Run For Your Lives 5k

I almost completely forgot to tell you guys about the zombie 5k I did this weekend in St. Louis. It was a whole lot of fun and completely exceeded my expectations. So here's the deal, I'll tell you guys about it and then tell you guys about what kind of stuff to bring and how to prepare because as far as I've seen there's no list of helpful stuff to bring.

For an event that focuses on zombies and beer I was pleasantly surprised at how amazingly organized the whole thing was. Everything from the parking to the course itself ran very smoothly. The course wound through a trail in the woods with a plethora of roots and loose gravel to trip you up, so if you're like me and have weak ankles definitely wear ankle braces. It started out winding through the woods and everybody was running at first. I've replayed every zombie encounter in my mind and I can't decide which ones were the hardest because they were all EXTREMELY hard (mainly because I'm not a sprinter and I'm not built for it either). It was really hard when you'd come out of the woods after going up and down on the dirt trail and see a whole field of zombies. But that was also the most fun too because it was only about a 100-150 foot long section which was round shaped so there was a lot of room to try and avoid the zombies getting your flags. Hands down the hardest part was a very long skinny part where there was an insane amount of zombies. The worst part was that it was slightly up hill and once you got through them you turned the corner only to see a good 1/8 mile more filled with zombies after you were already really winded (it's the part where the guy falls in the video I'll post below, but he doesn't put the second part where you turn the corner in the video). The scariest part was the ones that would pop out of the woods and there was no where to go but into the trees (as evidenced by my scraped up right leg)

I was so close to having one flag left. But unfortunately at the end the very last 2 zombies ganged up on me and took my last flag. I heard her go "Yeaahh!!" behind me when I ran away, it was very disheartening. Note to self: that's what I get for 1)putting my last flag directly in front instead of in back and 2) for trying to run in between two zombies when I'm the only one going. It was extremely tiring and I can't remember the last time I did something that anerobically and aerobically challenging (and that's coming form an aspiring triathlete).

Here's some hints and stuff to bring if you're doing it in the future:
1. All you really need to do is practice agility and sprinting. You end up walking a whole lot of it since it's through the woods and you're really tired. Honestly I don't think just jogging 3 miles did much of anything for me. Practice sprinting down the long side a 1/4 or 1/3 mile track and you'll be golden
2. If at all possible don't wear your best pair of running shoes because you can donate them to a charity (I'll put up a picture later where you see all the muddy shoes in a pile).
3. Miscellaneous stuff: a whole change of clothes because you can get hosed off at the end and you don't wanna be walking around wet, a bit of money, sun glasses if it's sunny, a camera with a whole lot of battery life (my unfortunate mistake) because there's a bunch of hilarious people and zombies which make for great pictures, a towel to dry off, a bag to carry clothes/keys/phone in, a towel/chairs to sit on (because when you're done with the race and want food there's not a whole lot of open seating.

The moral of this story is that it was absolutely awesome. And if it comes to St. Louis again I'm gonna try in every way to be a zombie because that would be super fun.

Here's the good part: the pics and video

This isn't my video, it's courtosy of jamatthews86
 

The entrance area

the main area

The starting line/entrance thing

The end. You absolutely couldn't get any grip because it was so muddy

The super awesome and slightly muddy medal you get at the end

Right before the end. That guy is cheating. And unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries at this point so I don't have any actual cool pictures for you guys

Here's the pile of donated shoes. This picture is from the Run For Your Lives facebook page. They have some great pictures on there if you want a better collage of cool pics

zombie 5k video

this has got to be my favorite video yet of the Run For Your Life Zombie 5k. I think the hay stacks are traditionally the first obstacle where you meet the "zombies." This is pretty much the best video because 1. The four ninja turtles make an appearance at 1:30 mark
2. The dude at 3:40 "Come on Waldo, you got it, keep going! Go Waldo Go! I found you!"

Run for your lives zombie 5k

Well here's an interesting race I just signed up for. It's basically a 5k kind of like 'epic mud run' or 'the warrior dash' except with a strange twist. It's called the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5k where you're given a flag football belt with three red flags on it which are your "lives" and you have to climb over and dive around obstacles in the mud and dirt all while avoiding 'zombies' which try and rip off your flags... I really want to know what happened at that planning meeting when somebody said "guys, we're going to put zombies in our 5k race, it'll be awesome."

It's something I never thought I'd do, but hey why do a normal road 5k when you can do an adrenaline filled one? It'll be fun because I'll already have the cardio from my half marathon training and all I'll need to work on it agility and explosive movements. It looks like I'll be doing a whole lot of box jumps and wind sprints. But it looks like a whole lot of fun, and lets be honest how often does a 5k race like this come along to an area close to you.

It's actually pretty cool because this race is only taking place in 8 states and Missouri is one of the lucky ones. Even luckier is that it's going to be only about 30 minutes away from my home town so that makes the commute fairly easy. And the main reason why I'm doing it is because 1. my roommate got really excited and wanted to do it really bad and 2. it's one of those things that you get to tell your kids down the road "yeah I did a 5k race where you had to avoid zombies"

The color run 5k

here's a fun 5k that a few friends and I are probably gonna do in Kansas City in June "The Color Run". It might not be as epically awesome as the Warrior Dash or the Epic Mud Run, but from the looks of it it's a very friendly atmosphere. They welcome everybody from the super fast and competitive to the people who just wanna walk and have fun. I definitely wouldn't have naturally picked it myself, but hey anything to make a 3.1 mile run seem a bit more fun

crossfit 5k

apparently there was a 5k with a bunch of Crossfit stuff mixed in down in Springfield, Mo. the other week. That looks like so much fun