest in ultrarunning in his spare time, but had an otherwise commonplace social life.
Then one of his roommates鈥� younger brothers came down with a rare and debilitating disease, neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors to grow on the nervous system (if you鈥檙e a Nats fan, it may sound familiar 鈥� Ian Desmond has for research as well). Working with his friends, he decided to create a fundraiser for the Children’s Tumor Foundation to support the cause. They wanted something more than a simple race, and more than a simple happy hour.
鈥淭he idea kind of just came to us randomly, that why don鈥檛 we run around in our underwear in the freezing cold?鈥� says Gill. 鈥淭hat sounds like a fun thing to do, and people would probably pay to do that.鈥�
They expected maybe a few dozen would join them in their first endeavor, right after Snowmageddon, when powder was still piled high on the sidewalks around the District. Completely unprepared in their first year, they didn鈥檛 even secure the proper permits. 650 people showed up, and they raised about $10,000.
鈥淚t blew all of our expectations out of the water,鈥� says Gill, whose has since expanded to 39 cities in the U.S. and Australia and is on track to raise $5.5 million this year. It鈥檚 become a big enough deal that two years ago Gill left his day job to run the foundation that organizes the race full time.
And that鈥檚 why he鈥檚 on the cover of a national magazine, the December issue of Runner鈥檚 World, after wading his way through an open submission process, 100 initial candidates and 10 finalists.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something we never would have expected, but we鈥檙e hoping it really gets a lot of exposure for us,鈥� says Gill.
About that exposure. The folks at Runner鈥檚 World told Gill to bring along regular running clothes in blacks, whites and grays when he flew out for the shoot. Oh, and by the way, go ahead and pack your undies, too. They took plenty of photos in regular gear, but took a few crazy ones, too. Gill never figured they鈥檇 actually use one of those.
But when the cover was revealed on The Today Show, well 鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 normally really fit people,鈥� Gill says of magazine cover models. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 someone who鈥檚 wearing a little bit of clothing, it鈥檚 going to be someone who鈥檚 really jacked or super toned, which I am not.鈥�
But for anyone who might be a bit timid about the idea of running in one鈥檚 underwear, the race鈥檚 founder certainly walked the walk or, as it were, ran the run. He鈥檚 just praying nobody thinks the event is named after him.
鈥淚 hope they don鈥檛 associate me with like a fat little baby,鈥� he laughs.
The event is named after the cherub of love because of when it occurs, close to Valentine鈥檚 Day. The 2016 edition kicks off at noon on Feb. 13, with the pre- and post-party taking place at Asia DC and Eden in Farragut West. The course moved from its original run down by the Capitol Building, where it was run the first six years of the event.
That鈥檚 why we decided to run the run (albeit fully clothed) with Gill around the new layout, a roughly mile-and-a-half loop from I Street down to Constitution Avenue and back. If you want to sign up, the event usually fills up sometime in the month of January. And make sure you dress appropriately.
鈥淲e have absolutely had to turn people away,鈥� says Gill. 鈥淥ur limit is PG-13 max 鈥� this is for a children鈥檚 charity. We had a group of guys who wanted to streak the first event. We sent them to Rite-Aid to buy Depends. They actually looked like cupids out there running around in their big diapers.鈥�
See our in-motion interview below and .
