Go public in your jammies for cancer cause

Dressing up in costumes to participate in charity fun runs is becoming more common, but one of the most successful costume-themed races to emerge in Charleston in recent years is the Knology Pajama Run and Walk, a 5K staged from Riley Park.

Why pajamas? The event raises money for the Medical University of South Carolina's Hollings Cancer Center for research on cancers occurring below the waist: ovarian, testicular, prostate, bladder and colon.

The three previous runs combined have raised more than $30,000 for Hollings. This year's goal is $40,000.

"We are looking forward to a record-breaking turnout this year," says Lee Endicott, general manager for Knology of Charleston, the host of the race. "The Pajama Run has been a philanthropic cause near and dear to Knology's heart for the last several years and we are thrilled to watch it grow."

I went last year just to take photographs and saw some amazing costumes, expanding on the pajama theme. Two women dressed up as two "cat ladies" wearing curlers and bathrobes with nine stuffed animal cats stuck on them.

Another group dressed up as characters in bedtime stories. And last year, when the bed bug epidemic was scaring travelers across the country, students from Pinehurst Elementary School in North Charleston dressed up as bugs.

The fourth chapter of the Pajama Run takes place at 10 a.m. Saturday at Riley Park.

The entry fee is $25 but $35 on race day. Team registration, five or more runners or walkers, is $20 per person. Student registration is $15 per student (school identification required). Children under 10 are free!

www.pajamarun.org.

MUSC 2-miler

In celebration of the 23rd anniversary of the MUSC Wellness Center/Harper Student Center, the center is holding the fourth annual Healthy Charleston Challenge 2-Miler Run & Walk.

This is the only race of its distance in the Charleston area, and perhaps the state. It will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, staged from the center at 45 Courtenay Drive.

The race is a good deal for those who may want to join a gym in the month leading into Thanksgiving feasting and Christmas parties.

Registration, which is $30, includes one month's membership to the Wellness Center for those who are not current members.

Members can "gift" the month membership to a friend or family member.

www.musc.edu/hsc and click on "running programs."

Run for Thanks

In its 27th year, the Run for Thanks 5-mile race, which also includes a 3-mile walk, is an event that any local avid runner should do at least once.

Held in Pinopolis, a peninsula jutting into Lake Moultrie near Moncks Corner, the event has one of my favorite post-race festivities: homemade soup (for purchase) and cornbread by the United Methodist Women at Pinopolis UMC.

The run, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church (just up from the Methodist Church), also offers a bounty of prizes to top finishing runners overall and age groups. The fee is $25. Participants are asked to bring canned goods to distribute to the local food bank.

monckscornerkiwanis.org.

Turkey Day Run

By the time the next Charleston Scene hits driveways and computer screens, 5,000-plus people will be gathering in downtown Charleston for the area's second biggest race and the nation's 29th largest 5K: the 34th annual Knights of Columbus Turkey Day Run & Gobble Wobble.

The event will be at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving Day, staged from Marion Square.

A kid's fun run starts in the square at 10 a.m. If you are in the Charleston area on Thanksgiving and like to run, jog or walk, this is a must-do race, a great way to kick off your holiday of feasting, family and football.

www.turkeydayrun.com.