Survival of the Zombiest

Even with the looming prospect of fitting into a wedding gown, the only way Cindy Brandecker could imagine taking up running was if someone were chasing her.

So Ms. Brandecker, 32, has twice paid some $75 to spend a Saturday being pursued by blood-spattered, professionally made-up hordes of stumbling (and sprinting) dead at Run For Your Lives, a zombie-themed 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) race that also features apocalyptic obstacles like a pitch-black smoke-filled house with live wires.

To receive an “I Survived” medal, runners must cross the finish line (an electric fence with an 18-inch clearing they have to squeeze under) with at least one flag intact of the three they wear on a belt. About 30 percent of the participants earn a medal, according to company figures, though even the so-called “infected” or “killed” are allowed to finish the race.

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Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse Involves Calculation

This equation could spell your doom: (bN)(S/N)Z = bSZ. That is, if you ever found yourself in the midst of a zombie pandemic.

That’s because the calculation describes the rate of zombie transmission, from one walking dead individual to many, according to its creators, Robert J. Smith?, a mathematics professor at the University of Ottawa who spells his name with a “?” at the end, and his students. Smith’s work has inspired other researchers to create zombie mathematical models, which will be published with Smith’s work in the upcoming book, “Mathematical Modeling of Zombies” (University of Ottawa Press, 2014).

Though of course done tongue-in-cheek, Smith’s study demonstrates why zombies are the viruses of the monster world. Their likeness to viruses makes the creatures ideal subjects for theoretical epidemiological analyses, which can be used to capture the public’s imagination as well as explore scientific principles, Smith said.

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Run Away from Cops of Zombies?

The Zombie Run at Magnuson Park


The Zombie Run is an exhilarating, themed 5K racecourse that creates a running narrative where participants can choose either to run as a survivor trying to make their way through the undead hordes, or as a Zombie, trying to defeat the living. The event benefits Active Heroes and a portion of proceeds will also be donated to a local charity.

Can YOU out run the cops? The Run from the Cops 5K Midnight Run is a fun and unique opportunity for individuals to fundraise and participate all in support of more than 10,500 Special Olympics Washington athletes. Law enforcement will be staged throughout the race course. Walkers, runners, kids and costumes are welcome!

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FandomFest Takes Zombies and SciFi to Downtown

Downtown Louisville was the center of the universe Saturday.

The Marvel and DC comics universes. The zombie universe. And various other science fiction and fantasy worlds, dimensions and spheres.

The Fandomfest comic and toy exposition took over parts of the city as fans crammed into the Kentucky International Convention Center and the Galt House, waiting in sprawling lines to see actors including Norman Reedus of AMC’s “The Walking Dead” and Gillian Anderson of “The X-Files,” and sitting in on makeup and comic-book writing sessions.

They wore recognizable T-shirts emblazoned with the iconic, well-known symbols of Superman and Batman. They wore those with idiosyncratic sayings — like the Walking Dead’s “If Daryl Dies We Riot” and “Team Dixon.”Dylan Roddy of Evansville, Ind., was clad in a Spider-Man shirt as he waited to get Reedus’ autograph in a convention center meeting room. But he was most excited to see Spider-Man creator Stan Lee, the Marvel comics legend, who was making his first Fandomfest appearance.

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Blood and Ice Cream Take Over Alamo Drafthouse

Hundreds of people headed to the new Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Richardson on Thursday for a premiere of “The World’s End,” third movie in the so-called “Blood & Ice Cream” trilogy. One of those movies, “Shaun of the Dead,” is a zombie flick, so Ashton Wilson (pictured) put together his best zombie look and began waiting in line for the premiere at 7 a.m. The theater officially opens to the public Aug. 6.

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Run and Walk From Zombies

Six to Start first tried to get you off the couch with Zombies, Run! an audio drama that combined fitness with gameplay by casting you as Runner 5, a survivor of the zombie apocalypse. For those who can’t quite work up that much energy, the developer is now working on The Walk, which would incentivize you to get up and move by once again making you the star of the show.

Due to come out on mobile devices later this year, The Walk puts you at the center of intrigue as you’re given a package that needs to be delivered to Edinburgh, Scotland. Before you can board your train, terrorists hot on your tail blow up the station, and an electromagnetic pulse knocks out anything electronic. With no functioning cars at the ready, you’re forced to walk to Scotland, hopefully staying one literal step ahead of those pursuing you.

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Zombies are Important for World War Z Author, Max Brooks

World War Z author Max Brooks was genuinely surprised that he liked the blockbuster film adaptation of his 2006 novel. The last we heard from him, he wasn’t too impressed with the trailer.

“I was expecting to hate, it and I wanted to hate it because it was so different from my book, and yet the fact that it was so different from my book made it easier to watch because I didn’t watch my characters and my story get mangled,” Brooks says. “So I was just watching somebody else’s zombie movie, which was fun and intense.”

Many writers dread adaptations despite the attention and additional earnings that may come. “They watch their characters do things they would never do and say things they would never say,” Brooks says. “It’s infuriating. I never had a ‘Gerry Lane-wouldn’t-say-that moment because I didn’t invent Gerry Lane (the film’s main character played by Brad Pitt). In fact, the only character they kept from my book, Jurgen Warmbrunn, the Israeli intelligence analyst, he was actually pretty spot on.”

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