Run? Not unless someone is chasing me!
Last year’s explosion in the growth of zombie runs got many of our non-running friends off the couch in the escapist activity of outrunning the living dead Hollywood-style. This year, our friends at Panic Point are revolutionizing the zombie run by giving you the opportunity to fight back!
This spring, participants in The Zombie Run at Panic Point will encounter up to 10 zombies wearing headbands with laser tag sensors. Friends and family of runners will be able to grab a gun and take out one or more of the zombies, who will be attempting to pull the flags of the racers. Then, after the racers exit the pond, they will participate in zombie biathlon. Shooting lanes will be provided, with zombies who will approach the racers. If a racer cannot kill a zombie before it gets in range, he will be required to complete a physical task before being allowed to continue – similar to a lap biathlon racers take when they miss a target.
Of course, if obliterating zombies is not your style, there are plenty of other mud, fun and obstacle races to keep you happy this year. Follow our key below to find the race for you.
Race Key
Distance dictates cost at most running events and triathlons, but not so at obstacle races. Sometimes, there are zombies! You’d want to know that, right? You would also want to know if you’re going to party like you’re at Woodstock (the muddy one, of course) after the race. To help you pick the best race, we created a key for a few defining aspects of mud runs.
Don’t wear your best clothes – there will be mud!
Leave the marshmallows at home ’cause you’re jumping this flame!
Bring a Q-tip to swab the mud from your ears, there’s gonna be music!
If you are of legal age to consume alcohol, get a free beer. (Purchase required at some events. Check the race website or bring $$ just in case.)
Wear white and go home with a Jackson Pollack-inspired shirt.
Don’t have a Zombie Survival Kit? Get one! You’ll need it here!
Mastered your one-finger handstand push-up yet? You’d better if you want to beat the ninja!
Trooper Challenge: Saxapahaw – TBA
The Trooper Challenge Mud Run is a fun, unique and family-friendly event. The course has military-style obstacles and mud pits that will be achievable for the novice and taxing for the elite.
Color Me Rad
Raleigh – April 5
Charlotte – June 7
Fayetteville – July 12
Instead of running FROM something, get ready to run FOR something at this year’s Color Me Rad. Get ready for a tsunami of color during 5 kilometers of color bombardment. You’ll start off with a white shirt and end up looking like a life-size pack of Skittles. So cast your DYE and sign up!
Perry Harrison Run for the Mariners 5K and Obstacle Course Run: Pittsboro – April 5
Perry Harrison Run for the Mariners 5K is a great course with a mix of quiet streets and a few moderate hills to break up the pace. This is a family-friendly 5k and is designed with kids in mind but is also challenging for runners of all ages. Returning better than ever is the kids’ obstacle course. This off-road obstacle course travels through approximately 1 mile of fields and trails. Kids go out in waves to a variety of obstacles such as mud pit, tire run, tunnel crawl, hay climb and more. They are not going to want to miss out on this awesome event!
USMC Ultimate Challenge Mud Run: Columbia, SC – April 12 & Oct. 4
Don’ t be fooled by “mud run” in the name, this is no 5k with a couple of mud holes. This is a real obstacle race that’s been held since 1993 – that’s right, this race has been around for more than 20 years! Designed and built by a Marine drill instructor, this race includes a whopping 36 obstacles spread over 6.2 miles. Actual Marines are positioned throughout the course to help motivate your team. No empty promises, you will sweat, you will probably bleed, and yes, you might break some bones. Somewhere on the Leatherneck you will find the point where you think you can’t go any further and you will push on. If you conquer the course, your sense of accomplishment and pride will be with you forever! The USMC Ultimate Challenge Mud Run does NOT accept individual enlistments, only teams.
Color Spectacular – Portofino: Clayton – April 12
Color Spectacular is a North Carolina-based company whose mission is to connect people, communities, businesses and nonprofits through events that celebrate and empower the human experience. Color Spectacular events are held in the beautiful North Carolina countryside, open spaces and parks. Beautiful landscapes, family and friends, and of course colored powder, music and all sorts of fun. Come to Portofino in Clayton, N.C., to enjoy the newest color run.
