Jessica Finkel and Michael Marder woke up Saturday prepared to be chased by zombies.
The couple and about 75 other adrenaline junkies visited Zombie Run Gainesville, a haunted house-style, 3.1-mile-long obstacle course, located at 1404 NW 122nd St., where runners are chased by fake zombies.
Finkel, a 20-year-old UF public relations junior, and Marder, a 23-year-old UF alumnus, found the run on Facebook.
Tickets are either $35 or $45, depending on the registration date, said Eric McTureous, the creator of Zombie Run Gainesville. McTureous, who is also the coach of Buchholz High School’s junior varsity basketball team, said the run will help pay for the team’s jerseys, which cost $1,200.
McTureous said the next zombie run will be Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Groups of 20 to 30 runners sporting two flag-football-style flags sprinted into awaiting hordes of zombies and through tunnels, steep hills and mud pits. In infected zones, zombies chased runners to snatch flags.
“The mission of this run is to try and survive,” McTureous said. “You will start the run with two flags on your belt. Your mission is to survive with at least one.”
Finkel and Marder finished the run in about 45 minutes.
“It was much more intense than I expected,” Finkel said. “That was the most fun I’ve had running in a while, and I’m glad we could help out a basketball team in the process.”
