Eureka! The Town Where the Unliving Rise and Chase the Living

This weekend has been an interesting one of sorts. I had the opportunity to volunteer as a zombie in the Eureka Zombie 5K Race. Having the chance to dress up as a zombie and chase people around has been something I've always wanted to check off my bucket list. The zombie 5k in Eureka was the perfect way to do it, because for a measly fee of $8 I had my make-up done by make-up artists, I got a "free" meal, other than the racer's brains, I got a free T-shirt, and I had the chance to win up to $250 for either having the best costume, or the best performance. I was certain that I would win best costume, if it weren't for the undead nun with the baby coming out of her belly.

The zombie 5k had a bit of a rocky start though. Ammon and I arrived to the white building where we were supposed to register and get all zombiefied. We were there about an hour early so that we could get a chance to explore the ghost town and take pictures. It's a good thing that we were there early, because right when I came in, the make-up artists were already doing make up for a few people, and I overheard one of them say that they need to use the make-up sparingly because they were expecting at least 150 zombie volunteers that evening.

Zombified!

 

Mmmm...brains!!!

After I got my make-up done, Ammon and I ventured to find out where we needed to register. We asked one of the non-infected volunteers where to go. They told us to walk over to the registration booth next to the high school. We thought that it would just be a little jaunt down the street, but it turned out to be a one mile journey. We eventually arrived at the registration booth where I would join the undead and where Ammon would join the other non-infected volunteers. We signed the waiver, and expected to pick up our food vouchers there. Apparently, the make-up artists were supposed to give us our food vouchers at the white building. This event wasn't organized very well, because the make-up artists at the white building didn't know everything they were supposed to be doing, and nobody told Ammon where he was supposed to be stationed at and what needed to be done.

So, with grumbling bellies we made our way down to the white building where all of the zombies had congregated. There we grabbed our food vouchers to fill our empty bellies with whatever grub was being served by the food vendor across the street. I didn't know what they were going to feed us, so I came prepared with a small bag of pistachios to munch on just in case either of us needed the extra energy. I wasn't hungry when we arrived, because I ate a little snack before we left for Eureka, but apparently the two mile walk to the high school and back took more out of me than I anticipated. We stood in line with the other zombies, but our selection of food was less than appetizing. Since it was a 5k race, I expected an assortment of fruits, veggies, and granola to be offered for sustainable energy. What they offered the zombies and runners consisted of and assortment of homogenized, steroid pumped meats, mainly encased pig intestines called "hot dogs", pulled pork sandwiches, and "foods" of the non-animal kind, namely nachos made with fake yellow gooey cheese, and greasy chips. I scanned the table for whatever vegan friendly options were available. At first glance, the oily belly ache inducing Lays Chips were my only option. I took a second look. Wait...what's this? Pickles? Could it be? I'm not a big fan of pickles, but seeing as I was hungry and my options were limited, pickles had to do. So, with pickles, chips, and pistachios in tow, me and Ammon made our way to find a place to sit. It's times like this when Ammon is grateful that I'm a vegan and he's not. I gave him my pulled pork sandwich, so that he could have some extra "fuel" while we were there.

We chose a spot in the shea next to the white building to eat our meals. There was a female lab with a missing tale that came over to us to beg for food. I'm not a big fan of dogs. After many almost deadly encounters with numerous dogs as a child, I have developed an intense fear of dogs of any breed and size. Lucky for me, this dog was quite tame. Ammon fed the dog some of his tasty meat like treat to teach her some tricks. He was successful in teaching her how to sit. The dog almost figured out how to shake. By the time both of the pulled pork sandwiches were consumed, all was hope was lost for the poor dog.

After our meal, we made our way back to the white building to find out where I was supposed to be stationed. I was right next to the white building at the shea, so we stayed where we were for the most part. Nobody told Ammon what he was supposed to be doing, so he stayed to take some pictures of me, and of the other things that Eureka had to offer.

A few minutes after consumption of my "meal" my stomach started to ache. The combination of greasy chips, with salted pistachios, and briny pickles attacked my innards with a vengeance. My belly was giving me so much trouble that I contemplated leaving early before the race. Ammon wanted to get some video and pictures of me attacking the runners. I agreed for the two of us to stay for the first wave of runners.

I didn't look forward to getting up and moving about, but after I started to run after the first wave of runners my stomach started to feel better. Apparently, that's what my aching belly needed all along instead of sitting around. After a few waves, I started to really enjoy myself. I definitely gave Ammon and the other spectators a good laugh with my running around. I looked more comical than terrifying. As I would chase the runners, I tried to reach out for them without actually touching them, but it looks more like my arms were flaying around rather than actually reaching out trying to grab them. Below is a video of my comical performance.

 

Having a little too much fun here.

After a couple hours of this, I started to get tired. I knew that it would take a while to get all of the make-up and fake blood off my face and body, so the two of us agreed to leave before the end of the race. It was a good thing that we decided to leave early, because it took a long time to peel off the painful latex scars on my face, and to wash off all of the make-up. The fake blood seeped through my clothes and stuck to my skin. It hurt a little bit to peel the sticky clothes off my tired body. I washed up, brushed my teeth, and got ready for bed an hour later. I was exhausted, but it ended up to be a good day. I went to bed tired, but pleased.