Back in 2009, when Naomi Teeter realized she weighed 300 pounds, she knew something had to change. She decided then that she would go on a weight loss journey by eating healthier and exercising more.
At the beginning, Teeter vowed that she would lose 150 pounds. She imagined that although the journey would be tough, everything would also “magically change” in the process.
She would no longer despise herself and her body, she would be able to do incredible things like go skydiving.
But although Teeter was able to lose half her body weight, she hadn’t anticipated that she’d have to get used to her now saggy skin. At times, her self-consciousness got so bad that she sometimes wanted her 300-pound body back, just so she wouldn’t have to deal with her excess skin.
It was a change that Teeter knew she’d have to not just get used to – but fully embrace.
After seven years – and a skin-removal surgery – Teeter has managed to keep the weight off and learned to love her new body.
Now, in celebration of her newfound confidence and body, Teeter has decided to complete a full marathon, completely naked.
Over the course of her weight loss journey, Teeter fell in love with running. She participated in many races, half-marathons, and marathons, so she figured the Bare Buns Fun Run would be a victorious way for her to round off her personal journey.
Teeter knew the marathon was something she could do, easily, on a physical level. But when it came to finding the self-confidence to run naked, she had to work up to it by running on her treadmill at home, naked.
On the day of the actual race, Teeter admitted she was incredibly uncomfortable at first, but at the finish line, she felt that same “tremendous sense of pride and accomplishment that accompanies the experience.”
“There were literally hundreds of naked strangers cheering, clapping, using noisemakers, and giving us high fives to welcome us to the ranks of "naked finisher" with them,” she recalled.
After the fact, Teeter couldn’t be happier with her decision to complete this naked marathon. “I spent too long proving I was perfect and strong. Now it was time to show I could be vulnerable and love myself for who I am (rather than who people think I am).”
