Let's keep underwear UNDER running clothes

I'm all for making 5K runs fun and putting a different twist on something that could be mundane.

After all, the Undy 5000 sounds a lot more fun than Run Against Colon Cancer.

The Undy 5000 is a nationwide series of 5Ks put on by the Colon Cancer Alliance to bring attention to colon cancer. It's similar to the Arthritis Foundation's Jingle Bell Run franchise. 

And I have no problem with drawing attention to colon cancer, which is one of the largest killers of U.S. residents.

But when people literally run around in their underwear in an event sponsored by a laxative manufacturer, that's where I draw the line. 

The Undy 5000 in Sacramento, Calif., wasn't just bordering on being tasteless. It was totally tasteless.

Back when school kids actually played on the playground, there was a chant, "I see London, I see France, I see someone's underpants."

Showing one's underwear was a no, no back then, and it should still be now.

Everywhere you looked around Land Park, March 3, were people wearing their undies on top of black running tights. Sure there were boxers. 

I'm sorry, but seeing people trot around in tighty whities (a.k.a. Jockeys) or lacy bikini panties is way overboard.

On top of it, the event was sponsored by a laxative.

If you're a regular runner (pardon the pun) and eat the recommended five to seven servings of fruits and vegetables every day, you're anything but constipated. 

In fact, runners suffer from the other extreme at times dubbed "runners' trots." A laxative is the last thing on their minds.

And who wants to wear a commemorative piece of clothing from an event sponsored by a laxative? Maybe a proctologist.

As its name implies, underwear is made to wear UNDER clothing. I think the Undy 5000 should keep it that way.