Undies and Dolphins. Must Be Thursday in Kona

October 9, 2025

Photos: Kevin Mackinnon

There was some debate this morning between the men we’ve traditionally associated with the infamous Underpants Run here in Kona. It takes place on Thursday morning before Saturday’s big race and, for years, was led by Roch Frey and Paul Huddle. Legend always had it that the pair figured it was a great way to get folks to loosen up a few days before race day, and also saw it as a great way to make fun of the uber-serious folks racing who were known to wear their workout wear (read, Speedo) pretty much everywhere.

IRONMAN chief operating officer, Shane Facteau, was on the phone with both Frey and Huddle this morning, and reported that the two couldn’t agree on whether or not the Underpants Run got started in 1997 or 1998. According to the IRONMAN Foundation page on the event, though, it was 1998.

“The UPR was conceived in 1998 by Chris Danahy, Tim Morris, and Paul Huddle as a protest against wearing Speedos in inappropriate places (stores, restaurants, etc.),” the site reports. Turns out the Underpants Run has raised more than $400,000 for the community since it began, too.

Shane Facteau … before

Facteau got on the stage and it wasn’t long before the crowd was pointing out that he most definitely wasn’t in his underpants. He complied to the “take it off” chants with the removal of his shirt, but that was as far as he went.

… and after.

Suffice it to say that a good time was had by all, and we’ve got photos to prove it. We also roamed around the pier for a bit to take in some of the action from the Roka Morning Swim, which featured some dazzling spinner dolphin performances. Enjoy our pics from this morning here in Kona!