Run For Your Lives!

After our Fall 2012 school semester ended, but before going to Florida, Caiqian and I participated in Run For Your Lives! Run For Your Lives! is a 5k zombie marathon race where racers run through obstacle courses while avoiding zombie volunteers. The zombie volunteers' job is to chase the runners and pull of the velcroed flags attached to the runners' waists.

Clean Pre-racers

After we got suited up, we lined up for the 9:30 am run.

We were desserts.

After a bit of a jog, Caiqian and I hit our first obstacle course, the barbed-wire crawl.

Real Barbed-Wire Crawl

I was surprised to find that they used real barbed wire, which forced to crawl really low (lest we tear up our shirts). Crawling was more difficult than I thought it would be, and by the end Caiqian and I were aching.

Caiqian was not amused

Next up we had the mud pit, which was a  three-foot deep hole in the ground full of muddy water. Since Caiqian couldn't swim, she politely side-stepped this obstacle.

Caiqian wasn't having any of this.

However, the most interactive obstacles were the zombie volunteers. Some simply stood around, while others would run at you full speed for hundreds of feet before moving onto the next runner.

Safe (for now)

Sometimes there were obstacles, sometimes there were zombies chasing us, and once or twice there was a combination (those were especially difficult).

Real-life cardio

Slowly but surely, Caiqian and I eventually lost all of our survivor flags. Despite our flags being pulled, we still completed the course, we just weren't considered "survivors". I lasted a bit longer than Caiqian, but to be fair Caiqian's last flag was taken by surprise when she took a rest against a metal fence. Either way, I'm going to go ahead and say that we probably lack the cardio necessary to survive a real apocalypse.

At his point, we thought we were dirty. Little did we know.

Caiqian and I had a lot of fun. The course tested our flexibility, agility, endurance, and balance.

Balance Beam Challenge

Despite our best efforts, at some point we both realized that trying to keep our clothes clean was also a futile attempt.

I didn't win the balance beam challenge (note the legs)

The biggest object that we had to cross was the water slide, which actually scared Caiqian the most since it ended in a wading pool (remember, she doesn't swim). Eventually, I managed to talk her into sliding down.

Water Slide (Featuring Santa)

At last, we reached the final challenge, where we had to climb underneath a fence. By the time Caiqian and I were there, the ground was so slick that I actually slid underneath the fence. At last, it was over!

Last Challenge.

Even though we were not survivors, we did get medals for finishing the race. Victory!

We got medals!

After the feeling of victory settled, we realized that we were still exhausted, cold, and completely covered in mud. What were we to do?

Smile?

Fortunately, or unfortunately, there was a solution for us. After the finish line there was a large shower structure that was spraying out semi-clear water. Caiqian and I couldn't tell whether or not the water was hot, or warm, but all we really hoped for was that it was not ice-cold. We were sorely disappointed.

Ice-cold showers

This wasn't the last time I would be covered in filth. Tune in next post to see what Matt, Mikey, Nick, and I did for Spring Break 2013.