Zombie Apocalypse Run

      At our very first exchange during Hood to Coast, there was a group of zombies walking around promoting an up coming race.  I took a free t-shirt, thought the premise of the race sounded fun, but didn't really believe I would participate.  A month later, I was talking to a friend who had participated in it the previous year and he convinced me I had to do it.  It's called the Zombie Apocalypse Run.

      When you sign up for this run you have a choice: to run as a Survivor, or to run as a Zombie.  I chose Survivor.  I just loved the idea of being chased!  As a Survivor you wear a belt with 2 vinyl breakaway flags.  We also got a 2 minute head start before a siren went off and the zombies were unleashed.  The whole goal of the zombie is to get as many flags from the survivors as they can.  I knew there was going to be tons of people in costume and the best idea I could come up with was to dress in camo so we could blend in well.

      The event was held in Dayton, OR at a pumpkin patch right before dusk.  It was a 5K course and we ran through a corn maze, into a forest, and out on an open trail.  There were so many things going on while we ran.  A helicopter hovered overhead yelling things down to us;  there were tanks with people dressed in military attire telling us to hurry "they were coming!"; there were zombies walking around reaching out while you ran by; it was super fun!  One family that I ran along with had a backpack full of water balloon grenades.  Hearing their running commentary was comical.  Spencer was originally signed up to run with me, but he ended up being invited to participate in his own super fun event, which I will post about later.  So in place of Spencer, I recruited my friend Julie-Anne.  Both of us were 9 minutes into the run when we got our flags ripped off.  

     One of the compelling reasons I wanted to participate in this event was because of the dessert you can get afterwards.  I was told they sell apple slices that are battered and deep fried; then tossed in cinnamon sugar and covered with whipped topping and caramel sauce.  Oh boy, the goodness of it lived up to every inch of the hype.  It was heavenly, and I didn't feel an ounce of guilt! :-) This was such a fun event!  I will definitely be doing it again next year.