Just before 11 a.m. Friday, one student barreled down Dunn Meadow at full tilt, chest lowered and arms straight out behind him. Running at full speed, he went from South Indiana Avenue to the north side of the Indiana Memorial Union before finally slowing down.
As silently as he had come, the student climbed the steps to East Seventh Street and continued about his day. Once he was gone, the bells chimed 11 a.m., signaling either the end of something great or the beginning of something much greater than the man himself.
Curious onlookers may have been confused by such a seemingly spontaneous event, but at least 449 people clicked that they were “interested” in attending the Facebook event, called “Run across Dunn Meadow Naruto style,” set for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.
The details for the event, which was organized by Alex Venchuk, only said, “It’s time to run.” Venchuk was not in attendance to comment, but others did show up.
“What better way to experience the meme culture of today than to re-enact something like this?” sophomore Abe Shapiro said.
While the actual function of these Naruto runs is uncertain, Brach Ladow, a junior who was familiar with Naruto run events, said IU students were there for fun.
“It’s so over-the-top and stupid that we’re insulting you by showing up,” Ladow said.
Running ninja-style is a form of running popularized by the Japanese manga and anime series “Naruto,” which follows a teenage boy as he works to become the village leader by mastering his ninja powers.
Junior Mary Bolander, who showed after the first run, explained that in Naruto, they have technology such as refrigerators and computers, but they don’t have cars, so they have to run everywhere they go. Running “ninja style,” chest forward and arms back, allows them to travel much faster.
Of the four attendees, only Bolander said she was a fan of the show.
“I’ve always wanted to try running ninja-style, and I figured if I did it in a large group of people, I wouldn’t look as ridiculous,” Bolander said.
Across the country, college campuses and cities have Facebook events for running Naruto-style. Most popular is Naruto Run Around Trump Tower, which is set for 7 p.m. Sept. 1 in Chicago, with more than 13,300 people interested in attending as of Sunday afternoon.
While not all 149 people whose Facebook pages said they were attending the IU event may have shown, this wacky form of running did manage to bring at least a few people together for an hour in Dunn Meadow.
Aside from the first runner and Bolander, only three other people showed for the event around 11 a.m. It wasn’t until 11:20 a.m. that they prepared to run. The runners took their marks near East Seventh Street, arms cocked back. As they readied themselves, a ninja began the countdown.
“Three, two, one, ninja!” he yelled. The three ran across the meadow as quickly as they could, one of them screaming all the while.
