The Running Dead: Zombies, Zombies Everywhere

The undead: pretty unchill (to say the least). Whether in earnest preparation for the upcoming apocalypse or in an ironic embrace of pop culture, because a third of the sports blogosphere live-tweets The Walking Dead or just because everything that Simon Pegg does is totally awesome, there's been a recent increase in zombie-related running events and training tools.

Cut from a similar cloth as the Warrior Dash and the Tough Mudder, the 'Run For Your Lives' race series involves 3.1 mile long obstacle courses that feature 12 obstacles, what looks to be a lot of mud, and yup -- zombies. Think one part haunted house, one part obstacle course, and one part 5k. While there aren't any biometrics provided to give insight into the authenticity of said zombies, the race certainly looks to be one of the more memorable obstacle courses one could run. For those in Georgia, there are still entries available for the March 3rd race.

'Well how in the hell would I train for a zombie-infested obstacle course?', you say? Well lucky for you, the ZOMBIES, RUN! iPhone app will soon be available in the iTunes App Store. This Kickstarter graduate serves as an audio accompaniment to runs, pushing runners along as they get the hell out of dodge and run away from the zombies that are chasing them (according to the app, not in real life, duh). Think 'Get to ze choppah!', but with some added zombie noises over consistent BPM music. Need more description? see the video from the app creators themselves:

Where does the impulse to create such an app come from? Naomi Alderman, the app's creator, tells NPR's All Things Considered:

"The start of the course they said to us, "Why do you want to learn how to run?" and one woman said, "I want to be able to out run the zombie hoarde," Alderman explains. "Then I thought, 'Ahh, this would be a good idea for a game.'"

So, there you go. If being married for five years has taught me anything, it's that women are always right -- and if they have a reason to work out, you don't question it.

Anybody else spent time running from zombies? If so, you've probably earned yourself this shirt.