Color Vibe 5K: Charlotte – April 12
Color Vibe is a color blast 5k that is all about having fun and getting covered from top to toe with splashes of color pandemonium. All color is 100 percent safe, edible, biodegradable and beautiful. You’ll get color blasted with blue, yellow, pink, purple and green as you run (or walk) through the Color Vibe zones, and you’ll feel like you’re floating in a cloud of double rainbow happiness while you’re doing it!
Rugged Maniac: Greensboro – April 19
Looking for your next adventure? Sign up for the Rugged Maniac and you’ll get a chance to run the 3.1-mile course filled with 20-plus obstacles designed to push you to your limits! While waiting for your turn on the course, you’ll get to hang out with thousands of other maniacs in the festival area, where you can ride mechanical bulls, play muddy tug-of-war, pretend to be a kid in our adult bounce houses, or just hang out and listen to the bands while enjoying some tasty food or beverages. Rugged Maniac courses feature at least 20 obstacles constructed by a crew of licensed contractors. These aren’t pop-up kiddie obstacles! You’ll climb over walls up to 20 feet high, slide down a 100-foot water slide, jump over fire, crawl through tunnels of mud and face a host of other challenges. Rugged Maniac limits each wave of runners to 300 maniacs to avoid overcrowding.
Combat Mud Run: Wilmington – April 19
The Combat Mud Run is a 5k course with obstacles and, of course, mud! Serious competitors can opt for the Meat Head Mile, which is the 5k course with a 1-mile extension offering an extra challenge for people who like to punish themselves. Some of the obstacles include 4-, 6-, and 8-foot walls, mud crawls, a 12-foot rope climb, chin-up station, monkey bars and lots more!
Big Muddy Challenge: Raleigh – April 26
The Big Muddy Challenge is an event series designed for parents and children to share the adventure race experience. Families and friends utilize each other’s strengths and spirits to reach the finish line. BMC participants navigate age-appropriate obstacles in this race-themed event. How fast you finish matters, kind of, but not as much as how you tackle the course.
MARSOC Mud, Sweat & Tears: Jacksonville – April 26
The MARSOC Mud, Sweat & Tears off-road course includes forest terrain, dirt paths, winding trails, fallen tree obstacles and mud! For 5 miles, this challenging race will test your strength, stamina and endurance. Be forewarned – you will get muddy!
Great Glow Run
Wilmington – April 26
Greenville – May 3
Raleigh – May 16
Fayetteville – May 23
Participants of all ages and abilities run, walk or roll in this fun, eye-catching spectacle. Join glow-thusiasts by dressing in your favorite glow gear – headbands, necklaces, LED clothing, body paint and more – and shine your brightest while creating lasting memories with family and friends. Runners navigate the glowing, certified 5k course with the help of LED lights, while illuminated volunteers guide your way. The start and finish areas feature black lights, digital lighting effects and energizing music. There’s even a black light photo booth to help you capture all the fun! Run in three or more 2014 Great Glow Runs this spring, and you’ll earn the Great Glow Run Triple Crown T-shirt, so you can show all your friends why you rule!
Zombie Escape @ Panic Point: Youngsville – May 3
If you are tired of being chased by zombies the Zombie Escape @ Panic Point is the race for you this year, because this year, you get to fight back! Of course, there will be mud and zombies, but this year when racers arrive at the first field, 10 of the zombies will be wearing headbands with laser tag sensors. Friends and family of runners will be able to grab a 100 percent wireless realistic M-4 replica gun and take out one or more of the zombies who are attempting to pull the flags of the racers. Then, after the racers exit the pond they will participate in zombie biathlon. Shooting lanes will be provided, with zombies who will approach the racers. If racers cannot kill the zombie before it gets in range, they must complete a physical task before being allowed to continue (similar to a lap biathlon racers take when they miss a target). If you want more after the race, check out The Apocalypse @ Panic Point, where you and your team can go into the woods to battle zombies. So, join the Zombie Escape @ Panic Point … and race like there’s no tomorrow.
Color the Hill Run: Chapel Hill – May 3
The Color the Hill 4K Fun Run is the wackiest time you can have on a cross-country course! Make sure you show up at the start line as a blank canvas – white attire is best. Then run, walk, skip or dance your way to the finish line while you move through a rainbow of fun. All ages, skills, sizes and shapes are welcome and having a blast at the Color the Hill event is what it’s all about. By the finish line, you’ll look like a Jackson Pollock painting! As you make your way through the 4k course and encounter five color stations along the way – green, purple, yellow, pink and blue – you’ll be blitzed with nontoxic color by our volunteers. The finish line will feature an epic color extravaganza!
