Squamish Nation officials are ready to battle a zombie outbreak at Don Ross Secondary School.
On Friday, Oct. 25, as dusk sinks in, the Nation's sports and recreation department is expecting a swarm of walking dead on the school's track. It was only a matter of time before they hit Squamish, as an increasing number of North American communities have experienced the phenomena of the undead trudging through their streets.
Lindsay Hubley, the Squamish Nation's sports and coordinator, first heard about the happenings at a Nike conference last summer. Zombie fun runs started popping up in 2000, with the first documented case at a gaming convention in Milwaukee.
Since then they've gone viral, mutating into different forms. Last Saturday (Sept. 28), thousands of runners in Los Angeles tested their survival skills in a zombie-infested five-kilometre obstacle course, while on Saturday, Oct. 12, downtown Victoria will be hit by hundreds of brain-eaters in its annual zombie walk.
At Squamish's inaugural three to five-kilometre Zombie Fun Run participants are invited to come as if they're infected by the zombie virus or to outrun it on the track. The event is an entertaining way to promote healthy living, Hubley said.
"Basically the zombie run is a family event," she said. "We are not keeping track of who's the fastest."
Zombies aren't known for their speed, Hubley joked; that is, unless they're the ones out World War Z, the most recent Rotties movie featuring Brad Pitt. Runners who can't muster enough life in them to run around the track have the option of braving a zombie-infested shortcut across the field, which will be transformed into a makeshift graveyard, Hubley said.
"The kids are really excited," she said.
The Lions Club will tend a barbecue and a DJ will spin the only thing beating at the event. The massing of the undead will happen rain or shine, as it seems zombies don't care about the weather.
Tickets can be purchased for $20 at Totem Hall. For more information visit the run's Facebook page at First Annual Zombie Run.
