Run For Your Life

Running for your life from zombies -- whether in a haunted house, at zombie paintball or at a monster walk -- might be one of the most fun facets of October. But how about running from them in a 5K obstacle course? The city of Hector in Pope County will host the fourth annual Arkansas Zombie Challenge on Saturday -- which rolls fitness, the Halloween spirit and helping kids all into one event.

"Hector is the perfect venue for this event. There's a trail that goes through the woods that they use for their haunted hayride -- so there's already graves dug and bones laying around," says Genney Baker, the executive director of CASA of the 5th Judicial District. "It's unique in the fact that no one else is doing it [in the area] at this time. The first year, I didn't really know what to expect but I was blown away."

At the request of former participants, this year's event has been expanded to include runs for kids of all ages. There is also a kids' costume contest -- "which is, of course, the cutest part of the event" -- and entertainment by Some Guy Named Robb. The main event features obstacles from hay bale climbs to mud crawls, all while participants wear a belt of three "life flags." Should the zombies throughout the course capture all of your life flags, you can still finish the race but sorry, you're "infected" now!

"We did have at least a few folks make it to the end with at least one flag [still attached], which is pretty impressive," Baker says of last year's race. "Some of the zombies are so realistic -- they look like they just walked out of a Stephen King movie!"

The 5K serves as a fundraiser and to increase awareness for CASA of the 5th Judicial District of Arkansas: Pope, Johnson and Franklin counties. CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, pairs volunteers with neglected and abused children in the foster care system to advocate for them. Baker says the broad spectrum of responsibilities volunteers fulfill makes the job different from any other volunteer experience.

"They are like DHS workers, except they only have one or two cases. These volunteers are the one constant [person] with these kids through their journey in foster care," she says. "We're dealing with families during the darkest points in their lives, so we have to be very selective about who we choose to volunteer with these kids."

The organization serves more than 150 children a year within the three counties, but Baker says, sadly, there are still many more who could benefit from the services. Although the numbers have not yet been calculated for this year, Baker says Pope County alone has more than 70 kids in the foster care system. The organization's goal is to have a CASA for every child in the system by the year 2020, and events like the Zombie Challenge help raise funds to train more volunteers and take one step closer to meeting that goal.

"The great thing about this event [is] there's something for everybody," Baker says. "So, if you're like me -- I'm not much of a runner -- you can be a zombie, which is just as much fun. It's a one-of-a-kind event!"

NAN What's Up on 10/14/2016