PORT ANGELES — Pit your skills against zombies — or become a zombie — at the Pirate Zombie Mud Run at Peninsula College on Saturday.
Late registration is being accepted now for the unique race that will take speed, skill in negotiating obstacles and cunning to avoid becoming a victim of the zombies that are expected to infect the campus and woods behind the campus, said Jeremiah Johnson, Peninsula College activities coordinator.
Register for the race at www.tinyurl.com/PDN-Zombies.
Participants can also register the day of the race, Johnson said.
Money raised by the race will fund scholarships at Peninsula College, Johnson said.
The run will be split into three categories:
■ 10 a.m. — Youth Pirate Zombie Mud Run for those 8 to 15 years old. Registration is $40 and includes a T-shirt and lunch.
■ 10:45 a.m. — Creepy Crawlers run on a limited course, for those 4 to 7. Registration is $15 and includes a T-shirt and snack.
■ 12:30 p.m. — Pirate Zombie Mud Run, for those 16 and older. Registration is $40 and includes a T-shirt and lunch.
Race start times may be affected by the number of runners in earlier races.
Volunteer zombies
Volunteer zombies can apply now to serve as ersatz brain-hungry living dead who try to snatch flags from competitors, he said.
There are prizes for the best zombies, and each zombie will get a T-shirt and lunch.
Johnson said zombies cannot take part in the races and must work all three races.
Wild race
Each contestant will wear a flag football belt with three flags and must finish the race with at least one flag in order to receive an official time.
In addition to 15 obstacles on the route, there are six “zombie zones” where costumed zombies will attempt to take participants’ flags.
The obstacles include a mud pit crawl, a catwalk, a graveyard, hanging tires, the “blades of glory,” a water slide and two water tanks that require an underwater swim.
Even retrieving the flag belt is a challenge: Competitors must locate their flag belts from a pile in the middle of a darkened gymnasium.
Competitors have the option of skipping any obstacle, but there is a time penalty for going around, Johnson said.
Survivors — those who still have at least one flag at the finish line — get an official time.
“The top male and female survivors will receive trophies,” Johnson said.
There is a way to earn a flag just before the finish line — for a price.
“There is one final obstacle. If you complete it, you get a flag,” Johnson said.
There is no penalty for skipping the final obstacle, so those who still have a flag would be advised to skip it to avoid losing time, he said.
The run is part of Zombie Week — which began Wednesday with a blood drive and a voter registration booth manned by the Clallam County League of Women Voters.
For more information on the race or to apply to become a zombie, contact Johnson at 360-417-6352 or jpjohnson@pencol.edu.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
