Hey everyone, it’s that time of year again when we remind you that if you are going to Penticton for Ironman Canada at the end of August, don’t forget to join us Friday morning, August 27 at 8am for the annual Underpants Run.

The Underpants Run is a great way to blow off some steam if your an athlete and fun for the whole family.

A short 3 km run along the beach helps raise money for Bikes for Kids. An organization that helps kids in cycling sports get the equipment they need to realize their dream of the Olympics or professional sport.

Enter to run by purchasing or making a donation for a pair of tighty whities or underpants, at Peach City Runners, Main St. Penticton or the day of at the venue.
All proceeds are used to further kids in sport.

See you there, North side of the Star Bucks, Friday, August 27, 8am.

Bikes for Kids.ca

Steve Brown – Peach City Runners, Penticton, BC

Cal Kellett – Real Rides.ca, Calgary, AB

This year was a great success for the Underpants Run during the ’09 Ironman event in Penticton, BC. Our goal each year with the run is to lighten up the mood for those athletes waiting anxiously for race morning, and for those who support these athletes to have a little fun as well.
Your support this year has helped us to sponsor another great young athlete, Ryan Chan-Yaneff. With the help of Barry Mah, our hard working SPECIALIZED Rep here in Alberta, we were able to present Ryan with a brand new Specialized road “Roubaix” bike just before Christmas. You can only imagine his delight & disbelief!

Thank you to everyone who contributed time, effort and funds to the cause, and especially to Barry Ma and SPECIALIZED for their generous contribution. A special thank you to the amazing team at GEARS BIKES in Mississauga, Ira Kargel-Kennedy and Kevin Wallace, who brought the bike in and built it up to fit Ryan perfectly.

Of course many thanks to Barrie Shepley from PERSONAL BEST for helping us find such a deserving young athlete. Ryan’s a special young man and we know that he will be motivated to pursue a long career in cycling and triathlon.

Thanks again,

Steve and Cal

The Under Pants Run at Ironman Canada is not just a way for athlete and various exhibitionists to show their styling new undies to the world, it also serves to raise money for Bikes for Kids.

For the past two years our charity ‘Bikes for Kids’ has used proceeds from the annual Underpants Run, an event in which participants run a few kilometres in nothing but their underwear, to help rising triathletes and cyclists by presenting them with professional-quality bikes. Recipients are chosen based on passion, talent and financial need.

Bikes for Kids sells sponsored under pants and takes donations at this once a year, fun for the whole family event, to raise money to give these kids new bikes.

This year two Calgary Olympic Oval cyclists were presented with top of the line Specialized, Allez bikes as part of an initiative aimed at helping promising young Canadian athletes obtain the sporting equipment they can’t afford.

Bikes for kids would like to thank all our sponsors Peach City Runners & Nordic Ski in Penticton, BC, Real Rides in Calgary, Alberta, Multisports.com, in San Deago, California, Ace of Space Web Hosting, TCR Sports Lab in Calgary, Alberta, Ironfuel.com and specially Barry Ma from Specialized and the always great staff at Bow Cycle and Sports in Calgary, Alberta

It’s a lot of fun and a great cause.

The Underpants Run at Ironman Canada was once again a great success to the benefit of Bikes for Kids. Due to an outstanding number of participants in this year’s run, we were
able to raise the highest amount in a single year in the ten year history of the event!

Thanks to all who purchased 2009 souvenir underwear and made generous contributions.
A very special thank you to Mike Bock (Chinook Half Triathlon in Calgary) for his support and incredible donation of $1000.00.

Last year’s recipients of bikes are still training hard with our Olympic development team in Calgary and we hope to be able to inspire more kids in the sports of triathlon and cycling with this year’s proceeds.

Many thanks again this year to Roch Frey and Paul Huddle for kick-starting the run with their stirring rendition of The Underpants Motto and for their willingness to lead a scantily clad group of exhibitionists through the downtown core of Penticton!

As always, Steve Brown and the staff of Peach City Runners came through with their volunteer efforts, underpant purchase & sales, and their never ending enthusiastic support.

Thanks again to all those who participated and we hope to see you in 2010!

Cal Kellett
Bikes for Kids