Foam Fest: Charlotte – May 3
5K Foam Fest makes fitness fun with crazy mix of foam, mud and obstacles. Whether you like it dirty or clean, the 5K Foam Fest has something for everyone by combining the excitement of a mud run with foam, ginormous inflatable obstacles, army crawls, more foam, colossal walls, mud pits, cargo net climbs, more foam, body washer, more foam, slip ’n’ slides and water obstacles, and oh, by the way, did we mention even more foam? The 5k Foam Fest is a fun and exciting challenge for experienced and beginner runners alike. The 5k Foam Fest makes exercising a party!
Bash Color Dash 5K: Mooresville – May 4
Pre-register by May 2 for the third annual Bash Color Dash 5K and you’ll get a white Color Dash T-shirt. As you pass various intervals on the route, you can be sprayed with a different color of nontoxic washable paint. A prize will be awarded not only for fastest times, but also for most covered in color! Participants can run or walk or even push a stroller.
All proceeds will go to support the Back to School Bash 2014, a community-wide event providing free shoes, haircuts and school supplies for area students. If you are a student and need yet another reason, a trophy over 5 feet tall will be awarded to the elementary school, middle school and high school with the highest percentage of their student body registered at the discounted rate of only $15. For those who are not yet ready for a 5k but want to be part of the fun (paint) there will be a 1-mile fun run for $15.
Down & Dirty Adventure Run: China Grove – May 10
This is a roughly 4.5-mile trail run through the beautiful Lake Corriher Wilderness Park. The course will take you through woods, creeks, marshes, hills and “some” mud. There will be obstacles along the way, though the course itself is an obstacle! It is both competitive and family-oriented. You will be challenged, you will get wet, you will get muddy, but you’ll have a blast doing it … guaranteed!
Warrior Dash: Huntersville – May 17
The Warrior Dash is a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme run. This fierce running series is held on the most challenging and rugged terrain across the globe. Warriors conquer extreme obstacles, push their limits and celebrate with kick-ass music, beer and warrior helmets.
LoziLu Women’s Mud Run: Charlotte – May 17
Let your energy shine at this women-only 5k festival for all athletic abilities to love! Start with a 5k and add flowing trails, exciting obstacles and a fabulous after-party. LoziLu is your perfect girls’ day out. Cleverly crafted obstacles with catchy names like Bad Hair Day, Tan Lines, Mani-Pedi, Walk This Way and The Exfoliator are just a few of the challenges for all athletic abilities.
Color My Spirit Run: Laurinburg – May 17
Color My Spirit is coming to North Carolina with a prism of color that’ll make you feel like you ran through a rainbow and will refresh your spirit to the fullest! Color My Spirit is a 5k that showers you with luscious color during your endeavor to the finish line. This race wants to make your outlook brighter, your days happier, and your thoughts positive. Lavish yourself in color at this year’s Color My Spirit 5K Run.
The Color Run: Fayetteville – May 24, Asheville – July 26
The Color Run™, also known as the Happiest 5k on the Planet, is a unique paint race that celebrates healthiness, happiness, individuality and giving back to the community. Less about your 10-minute-mile and more about having the time of your life, The Color Run is a 5k untimed race in which thousands of participants are doused from head to toe in different colors at each kilometer. The fun continues at the finish line with a gigantic “Color Festival,” using more colored powder to create happiness and lasting memories, not to mention millions of vivid color combinations. Trust us, this is the best post-5k party on the planet! With only two rules, the idea is easy to follow: 1) Wear white at the starting line and 2) Finish plastered in color!
Dirty Girl Mud Run: Archdale – May 31
Dirty Girl is a 5k women-only run for women of all ages and athletic abilities. Don’t worry, it’s not a race in the traditional sense. It is an untimed obstacle course designed to push you slightly out of your comfort zone, but only as far as you are comfortable going. Forming teams is encouraged, and so is helping your fellow Dirty Girls get through to the finish. At a Dirty Girl Mud Run you’ll find excitement, laughter and camaraderie – as well as lots of music and even some adult beverages. It will be a day you’ll never forget.
