Boulder, Colo., prepares for 10th annual Naked Pumpkin Run

Scripps Howard News Service

BOULDER,Colo. — Feel that draft?

Dozens of hearty runners expected to bare it all — except for the carved-out pumpkins placed over their heads — and run naked down the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder, Colo., tonight certainly will.

Halloween marks the 10th anniversary of the Naked Pumpkin Run, and organizers and participants are gearing up for another brisk night of in-the-buff fun downtown.

“Once the pumpkin goes on your head, it’s definitely such a group mentality that you just have to go with it,” said Winston Voigt, who participated in last year’s run for the first time and intends to do so again this year.

Yet those donning pumpkins might want to watch out for the cops.

Boulder Police Chief Mark Beckner said his department won’t send officers out specifically to bust participants. But he noted that officers who observe the nude sprinters do have the option to enforce indecent-exposure laws.

The Naked Pumpkin Run’s origins date back to 1999, when — according to the event’s Web site — two men, having worked their way through an undisclosed number of six-packs, came up with the idea of running nude with “20 pounds of orange flesh thrashing atop their heads.”