The Rattle Me Bones 5K Zombie Run

SO. MUCH. FUN!!!!

The Rattle Me Bones 5K Zombie Run will definitely go down as one of the most fun events I've ever been fortunate enough to participate in! 

Daddy Lego and I didn't know what to expect for the "race" ... All we knew was that there were zombies and the event was not timed. So we went in with a "lets just have fun" attitude. We didn't use any running apps, we didn't set our timers, we just went as us (although next year, we'll SO be dressing up as zombies!!). My only goal was that I wanted to laugh. I wanted to take my time and enjoy the event.

Boy, did I ever.

Ready to run for my life!!

The event basically went like this: We were given flag football belts to wear around our waist, and each runner had three flags hanging off the belt. During the 5K-long course, zombies would attempt to take all our flags. If you finished with any flags, you were a survivor, and if you finished with no flags, you were infected. The entire course consisted of mud (SO much mud - I'm glad I wore my old, crappy shoes), forest, wet grassy fields, hills, tall grass, and obstacles. And there were zombies everywhere, hungry for our flags! (Including children zombies - those were the ones to avoid, they were unforgiving!!)

The first wave of runners going through the first field. You can see zombies in the distance!

The runners were sent through the course in waves, so that the course didn't get too congested in any one area (which was great, so that the zombie-to-runner ratio was reasonable) and so that the line-ups for the obstacles weren't too long. 

Waiting in line at one of the obstacles!

My favorite parts of the course were the forested areas, which there were a lot of .. Wow, was that ever a FUN adventure! The mud was insane and it was tough to jump through the woods and mud pits and avoid zombies at the same time! Some would get really sneaky and hide in the trees or bushes and jump out at you .. And since I'm so easy to scare, there was a lot of screaming and laughing on my part!

There were LOTS of forested areas to run through .. Can't say this enough - I LOVED these parts!

As I'd predicted going into the race, I was picked off by the zombies first, before Daddy Lego was .. So he used me as his "Walker Blocker", (Walking Dead fans will get that!) where I'd run at the zombie to distract them so that he could get around safely. He made it to the last half a kilometer with one flag left, until one grabbed his last flag after he'd passed the zombie (which was technically cheating from the zombie's part, since they weren't supposed to chase you once you passed them) but we just laughed anyway! So close!

Right at the end of the course, a zombie gave me a flag to finish with (what a thoughtful flesh-eater!) so I got to take home a survivor medal, while the hubby got an infected one. Our shoes and clothes were caked with mud and our stomachs were sore from laughing so hard! Our first thought coming out of it was that we wished we'd had our friends with us, because it would be even more fun with a group of us! 

Survivor!!

Infected!! (Gotta say - I've got a crush on this zombie!) hehe

Our medals

One of my favorite things about this event was the sense of camaraderie between the runners .. I'm so used to the competitive feel of race events, but because this wasn't timed, everyone was so friendly and supportive and relaxed. We all chatted and helped each other throughout the course, which was so much fun! 

Best zombie quote: "Avoid the center of the field, it's all muddy and I don't want you to fall .... When I GRAB YOUR FLAGS!!"

This event will definitely be an annual tradition for Daddy Lego and I .. As will be the hot coffee we enjoyed afterwards! The cold weather + mud + light rain made us super cold right after we finished so the coffee was very warming! 

Friends .. Be ready .. You're coming next year!!