VOIZ asia

Run For Your Lives Malaysia: Zombie Apocalypse Chronicles

Nick Josh Karean

Did you know that on December 31, last year, Malaysians spent their final night of the year with the thrill of battling zombies into 2017? The event also turned the National Botanical Garden of Shah Alam into a scene right out of a zombie apocalypse horror movie!

Well, just in case you didn’t, let me brief you on it very quickly so that you can better prepare yourself before the next night of the living dead. Time is of the essence here, so take heed.

Run For Your Lives (RFYL) is a 3-5km zombie-themed obstacle-adventure run series brought over from the United States since 2011. It is of an international level and was introduced for the first time to Malaysia back in 2014. It has also been held in Sweden, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, and now in Malaysia!

Did someone say Zombies?

Photo credit to Run For Your Lives Malaysia

According to Monkey Theory, the RFYL organizer of Malaysia, Run For Your Lives is the world’s premier Zombie-infested 5K (five kilometres) obstacle course whereby participants assume the role of either a Survivor or a Zombie in this one-of-a-kind event filled with thrilling chases, rocking music by performing deejay’s and a kick-ass dance party finale.

Part obstacle course, part music festival, and a full on encounter with “the running dead”, Run For Your Lives promises a fun day (and night) with friends, colleagues and evil ex-bosses alike.

Photo credit to Run For Your Lives Malaysia

You’ve played the video games. You’ve watched the movies. You’ve even followed the whole TV series. Now’s the time to put what you know into practice. Maybe you fancy your chances reaching the Safe Zone for supplies through a Zombie-infested 5K route laced with demanding obstacles? Or perhaps getting transformed into one of the “running dead”, Zombies hell-bent on stopping the Survivors in their tracks? This is your chance to Run For Your Lives!

2014

On December 13, 2014, the first ever zombie apocalypse invaded Kuala Lumpur attracting a whopping 7,000 participants in Malaysia Agro Exposition Park, Serdang. In the zombie infested fun run, it consisted of thrilling obstacles such as Blood Pit, The Ladder, The Crawl Fence and many others. Many survived the apocalypse while many also failed to save themselves in this thrilling run.

Photo credit to Run For Your Lives Malaysia

The idea behind the highly anticipated Run For Your Lives Malaysia is that a zombie apocalypse has plagued the world, and so, participants were given the choice to take part as a ‘Survivor’ or a ‘Zombie’ in a gameplay that is generally simple – the survivors have to outrun the zombies who have the goal of ‘capturing’ the humans. Besides the chasing zombies, survivors also have to battle a gruelling obstacle course.

2015

Photo credit to Run For Your Lives Malaysia

Catching on the deadly virus, Penang were soon invaded on May 16 at Penang Botanical Gardens for the very first time – attracting about 1,500 participants from the small island to again experience the world’s most thrilling run.

Photo credit to Run For Your Lives Malaysia

The 2015 edition round was accompanied by obstacles such as Blood Pit, Smokehouse, Holey Trap and many others throughout the 5KM route. The gamification of this exciting and thrilling run is to give participants the chance to choose between being a Zombie (chasing and catching humans) or a Human (running away and escaping from the zombies).

2016

Photo credit to Nick J

In 2016, Malaysians got the opportunity to experience the first ever zombie “Running Dead” (Night Edition) in Malaysia! This time, the virus continued to spread and found its way back to Kuala Lumpur, breaching the city’s first line of defence. Run For Your Lives Malaysia 2016 was hosted on New Year Eve’s, 31 December accommodating about 7,000 participants! They came from different ages, levels and experiences who showed skill and courage during the run. There was also a fantastic sense of camaraderie along the course.

Photo credit to Run For Your Lives Malaysia

Watch the video below for yourself and see it in action how extremely exciting and thrilling the experience was on the night the dead arose for dinner, and how the survivors strived to stay alive to not end up on the zombie menu:

2017

The Z-Virus for Run For Your Lives Malaysia 2017 was safely contained and zombies prevented from coming into existence. However, this may not be the end of the story just yet…

2018

Monkey Theory advises us to be wary of new outbreak warnings by following their Run For Your Lives Malaysia Facebook Page so that you can better prepare yourself before the next zombie invasion in Malaysia. Until then, no signs of an outbreak it seems. But don’t relax too soon… We may be safe for now, but the question is, until when?

To be continued…

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