The apocalypse is nigh

By Hailey Trealout

For several days and nights they stood restlessly, gurgling the toxic fluids that lay in their throats. The boat from Haiti rocked side to side on the water, throwing some off balance as some of the sailors watched, laughing. One empty glance after another stared emotionlessly into the echoes of laughter – waiting to take their revenge on every pulsing vein they would one day find.

The zombie craze has brought the world to a whole new level, putting citizens in the post-apocalyptic world where they must face life or death. At least, that’s what the founders of Undead Unleashed are aiming to accomplish.

On Oct. 5, the living dead will be haunting Malden Park in Windsor during the 5K run. The run will consist of four waves of pending survivors, a horde of 111 zombies and 10 obstacles for the runners to complete.

Shawn Lippert, one of the organizers of the event, said the run is a mixture of flag football and tag with a twist.

“The run is what we call a quarantine zone, so everything will be all quarantined off for where all the zombies are,” said Lippert. “Each runner has two flags on their sides and one on their butt. As they run through the course, zombies are trying to grab their flags. If you survive the course with at least one of your flags, you have survived. If you lose them, you’re dead.”

The only thing keeping these real-life looking zombies from eating your brains are the rules – runners are not allowed to touch zombies and zombies are not allowed to touch runners. You may only avoid your dead friends as they grab for your flag.

The money raised from the event will be going to Transition to Betterness, a non-profit organization that helps keep those diagnosed with terminal illnesses as comfortable as possible.

“We want to make the event as fun, as unpredictable as possible and as crazy as it sounds,” said Lippert.

The start and finish lines will be the only visible points for spectators who wish to cheer on the runners. After that, the runners are left on their own to brave the walking dead.

“At the starting line… It’s chaotic, it builds up anxiety, you’re within what we call a carcass staging area,” said Lippert.  “The best kind of comparison for the beginning of the race would be Saving Private Ryan, when the boat hits the beach, the door comes down and you see absolute chaos. That’s the same type of atmosphere that we go for.”

The 3 p.m. wave is still available at 90 per cent full.

For more information, go to the Undead Unleashed website at www.undeadunleashed.com