Mad Mountain Run: Hendersonville – May 31
The Mad Mountain Mud Run is slated to be a madder and muddier, crazier and filthier obstacle course race and festival this year – all in Hendersonville, N.C.’s, Berkeley Park and surrounding forests. Teams of four will race the approximately 3-mile course and traverse mud pits, creeks, gooey crawls, climbing obstacles (you will need your teammates!) and more. Those who dress in creative team uniforms will have the biggest smiles, and those who emerge the muddiest will have achieved a great victory (mud rules)! And unique to the Mad Mountain Mud Run — a full-blown festival with live music, food and local beer — all day! Fun for racers and festival-goers, and a fantastic way to spend a Saturday this summer.
Special Operators Challenge: Raeford – May 31
The Special Operators Challenge was founded by U.S. military veterans as a way to aid local charities and honor fallen veterans. The Special Operators Challenge will be hosting some of their events at The Carolina Horse Park, in Raeford, N.C.
The Little Muddy 1 Mile Kids’ Run is for youth ages 11 to 17, the Little Muddy 1/2 Mile Kids’ Run is for children ages 5 to 10, the Boomerang 5K Run is an obstacle-style run with the added challenge of a few beers and a bratwurst, and the Muddy Nick 10K Resilience Run is a 10k race through the challenging terrain of the Carolina Horse Park.
The Ninja Challenge: Fuquay-Varina – June 7
Ninja Challenge is a 5k obstacle race that will see if you are fit to walk the path of a ninja warrior. While anybody can run, only ninja can run up walls. The Ninja Challenge goes beyond a simple race and will truly test your athleticism. Running becomes only half the battle when you face 15-plus obstacles that only a true ninja can complete. Obstacles will rely on your strength, balance, dexterity and stamina. There will be volunteers helping out at each obstacle and we recommend running in groups so you can work as a team.
USMC Mud Run NC: Pinnacle – June 7
The fifth annual NC Marine Mud Run will take place at Jomeokee Park in Pinnacle, N.C. The park will be buzzing and the participants will be groaning and grunting. But more importantly, they’ll be cheering … cheering and helping each other through challenging obstacles and muddy pits. The course is an all-terrain race including mud holes, walls, trenches and other obstacles that require crawling, climbing, jumping and determination. Some people come to compete, many come just to complete. Do you have what it takes? Enlist now!
Wilson Swamp Stomp: Wilson – June 14
The Wilson Swamp Stomp is an obstacle run with approximately 12 obstacles on the 5k course and another six on the 8k course. The Swamp Stomp has obstacles, belly crawls in the grass and dirt and a wet tunnel crawl. A significant portion of the 5k and 8k runs through some swampy terrain and takes advantage of the park’s natural obstacles. There is also a creek crossing on the 8k course. Based on participant input from last year’s race, the 5k course will spend more time in the swamp and there will be more mud! Several new obstacles are being added, too.
Rogue Alpha Rush: Sanford – June 14
Rogue Alpha Rush is a 5k mud run benefiting the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Rogue Alpha Rush has been developed to challenge the heart, body and mind. The course has been set up to push your body without being so difficult that a beginner can’t finish. More than 15 obstacles have been configured in a way that will still challenge an experienced obstacle racer. If you’re intimidated, don’t be; if you’re overconfident, think again. If you’re wondering how a mud run can be designed for a novice runner but still challenge an “athlete,” sign up and see!
Run Amuck!: Quantico, VA – June 14
Run Amuck! The muddy, messy adventure not only puts participants through the rigors of steep climbs over rough terrain and daunting dashes through awesome mud pits, it also propels runners through Marine-style PT drills during the 4-mile race to the finish. Run Amuck, annually hosted on Marine Corps Base Quantico, includes giant mud pits spanning over 60 feet and more than 20 strenuous challenges such as the spider web, 20-foot pipe slither, clamber up a cargo net, the ammo can scramble and 40-foot inflatable obstacles, plus a water blast shower at the finish! Run Amuck and its pint-sized partner Mini Run Amuck, which covers 2 miles of tough terrain, is part of the MCM Event Series of road races held through November.
