So when my husband asked me a few months ago whether I wanted to run in a “zombie race,” I almost automatically said, “No freaking way.”
But instead I agreed. And I’m so glad I did.
Last weekend, Dr. G. and I, and two of our friends, ran the Panic In the Dark 5K, which considers itself the “original nightmare obstacle course run.” Our team name? All Children Left Behind. Heh heh.
I admit I was pretty skeptical leading up to the race. Would it be super lame and cheesy? Or would it be fun and maybe even a little scary?
It was definitely more the latter (with a little tongue-in-cheek humor thrown in).
We headed up to Lowell (where I ran my half marathon a few weeks earlier) to the Lowell Auditorium – kind of the base camp for the race. We were signed up for the 7:20pm wave so we had a little time to kill; thankfully, we had a nice warm building, music and treats to keep us somewhat entertained.
Unfortunately, they were running a bit late, so it took awhile to get to our heat.
Once they called our time, we headed up to get our headlamps then were sent to a small room for an orientation video. Most of it was the typical stuff – what to do if you’re hurt or want to drop out, etc. – but towards the end, an “Emergency Message” broke through, and 2 or 3 National Guardsmen came on to warn us about the “zombie apololypse” upon us, and how they were going to get us to safety.
It was a nice touch.
As soon as it was over, a zombie burst through the closet door and suddenly we found ourselves racing through hallways and bathrooms of zombies just to make our way to the bus that was transporting us to the woods where the actual race was taking place.
Totally unexpected. But I loved it.
When we arrived, an “Army guy” came on board and warned us about the zombies and told us to RUN!
And so we did.
The first bit was completely uphill, and wearing my old crappy sneakers, I felt totally winded and unprepared. But once we got going, I was fine (which was good, since our friends are marathoners who run much faster than Dr. G. and I do!). We careened through the woods, where we encountered “walkers” (zombies walking slow and aimlessly, like in the movies) and the crazy zombies who lunge at you (although we learned in our video that they are not permitted to touch us).
And, yes, there were a few instances where I was totally and completely startled. And I may have screamed. A lot.
Also, it appears that I completely ignored the word “obstacle” in the tagline of the race, so I wasn’t expecting to hoist myself over walls, run through tires, carry pumpkins up a slippery and steep grass hill, bound through a bouncy house, climb over/under/through various spiderweb-like “mazes” (including one on an abandoned school bus, which was pretty awesome – and felt kind of realistic!) etc.
(So glad I didn’t bring my iPhone, because I would have totally broken or lost it, but I’m bummed I don’t have any mid-race photos!)
We ran over a little bit of everything: paved paths, wooded trails, grass. It had rained earlier in the day, so everything was a little wet and slippery, but it also meant the temperatures were pretty mild for an early November evening here in Massachusetts. We ended the race by crawling on our hands and knees through a never-ending hay maze (holy allergies!) before finally emerging at the end of the course in about 45 minutes – and we finished first in our heat!
After being bused back to Lowell Auditorium, there was quite a party going on (called the “Brain Bash”) with live music, eats and free beer (well, one free Shock Top beer per runner). We decided to hang out for a bit, then headed over to Lowell Beer Works for a late dinner and drinks.
So yes, I finished a zombie run with a smile on my face. I may have screamed mid-course but I was mostly smiling and laughing, and while it may not be a conventional grown-ups night out, it sure was fun! And aside from the delay in the start of our race, I thought the whole thing was really well done and well organized.
Nicole@RunningWhileMommy says
Ahh, that sounds like so much fun! Glad you enjoyed it!
Chelley/aisforadelaide.com says
That sounds so awesome!!!! What a great experience!
Stephanie Kay says
Sounds like you had a crazy and fun night!!