Photo By 2nd Lt. Zachary Cacicia | Capt. Kelley Hursh, 436th Dental Squadron general dentist, displays her zombie makeup...... read more read more
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DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – With dozens of people running for their lives from a mob of the undead and a hazardous material team examining victims all in easy view of motorists driving by on Delaware Route 1; it is a wonder how the base did not receive a swarm of phone calls from concerned civilians.
Raising more than $1,000 for the upcoming Annual Awards Banquet, the Zombies of Dover race, featuring zombies, runners, prizes, a hazmat team and most of importantly, fun, was successfully ran Oct. 16, 2014, on Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.
“I’m dressed as a zombie, how could I not have fun?” said Senior Airman Chelsea Borders, 436th Security Forces Squadron command support staff.
The five-kilometer race featured 42 runners, 58 zombies and 40 volunteers.
Senior Master Sgt. Steven Dirksen, 9th Airlift Squadron loadmaster superintendent, took advantage of the opportunity to dress as a zombie, but more importantly, help raise money for the banquet.
“It’s awesome; it supports the Annual Awards and that’s what it’s really about,” said Dirksen. “Lowering ticket prices for Airmen; that is what we are out here to do.”
Both the runners and the zombies wore a belt that carried multiple detachable flags. The runners’ and zombies’ goal was to grab as many flags from each other as possible throughout the race. Upon the conclusion of the race, prizes were awarded to the runners and zombies who grabbed the most flags.
Prizes were awarded in the “most brains eaten” category for the top zombie and in the “top zombie killer” category for the top runner. Prizes were also awarded to the runners who finished the race first, both "alive" and "dead." The "alive" or "dead" factor was determined by if runners were able to make it through the course with remaining flags.
Airman 1st Class Roger Cabungcal, 436th Medical Support Squadron medical systems technician, was the first runner to finish the race “alive,” winning a duffel bag from the USO and a restaurant gift card. He developed a careful strategy to accomplish this feat.
“I would always pass through patches of zombies with people in front of me,” said Cabungcal. “So that way they would bite on them and I would just cruise by.”
Petty Officer 2nd Class Stetson Thomas, Armed Forces Medical Examiner System forensic photographer, finished the race first, but was unable to avoid the zombies.
“I just ran,” said Thomas. “I didn’t want to be attacked by the zombies, so I was trying to duck and dodge them throughout the course.”
Thomas was also awarded a duffel bag from the USO and a restaurant gift card.
The top zombie, who ate the most brains, was Airman 1st Class Armando Almendariz, 9th AS loadmaster; winning a fitness package from a local gym.While the top zombie killer was Staff Sgt. Thomas Sax, 436th Maintenance Squadron aerospace ground equipment; winning movie theater tickets and a restaurant gift card.
But the top prize, a 32 inch flat screen TV and a DVD of the movie, “Zombieland,” went to Airman 1st Class Nathan Schneck, 436th MXS. He accomplished this by grabbing a special flag that was attached to Dirksen.
“It was all good until they realized I had the special flag,” said Dirksen. “I got attacked by eight people at once and I lost seven of my eight flags, to include my TV flag.”
A check point was up at the race’s finish line by members of the 436th Civil Engineer Squadron Emergency Management Flight, donning hazmat suits, dummy training rifles and gas masks. It was their job to sort the ‘infected’ from the "non-infected" runners as they finished the race.
“Twinkies were awarded to everyone that made it through ‘alive,’” said Staff Sgt. Nicole Hawley, 436th Mission Support Group executive support staff. “Those ‘infected’ were given snowballs.”
Hawley was the primary organizer for the race. She spent countless hours organizing the event through the proper channels, coordinating volunteers and ensuring that the race would be a great success.
“The weather was perfect, the zombies were hungry, and the runners ran their hearts out,” said Hawley. “The day couldn't have gone better!”
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2014 14:13 |
| Story ID: | 145658 |
| Location: | DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, DE, US |
| Web Views: | 52 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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