While most ghouls and goblins returned to human form the day after Halloween, the Union University Judo Club was still in the spooky spirit.
By 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, the serene campus was overrun by flesh-eating zombies. The second annual “Zombiethon” took place on Nov. 1 on the south side of campus, starting and ending at Miller Tower.
Seven brave students attempted to survive the zombie-infested race by keeping as many flags as possible. Running the equivalent of a 3k, five humans completed the race with at least one flag still intact.
Pockets of zombies were spread across the marked route, waiting for their time to swarm their human counterparts. Two hotspots for zombie interaction included the forest area with the obstacle course, perhaps the most intense zone of the race, and the Great Lawn, for a final showdown right before the finish line.
Two of the survivors, the Lewoczko brothers, completed the race last year and were able to outrun the zombies again this year.
Evan Lewoczko, a senior chemistry major, has enjoyed the “Zombiethon” both years.
“The race is always fun, especially when you add the element of terrifying characters,” he said.
Stephen Lewoczko, a sophomore history major, also appreciated the look of the zombies this year.
“They had really good makeup,” he said. “They did great impersonations of zombies.”
This year’s zombie style can be partly credited to Melissa Locke, a junior theater major who has recently found an interest in costume makeup.
Locke helped transform a group of students into a rotten, bleeding, undead horde. She remarked on the group’s eagerness and willingness to apply the zombie makeup.
“They were really excited and very enthusiastic,” she said.
The zombie mask consisted of a Dead Sea salt face mask base with streaks of homemade blood. Locke spent an hour mixing corn syrup, cherry Jell-O powder, cocoa powder and a variety of food coloring to find the perfect blood color.
The money raised from the event will go towards the Judo Club’s need for new safety mats, Locke said.
Four awards were given at the end of the race. Winners included: Evan Lewoczko, fastest human, Charlie Scott, the human with the most flags, Franklin ‘Rock’ Bass, the zombie with the most flags, and Harold Hall, the zombie with the second most flags.
