The difference between the 5K run/walk and Polar Plunge versions of next weekend's N.C. State 5K Run 'N Plunge? If you just do the 5K, you get a T-shirt. If you do the full Run 'N Plunge, you get a long-sleeve T-shirt, too. Well, there's that and the fact that to do the full deal you also have to "take a polar plunge into the wintry waters of Lake Raleigh."
What is it about an N.C. State tie that means you can't just do a run, you have to do something outlandish with it? Like eat a dozen dounts. Or, in the case of next Saturday's (Feb. 28) Run 'N Plunge, do a 5K, then do the wintry plunge thing. This one isn't the doing of students, though. The N.C. State 5K Rn 'N Plunge is put on by the Campus Police for the benefit of North Carolina Special Olympics athletes. Donate a minimum of $25 and do the 5K (and get the T-shirt!). Pony up a minimum of $50 and take the plunge (and get the long-sleeve T!). The 5K is at 9 a.m., the Plunge at 11 a.m. The long-term forecast suggests a temperature in the upper 50s come Plunge time. That's the air temperature, btw. You don't want to know about the water.
That's gotta be cold, even for a polar bear.
