T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM -Zombies Carson Wright, 17, Lucas Bantz, 17, Colby Cross, 16 and Kager Kremer, 17, practice their moves before the runners begin the 5K. The annual Zombie Run has grown in popularity through the years.

The annual Grimes Farm Park Apocalypse Zombie Run came and went on Saturday, and has steadily grown in popularity.

This year, more than 100 running enthusiasts traveled the marked trail through Grimes Farm and tried to avoid the “dead-icated” volunteers playing zombies.

As the zombies were lying in wait, the runners had flags attached to them. Their goal was to cross the finish line of the 5K, dodging the zombies whose goal was to capture the flags. If runners made it to the end with at least one flag, they managed to escape becoming one of the walking dead. The runners without flags were considered infected.

After the 5K was complete on Saturday, runners and zombies enjoy some nachos inside the Grimes Farm Conservation Center. More than 100 people ran the course and more than 70 zombies volunteered to scare them along the way.

If zombies captured all of the flags on a runner, he or she was also given the opportunity to climb the three-story Grimes Farm observation tower to gather replacement flags.

Trying it out this year were runners Todd and Danya Crites of Grinnell. Their son ran in the Zombie Run last year and told them about the good time he had.

“It was fun. I really liked it,” Danya said. “You had to strategize how to get by the zombies.”

“It’s definitely an adrenaline rush,” Todd said. “We’re talking about bringing some friends next year.”

Grimes Farm hosting the event in 2025 is a definite possibility. Marshall County Conservation Director Emily Herring, the brains of the operation, said it is hard to say, but since the Zombie Run is so popular, it probably will be.

“People truly enjoy it,” she said. “It’s a lot of work, but every year we have a great time and then we do it again. We are happy and excited to host it.”

The best aspect of the Zombie Run that is Herring’s favorite is the different people it brings to Grimes Farm.

“We don’t get a lot of youth out here,” she said. “That’s not our normal audience. We enjoy and appreciate bringing a different group to the outdoors. I just have fun listening to everybody scream and laugh and have a good time.”

The 5K trail was paved with zobies and good intentions. Runners paid $35 to participate and proceeds are used to pay for various expenses at Grimes Farm.

“We had a lot of return runners and multiple zombies,” Herring said. “They had a good time. We will see if the number keeps growing.”

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.