Halloween festivities on Mountain Meadows Farm in North Bend could look an awful lot like the start of the zombie apocalypse. The farm will be crawling—literally—with blood-spattered undead, slogging through mud, and leaping fire to run after, sometimes ahead of, the living. The prize in this race is not brains or survival, but a medal, a free drink, and a party.
“The whole thing is just come out, and have a good time. It’s just meant to be a fun start to the Halloween weekend,” said George Brown, owner of Mountain Meadows Farm which is hosting the first annual Zombie Challenge (www.zombiechallenge.com) on Saturday, Oct. 29.
Like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Pineapple Express which will also be at the farm in November or last summer’s Warrior Dash at Meadowbrook Farm, the Zombie Challenge is a 5K race and obstacle course. Since it’s “Halloween Saturday,” Brown expects people will compete in costume, but it’s not required.
“They can come in any costume they want,” he said, “but there’s a very large number of people interested in zombie activities.”
Zombie walks have become increasingly popular throughout the country, and the website seattlezombie.com lists dozens of zombie fun and games for the month.
Capitalizing on another trend, Brown and his son, owner of event coordinator Amazing Events, are also planning a Ninja Dash for next spring. Similar to the Zombie Challenge, the race will be more competitive and, of course, there will be ninjas.
Both races will be accommodated entirely on the farm grounds, with free parking, changing areas, hosing-off facilities, and all of the amenities. After hosting the parking for the Warrior Dash in July, and hearing some of the feedback from the event that brought 23,000 competitors into North Bend, Brown said “We thought ‘you know, we can do this better,’ So we’ll give them a better course, better beer, and free parking.”
The course will take advantage of some of the natural topography of the farm to offer more obstacles for racers, Brown said, but the course “is a challenging but doable course, for anybody, in any condition.”
Some of the challenges include a natural “slip ‘n slide” to climb, the aforementioned fire, “significant water obstacles,” and everyone’s favorite, mud puddles.
“You’ll get mud early, mud late, and mud in the middle,” Brown says, confidently.
When you’re done, you’ll also get a free beer, free food, and a free party to enjoy throughout the day. In addition to the medals, Brown said prizes would be awarded to the best finishing time, and the best costume.
Admission to the race is $60, and Brown said a portion of the proceeds will be donated to a charity. Registration for the event is limited to 4,000 participants.
For more information, visit www.zombiechallenge.com, or http://amazingeventsllc.vpweb.com.
