Blood, Sweat and Mud

This past weekend I completed a race that was unlike any race I have ever done!  I am used to races like this and this.  The Run For Your Lives Zombie 5K is a little different...

Check out this post from Friday on the Run For Your Lives Zombie 5K races in general.  It tells you all about how we signed up to be runners AND zombies! 

This race combined two of my favorite things - zombies and obstacles!  The Walking Dead, an AMC show about a zombie apocalypse from the view point of some Georgia survivors,  films in Atlanta and I have always wanted to be a zombie on the show.  I figured this was a good alternative!  Also, I have never done a race with obstacles, so I was ready for the challenge.  I signed up and created a status on Facebook to coordinate my team - Rule #1: Cardio.  I thought it was a fitting team name since it's a rule from Zombieland and it incorporates the whole 5K aspect into it, no?

Although some of the team couldn't make it on race day, we still had a good turn out - me and three guys!  There were severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in Georgia the night before the race, so we weren't sure what to expect.  We ended up walking into a giant mud pit!  I've never seen so much mud in my life!

Yes, this is real life.  And, yes I did rock those leggings!
This mud does not even compare to the mud on the course.

Mud as far as the eye can see!

After signing our waivers, we checked in at the Zombie Transformation Center.  We signed up to be zombies in the afternoon and to run the race in the morning - saving us each $50 for volunteering our time as zombies!  This is where we got our precious flag belts.  (If you are able to keep anywhere from 1 to all 3 of your flags by the end of the course, then you survive!)  After dropping off our bags, we headed over to the "corrals".  The corral area was basically a giant tarp over three stalls.  It kept out the rain and divided us into three sections depending on how fast of a runner you thought you would be. 

At 11:00am we were off!  The mud itself was the toughest obstacle.  I could barely walk in it because my shoes would either sink in deep or slip and slide.  The first obstacle was climbing over hay barrels - oh, with zombies all around trying to grab your flags!  I don't know if I lost any flags here.  I wasn't really concerned so much with the flags - I would definitely stragegize better next time! 

The second obstacle is where it got interesting for me...

Obstacle 2
Photo taken from the RFYL Twitter page

There was a giant pit of about a foot of mud and water with logs suspended a couple feet above the pit every so often.  You had to either climb over the logs or go under them if you could fit.  So, as I'm climbing over the second log, the upper part of my body falls at a faster pace causing me to fall into the mud pit.  This would have been fine since it was only a foot of water until someone fell right on top of me causing me to go completely under water!  I came out of the obstacle looking like a swamp creature.  The guys thought it was hilarious and I heard many a chuckle as I would pass people on the course.  It definitely made for an interesting rest of the race!

There were about 10 or so obstacles throughout the whole course (I don't want to give them all away!) - as well as tons of flesh eating zombies trying to grab flags!  David was the only one in our group that came out alive!  He actually had two flags left - very impressive!  He did a good job at strategizing and fighting off zombies.  I'll do that next time!

after the race but pre-showers
David was the only one that came out alive, but no one came out clean!

After our race, we showered off and changed clothes.  Now it was time for our zombie transformations!  I was extremely impressed with the zombie makeovers - they had lots of makeup artists ready to airbrush our faces and tons of zombie clothes if you didn't bring your own costume.  I brought an old school uniform to wear, but I got a jacket from them since it was a little chilly.  The guys were given suit jackets from the 1980's.  I think our transformations turned out well, yes?

We went out and had a great time chasing people and grabbing flags during the final race waves.  While volunteering was a blast, it did make us feel more exhausted.  Overall, it was a long day.  Being a zombie definitely makes you work up an appetite for real, human food.  We got some dinner and listened to the bands play.  We were going to camp out as I mentioned in this post, but there was too much mud and rain everywhere for our taste.  Instead, we drove the two hours back to Atlanta and slept in the comforts of our own beds...after taking long hot showers, of course.  But, we met T-Dog from The Walking Dead before leaving!

turkey legs!

the group with IronE Singleton aka T-Dog

race goodies - water bottle, shirt, medal...tired puppy not included

The race was really fun, and I would definitely do it again as well as some other obstacle/race combinations.  I was disappointed to hear that only 4,000 people ran yesterday.  The Baltimore race had 12,000 people and the Boston race has 15,000 (they had to add another day!)  Georgia, you can do better than that.  You better step it up for next year!  Here are some of my tips for anyone that plans to do this race in the future:

Bring cash for parking and food.
Bring a trash bag for dirty, wet clothes.
Make sure any bags your bring can be washed - they will get dirty!

Bring towels for post-race showers.
The hand warmers I brought were great to have. (from sporting goods store)

Bring lots of extra underwear and socks - you can't have enough!

Run with a group of friends - it's more fun that way!

Volunteer to be a zombie (it's a short window though, but has lots of benefits)
Bring lawn chairs.
Bring a flashlight even if it's just to walk back to the car with...or to help you find a lost wallet!
Witch hazel helps take the zombie makeup right off.
If you are going to be a runner and a zombie, run first.
If you are a walker, you should sign up for the later race waves - there were less people and you won't get trampled.
Bring rain boots if you have them if it rained the night before!
You don't need to cheat by tucking your flags in or picking flags off the ground, people! - It's all in good fun! (I was surprised how many people did this!)

Have you done an obstacle course race?  Have you run a fun race like this one?  Let me know in the comments below!

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