People Paying Actual Money To Be Chased By Fake Zombies In 5K Race

I blame The Walking Dead entirely for this: over 75,000 people have signed up to participate in 5k races across the country in which runners are chased by people dressed and made up to look like zombies. It’s called the Run For Your Lives Adventure.

Reports Outside Online:

Run For Your Lives works as follows: Participants sign up to be either runners or zombies. Runners are given two flags. They’re then tasked with running a 5k obstacle course race with a two-flag belt. Obstacles are natural, man-made, and, well, man. Zombies are given life-blurring make-up makeovers and then tasked with guarding a certain zone on the course. Some zombies run after you (sorry, zombie purists), and others kind of loaf around like someone without a soul presumably would.

Zombies try to steal flags, and runners try to avoid them. Physical contact isn’t allowed. (“You don’t wanna make physical contact with the zombies because then you’ll become one,” Smith tells runners. Also: “We’ve had to remove a zombie.”) If a runner finishes with at least one flag still intact, he/she has survived and is eligible for a number of post-race prizes. If a runner has no flags at the finish line, then he/she is technically a zombie and therefore ineligible for prizes.

Upcoming race locations include Toronto, Austin, Baltimore, Los Angeles and San Diego. Considering how much running sucks I can sort of see the appeal.

(HT: Bruce Arthur. Photo via Run For Your Lives Facebook)