Storm the Beach: Nags Head – June 15
The storm is brewin’! Run, crawl, jump, carry and endure Outer Banks Sporting Events’ Storm the Beach, a team-oriented, family-friendly obstacle/challenge course in Nags Head, N.C. The number of obstacles depends on which race you sign up for. Five-milers will have the most and 0.75-milers will have very few and 3-milers will have a moderate number of obstacles compared with the 5-milers. You will climb over and under things, you will get sandy, you may even get wet.
Shape Diva Dash: Charlotte – June 21
Forget barbed wire, fire pits and mud. We’re talking a 5k course dotted with fun obstacles sure to challenge your agility, balance, strength and speed. Add in copious amounts of tutus, boas and bling, plus enthusiastic camaraderie, and you’ve got the SHAPE Diva Dash. The SHAPE Diva Dash course covers about 3 miles of trail, sand and road. Some obstacles will have both tough and easy options so you can choose the level of difficulty that feels right to you. And if you’re just not up for an obstacle, skip it altogether. Whatever you fancy, there will be something for you.
Filthy Fun: Sanford – June 28
The Filthy Fun Mud Run promises pain, glory and more muddy memories than you’ll be able to remember! The rugged terrain is loaded with everything your mother DIDN’T want you to play with, creating an extreme off-road run for you to conquer … or be conquered by! Are you ready to get dirty? Each course has a unique design and style to make it filthy and fun! Once you are done roughing up the course we throw a post-race festival with live music, beer, food and vendors where you can hang with other crazy mud lovers.
Mud & Music Mayhem: Eden – August 16
The 2nd Annual Mud & Music Mayhem Obstacle Race is one of the most challenging and beautiful courses in the Southeast. Participants will experience more than 30 obstacles like climbing walls, crawling through tunnels, trudging through mud, jumping over fire and many more challenges on this 6-plus mile all-terrain course. Do it to win! Do it for fun! Do it by yourself! Do it with friends! Just do it! After you race, you will earn a Hanes Cool Dri T-shirt, a finisher’s medal and a free beer. The event also offers the best post- race showers anywhere. The party continues with live entertainment, inflatables for the kids, more beer for the adults and great food for everyone. There is no charge for spectators, so bring friends and family and enjoy the day.
Electric Run
Charlotte – August 23
Raleigh – September 19
Electric Run is the World’s Premier Nighttime 5k run/walk experience, where the participants are an integrated part of the show. Featuring immersive “lands” of light and sound that transport the participant into an electric wonderland, Electric Run promises to transport the mind, body and soul to a new world in a healthy and drug-free way. Participants are encouraged to join in on the art by lighting up with glow sticks, LEDs and anything else their imagination can conjure up.
The Zombie Run: Archdale – August 30
This year The Zombie Run offers a few options to enhance your living dead experience. The creators have brought to life three unique versions of The Zombie Run: The Zombie Run, which is the original zombie fun run, and the new Zombie Run EXTREME and Zombie Run BLACKS OPS versions. While all very different events, each offers a once-in-a-lifetime apocalyptic experience.
Dirty Dozen Obstacle Trail Race: Charlotte – October 11
Climb, jump and run through the 12 obstacles that make up the third annual Dirty Dozen, a 5k and 12k obstacle trail race. These races, which take place on Saturday, Oct. 11, the morning of the USNWC’s Fall Finale, will test your strength, coordination and stamina as you race to the finish. Though not officially a “mud run,” wearing an old T-shirt is recommended. They call it “dirty” for a reason.
Tough Mudder: Mount Pleasant – October 25
Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10- to 12-mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all-around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie.
Spartan Beast: Winnsboro, SC – October 25
If you are a fan of the movie “300,” the Spartan Race is for you! The Spartan Beast will push you to your limits as an athlete and as a human being. Billed as a 10- to 12-mile obstacle course race from hell, the Spartan Beast is sure to become your new gold standard in obstacle-course races. Barbed wire crawls, cargo nets, 7- to 8-foot walls, ropes, fire jumps and all the mud, rocks, scrapes and bruises that come with it will challenge experienced obstacle-course runners yet still be attainable for newbies. The camaraderie of your fellow racers, the supportive staff and the encouraging volunteers along the course will culminate with an amazing sense of achievement and accomplishment at the finish line!
