Friday 16 November 2012

ZOMBIE'S!!!

If you are new to my blog, make sure to check out these two posts before reading the rest of this entry:

Pardon Me, I Think My Brain Just Farted

I Did It!

It's interesting what people will do for fun. Some people like to run with the bulls. Some people like to run marathons. Me? I don't particularly like running - but when there are Zombie's chasing you, there really isn't a choice . . . right?

A couple of months ago, a friend and I signed up for the Best Body Fitness "Zombie Run" at Top of the Hill Golf Course in Sylvan Lake. A year ago, neither of us would have been in any shape to do this. Heck, I wasn't even sure I was in enough shape to do it now considering I've kind of been negligent on getting my regular butt kickings at bootcamp. But, desperate for some time away on my own, I signed up anyways.

The run took place on the last Saturday of October. It had snowed. It was cold. It was windy. I told myself repeatedly how excited I was to be doing this. I reminded myself that it was going to be a lot of fun. But deep inside (well, not really that deep) I was nervous and more than a little scared.

My friend and I arrived at the course 45 minutes before our heat time. We saw one of the obstacles on our way in. If the road hadn't been winding and narrow, I might have backed right down the hill. Too late to turn back now. We suited up in our winter gear and headed in to register.

We walked into the clubhouse and were immediately welcomed by the excitement and energy of the participants and volunteers. We got our twine and flags that were representative of our brains that the Zombie's would try to eat. We watched the first heat leave and I couldn't wipe the grin off my face.
Karie & I, ready to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Our turn finally arrived. We headed out into the snow and cold. Go!

There were seven of us in our group. We met Christine - who was there running on her own. We made it to the first obstacle without even seeing a Zombie. I think they did that on purpose. Because they were everywhere after that.

For the next couple of kilometres we encountered some crazy obstacles and Zombies that would sometimes seem to appear out of nowhere. And they were Hungry! I made it to the first check point with 3 of my flags still intact - quite a feat as I was fully expecting to lose all of them early on in the event. Apparently I got a little foolhardy, because they were gone in a matter of minutes after a sneak attack by a pack of exceptionally enthusiastic Zombie's. 

It didn't take long to figure out that in order to survive this Apocalypse, we were going to have to collaborate. In order to preserve the brains left in some members of our group, we worked together to duck, dodge, and fake out Zombie's left, right, and centre. They were persistent buggars, I'll give them that. 

By the time we reached the second checkpoint, well, our brains had been pretty much sucked dry. Part of our task was to run across the field and collect the second part of an antidote so we wouldn't turn into stark raving mad brain suckers too. We rounded the corner and a Zombie was waiting for us. I tried to dodge him, but ended up taking him out instead. I actually felt kind of bad . . . for a minute, anyways. It could have been worse - at least I didn't flatten him with the bag of rocks I was carrying.

We had to pass through the same pack of Zombie's on our way back, and since we were all out of brains, we decided to try and trick them. We asked for a photo op - turns out, they LOVE the camera! 
Our new Apocalypse Buddy Christine :)

I didn't even have to toss this dude a Twinkie!
A few more hundred meters through the bush and over three fences (one as tall as Karie!), and we reached the finish line. We did our obligatory burpees in order to regain our brains, and had Finisher Medals hung around our necks. It was awesome.
Brains Regained!
I can honestly say this was one of the most incredible events I have ever participated in. I'm sure we spent the entire 3 km laughing and screaming hysterically - and it was fantastic to be a part of the group and meet some new and amazing people too! I don't hesitate to admit that I was sad to reach the finish line - I didn't want the fun to end. The Zombie's were amazing (many were volunteers from various youth clubs throughout Central Alberta who received a portion of the event proceeds for their efforts) - and really made the entire event a lot of fun. The volunteers were phenomenal, and the organizing crew - well, let's just say they worked their butts off and it showed.

So the point of this story (aside from bragging about my achievement)? Registration is already taking place for next year's event!!! Click on the link below to reserve your spot - you won't be disappointed. 


Hope to see you there - but be forewarned - the inoculation didn't work. I will be a Zombie and require you to toss a Twinkie my way otherwise I'll have to nibble at your brains a bit.  Game On Peeps!


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