Zombie run coming to campus

Sara Natividad
Special to Mustang News

As students trickle back onto campus on March 1, zombies will swarm. But don’t worry — they won’t bite.

Instead, they will be participating in the annual 5K and 10K Zombie Run hosted by Cal Poly’s industrial and manufacturing engineering department.

The proceeds will fund the department’s Poly House project, which takes place spring quarter. Students involved in Poly House help renovate a person’s home who cannot financially afford to do so, industrial engineering senior Jeffrey Silva said. In the past, the homeowner has often been disabled, making the industrial engineering students’ work even more appreciated.

“It’s not just a typical run where you just pay your money for a simple admission. It’s paying for people to do something meaningful and it’s healthy,” Silva said. “You can change someone’s life and to be able to contribute to the community with something that’s as easy as running.”

This year’s course is designed with fewer hills, and will mostly take place in the agricultural areas on campus. Silva hopes “the fun, easy and low-budget” theme will encourage students to participate. Volunteers at the event will be dressed in zombie costumes, and participants are encouraged to dress up as well.

After the race, there will be a DJ, raffles and pancakes provided by Enzo’s East Coast Eatery. Participants will get free pancakes, and hungry onlookers can purchase them for $5.

Last year, approximately 420 people participated. This year’s goal is to enlist at least 450 runners, which would raise approximately $9,000. The cost for individual entry is $20, and groups of 4-6 racers may sign up for a discounted price of $15 per person.

Interested runners may sign up at the booths in the Julian A. McPhee University Union Plaza and in front of the Robert E. Kennedy Library next week from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A link to sign up online can be found on the “Poly Move to Build 2014” Facebook page.