Most Winter Quarters, Northwestern students bundle up under layers of clothing. But Weinberg junior Phil Campanile couldn’t shed his clothes fast enough Saturday to earn a share of the “fastest skin to win” title at the Winter Carnival’s “Dare to Bare” 5K race.

“It’s great to be naked,” said Campanile, who sauntered uninhibited across the lawn behind Norris University Center completely nude after the race ended. “That’s really why I came out here. There’s no reason to be shameful or offended by the human form.”

After a lapse of several years, the traditional Winter Carnival returned to Northwestern this weekend, with events including the naked run, one-ton sundaes at The Rock, and a plastic foam snowman competition. New events this year included a horse-and-carriage ride along the Lakefill and a discussion with a New York cast member from MTV’s “The Real World.”

Thirty-six students ran in the five-kilometer race, some removing an article of clothing after every lap.

Speech senior Greg Kolb also won the “fastest skin to win” award and received several prizes, although he finished the race covering his genitals with a plastic drinking cup.

“What’s better than running in a race naked and ending up with a Barbie doll?” Kolb said.

Another popular event at the Winter Carnival attracted more than 1,000 students to The Rock for ice cream, said Paul Wolansky, Norris University Center associate director for campus activities. Servers scooped chunks of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice cream from two portable pools, and a table nearby offered maraschino cherries, peanuts, hot fudge, and whipped cream.

At an ice cream-eating competition, five students shoveled three cups of ice cream into their mouths until Weinberg senior Brendan Rose won.

“I was confronted about it at Norris, and I can never deny a challenge,” said Rose, who won a gift certificate. “(But) I regret not eating for the last 15 hours. I wanted to throw up the whole time.”