There comes a time in every man's life when he must pony up to survive the Zombie Apocalypse or submit to become fodder for the walking undead. Although that might seem a bit farfetched, that's exactly how my little brother Mikey pitched the first annual "Run for Your Lives" 5k mud run.
The course was designed as a traditional off trail mud run with obstacles peppered throughout the course with one significant distinction: zombie hazards around every bend. Runners were equip with a flag-football belt with three red flags. Zombies attack runners to swipe their flags (aka hit points) and runners try their best to stay alive.
Considering my past inexperience and under-training with this strain of race, I decided err on the side of male bravado (once again) and register for the course. That, and I would be participating with a pair of non-runners. . . not to mention my good friend and running buddy Jon who doubled-up the event as his pre-wedding bachelor outing.
It was set, we had our cast of characters: the jort-wearing hipster, the absent-minded professor, the Dudley Do-Right leader, and the shifty-eyed brooder. We speculated which would survive based on TV Tropes, and formulated our strategy for survival. The black sharpie marker emblazoned on my brother's stark white T-shirt said it best: I'll trip you first.
We were slated to run in the 8:00 AM wave, and had arrived in Shuresville, MD (just outside of Baltimore) well over an hour advance of start time. I could foresee parking would be problematic later on, as cars were already getting stuck in the mud first thing in the morning... and the event catered onward until 5:00 PM! Very reminiscent of festival parking.
The packet pickup system was chaotic at best. Participants were crammed into a carnival style tent with no discernible line leading into three checkpoints: running bib, flag-football belt, and runner's swag. The latter was especially disappointing: a WarWear (which I re-dubbed WarioWear) knockoff UnderArmor shirt with no event logo. Event shirts were for sale at the mercy tent. Lame.
That's where my criticisms start and end. The rest of the day was pure kick ass.
The event started in a canopied chute that blocked out visibility of any obstacles. Runners were channeled into one of three queue's: Appetizer for the elite runners, Entree for the 8 - 12 min/mi jogging crowd, and Dessert for the +12 min/mi walkers. Waves were released every 30 minutes. Since parking and registration took over two hours, we jumped into the 10:30 wave (which did not pose any problem).
In a matter of seconds, our cohort hurtled out of the chute in a surge of athletes running to an uncertain fate. We were pumped out into an open field inhabited by dozens upon dozens of zombies. I lost my footing, and slide down a grassy embankment, only to abruptly crash into the shins of a zombie. Somehow I managed to dart off to the side, narrowly evading the first wave of attack.
Now disoriented and dislodged from the guys, I trudged onward. Avoiding erratic runners proved quite a challenge. Finding myself wedged between a runner and the woods, a zombie managed to grab my first flag. Let me tell you, the zombies were very realistic in both make-up and role play. The whole event felt as if I was dropped into an episode of "Walking Dead." Poor luck or not, I managed to reconnect with the group within the first half-mile.
Run For Your Lives 2011 from Alexander Turoff on Vimeo.
Much of the running took place up hill, in sloppy mud, with hoards of zombies waiting at the top. Let's just say that hill training mixed with wind sprints was the perfect way to train for the event. I underestimated my ability to bob and weave. For my every zig, another zombie was ready to catch me on the zag back.
Flags two and three fell down quickly and I was marked for certain death unless I could locate another health pack rumored to be hidden on the course. Keep in mind runners were prohibited from picked up a pulled flag from the ground. The rulebook stated that cheaters might have their timed invalidated or else be removed from the course.
It's challenging to survive the zombie apocalypse solo; groups enhance survival.
Bands of strangers bonded together in numbers with the impromptu plan to surge the mountainside. Always run behind and towards the middle. Safety in numbers. This is exactly how my brother and his friend, the non-runners, managed to survive much of the race. We also conserved strength by plodding along at a comfortable pace, knowing we might have to high-tail at any given second.
All in all, the event was entirely worth the $80 price of admission. "Run for Your Lives" is far more than a themed mud run; it was also a full blown festival complete with a beer tent and an entire day's lineup of live music. Imagine health fair expo mashed up with Comic-Con… then add in copious amounts of zombie makeup and you might have some idea of the "Party at the End of the World" (as it was billed).
Next year I might be interested in volunteering as a Zombie and camping out after the event (which was $$$ add-on). Hopefully the series will continue to improve throughout this year, and will be a more refined race experience in 2012.
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