Hearty Runners Take To The Streets For Charity

By Edward Cardenas

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) - Sub-freezing weather couldn't stop hundreds of runners who ran through downtown Detroit Saturday in only their underwear for charity.

The 1,200 runners took part in the third Cupid's Undie Run, a one-mile run around downtown to raise funds for Children's Tumor Foundation.

The foundation is dedicated to eliminating neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder, affecting 1 in every 3,000 people, which causes tumors to grow along various types of nerves often leading to blindness, cancer, learning disabilities, and excruciating pain.

The event is sponsored by Quicken Loans, and has a personal connection to Quicken Loans founder and chairman Dan Gilbert whose son Nick was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis (NF).

To increase the impact of the money raised during the event, Gilbert and his wife Jennifer announced they would match any runner in Detroit or Cleveland who raises between $500 - $1,000.

The match totaled more than $180,000 in Cleveland and Detroit combined, and led to nearly $270,000 raised in Detroit and $217,000 in Cleveland.

In addition to sponsoring Cupid's Undie Run, the Gilberts host a major annual gala in downtown Detroit called the BeNeFit for NF research and Dan Gilbert serves on the boards of the Cleveland Clinic, the Washington D.C.-based Children's National Medical Center, and the Children's Tumor Foundation.