Would you ever dream of stripping down to your underwear some freezing morning to go out and run with hundreds of other people just for the "fun" of the challenge?

That's precisely what happened at an undie run, in the city of Changchun's Jingyue Park, on March 21, where more than 100 people were tempted enough to join the frolic, which, unlike other foot races, had no starting gun, finish line, referees and certainly no trophies.

But it did attract lots of excited participants who were determined to challenge the blustery weather, including four students from the tropical island of Samoa, who are studying in Changchun and who said they like outdoor activities.

They went on to explain, "We came over to conquer the cold weather." The runners began the run around the park at 9:00 am and most appeared to be athletic, with a long history of jogging or taking part in marathons and one of the oldest, Huang Guancheng, who, at 70, has been running for decades.

But, when Huang began peeling off his outer layer of clothing early to reveal a T-shirt and shorts, he was told by organizers to stop because, "They were worried about me catching a cold on that cold day."

Still, he finished the 3.5 km run with a good time and said he joined the gathering to build up his body and have some fun, after all, "You really feel nature when you're so close to it in the cold weather."

Many of the runners turned their scantily clad bodies into art work by inking slogans or painting animal icons on their front, with one young participant painted a tiger on himself which got a lot of attention.

His reason was, "I intended to be different from the others, it's just part of my personality."

This first Changchun Undie Run was the brainchild of Mr.Zheng and a group of friends, who said, "This activity is fun and it calls for many people to start their exercises in early spring. And it will be an annual thing."

Beijing has previously held a similar event, drawing as many as 300 people.