Run For The Hills. Run For Your Lives!

Long before Hollywood turned vampires into teenybopper soap opera “heartthrobs,” the undead were widely considered to actually be scary. Fortunately, zombies have yet to fall to such Hollywood bastardization of the horror genre, experiencing a recent revitalization with new twists on old classics, comedic zombie spoofs and now, the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k.

Dubbing this race a 5k is a misnomer at best. The terrain is specifically chosen based on its overall suck value and pure insanity. You will run up steep hills, through rivers, down cliffs and over trees. To make matters worse, ridiculous obstacles will be placed on the trail before you such as electrically charged fences, giant man-made slip n’ slides, mud pits and oh yea… bloodthirsty zombies hell-bent on eating your brains!

Each runner comes equipped with three flag football-style streamers attached to a belt. Throughout the course, runners will not only have to negotiate one obstacle after another, but prevent the zombies from grabbing their flags. If all flags are taken, the runner is dead and another victim has fell prey to the zombie apocalypse. During and after the chaos, the undead and lucky few who survived the zombie infestation will partake in the Apocalypse Party featuring live music, beer, food, vendors and games fit for the entire family.

Proceeds from the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k go towards the American Red Cross and shoes collected from the event are donated to Project Soul, a non-profit organization that distributes footwear to impoverished and disaster-stricken communities around the world, while raising funds for domestic schools and civic organizations.

Run For Your Lives has races throughout the United States every year. For information on upcoming zombie 5k races, visit: Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k

*Click the thumbnail images below to view the chaos in full size.