Pensacola overrun by zombies — for a good cause
- October 31, 2014
- / Jahna Jacobson
- / community-dashboard
Nothing improves your 5K time like the threat of having your brains eaten.
Pensacon’s Day of the Dead Zombie Run will give its participants that extra incentive.
OK, they won’t eat your brains. But they will grab your flags, transforming you into a zombie, said Pensacon Marketing Director Manda Manning.
Pensacon and Kinematic Entertainment, in partnership with Running Wild, are holding Pensacola’s second Zombie Run on Nov. 1 with race time at 10 a.m.
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Pensacon’s Day of the Dead Zombie Run
Saturday, Nov. 1
Packet pick-up: Noon to 5 p.m. Oct. 31 Seville Square. Day-of registration opens at 6:30 to 9:45 a.m.
Survivor registration: $35 ($25 with donation of 10 nonperishable food items for Manna).
See what you missed at the 2013 run in this photo gallery.
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[caption id="attachment_8335" align="alignright" width="200"]
Pensacon's Day of the Dead Zombie Run Nov. 1 benefits Manna Food Pantries.[/caption]
Runners must navigate an obstacle course of zombie-infested streets, dodging hordes of the undead through a fully immersive zombie apocalypse in downtown Pensacola. Runners can register as either a “zombie” or “survivor,” or sign up to be a volunteer.
Survivors get two flags, similar to flag football, Manning said. “If you get your tags pulled you become a zombie and finish the race as a zombie.”
At the first Pensacola Zombie Run in February, only one person made it to the finish line with both flags intact, Manning said: “It was a 6-year-old girl.”
That inaugural event attracted about 400 people. This time around organizers are expecting 800 survivors and zombies, total.
The run is attracting a varied crowd, Manning said, from those who will run any 5K to those who are just in it for the zombie chase.
“Basically it’s a combination obstacle course and a haunted house,” she said. “We want it to be fully interactive and a really cool experience. And it is for all ages and family friendly.”
Runners have signed up from Mobile, Navarre, Fort Walton and across the Gulf Coast, Manning said. “A sorority from Texas has signed up! It’s definitely not just local.”
There will also be an “End of the World Party” after the race in Seville Square with food, drinks, music, and activities for families and kids.
The run benefits Manna Food Pantries. For every can of nonperishable food donated, participants will receive a $1 discount off the registration cost, up to $10.
Dede Flounacker, executive director of Manna, said zombies and a food drive might seem like an odd couple, but the event has brought awareness of the food pantry to a new crowd of people
[sidebar]
About Pensacon: Pensacon: Pensacola Comic Con brings the best of pop culture – Sci-Fi, Horror, Comics, Anime and more – to the Florida Gulf Coast. The 2015 event will be held Feb. 27 to March 1, featuring celebrities, panel discussions, concerts, gaming events, costume contests and more. For more information, go to pensacon.com.
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“There aren’t a lot of new, exciting ways to do something new to raise funds or raise awareness, but Pensacon has done it,” she said.
The Nov. 1 event is the perfect way to go into Manna’s busiest time of year – for need and donations.
“A lot of folks who struggle to have enough food to eat every day from moms and dads to grandparents and kids of all ages,” Flounacker said. “Everyone thinks more about those in need around the holidays, but this gets us started even a little earlier.
“This kicks off our giving season.”
The previous Zombie Run also benefited the food bank, collecting more than 1,400 pounds of food. After April floods destroyed Manna’s facility and their food stores, Pensacon stepped up with the Hunger Heroes event, which brought in donations and awareness of the organization’s plight.
As for the zombies, Flounacker has no fear.
“With Pensacon involved we thought it was awesome right off the bat,” she said. “They have been so good, and so driven, to help people in need been so generous reaching out to us and helping us.”
Pensacon's Day of the Dead Zombie Run Nov. 1 benefits Manna Food Pantries.[/caption]
Runners must navigate an obstacle course of zombie-infested streets, dodging hordes of the undead through a fully immersive zombie apocalypse in downtown Pensacola. Runners can register as either a “zombie” or “survivor,” or sign up to be a volunteer.
Survivors get two flags, similar to flag football, Manning said. “If you get your tags pulled you become a zombie and finish the race as a zombie.”
At the first Pensacola Zombie Run in February, only one person made it to the finish line with both flags intact, Manning said: “It was a 6-year-old girl.”
That inaugural event attracted about 400 people. This time around organizers are expecting 800 survivors and zombies, total.
The run is attracting a varied crowd, Manning said, from those who will run any 5K to those who are just in it for the zombie chase.
“Basically it’s a combination obstacle course and a haunted house,” she said. “We want it to be fully interactive and a really cool experience. And it is for all ages and family friendly.”
Runners have signed up from Mobile, Navarre, Fort Walton and across the Gulf Coast, Manning said. “A sorority from Texas has signed up! It’s definitely not just local.”
There will also be an “End of the World Party” after the race in Seville Square with food, drinks, music, and activities for families and kids.
The run benefits Manna Food Pantries. For every can of nonperishable food donated, participants will receive a $1 discount off the registration cost, up to $10.
Dede Flounacker, executive director of Manna, said zombies and a food drive might seem like an odd couple, but the event has brought awareness of the food pantry to a new crowd of people
[sidebar]
About Pensacon: Pensacon: Pensacola Comic Con brings the best of pop culture – Sci-Fi, Horror, Comics, Anime and more – to the Florida Gulf Coast. The 2015 event will be held Feb. 27 to March 1, featuring celebrities, panel discussions, concerts, gaming events, costume contests and more. For more information, go to pensacon.com.
[/sidebar]
“There aren’t a lot of new, exciting ways to do something new to raise funds or raise awareness, but Pensacon has done it,” she said.
The Nov. 1 event is the perfect way to go into Manna’s busiest time of year – for need and donations.
“A lot of folks who struggle to have enough food to eat every day from moms and dads to grandparents and kids of all ages,” Flounacker said. “Everyone thinks more about those in need around the holidays, but this gets us started even a little earlier.
“This kicks off our giving season.”
The previous Zombie Run also benefited the food bank, collecting more than 1,400 pounds of food. After April floods destroyed Manna’s facility and their food stores, Pensacon stepped up with the Hunger Heroes event, which brought in donations and awareness of the organization’s plight.
As for the zombies, Flounacker has no fear.
“With Pensacon involved we thought it was awesome right off the bat,” she said. “They have been so good, and so driven, to help people in need been so generous reaching out to us and helping us.”
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