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Zombie walk, 5K brings out scary, unique participants

September 29, 2013
	<p>Lansing resident Travis McElhaney looks on during the annual Downtown Lansing Zombie Walk on Sept. 28, 2013, at Adado Riverfront Park. McElhaney&#8217;s roommate did his costume makeup. Julia Nagy/The State News</p>

Lansing resident Travis McElhaney looks on during the annual Downtown Lansing Zombie Walk on Sept. 28, 2013, at Adado Riverfront Park. McElhaney’s roommate did his costume makeup. Julia Nagy/The State News

Adado Riverfront Park crawled with the gory undead on Saturday morning for the fourth annual Downtown Lansing Zombie Walk.

The race inspired varying levels of dedication to the theme, with some wearing simple make-up and others going as far as donning fake eyeballs hanging off their face. One woman dabbed her costume with fake blood prior to the start of the run.

Graduate student Stephanie Fluegeman came out in full zombie gear to run in the 5K because of her past work with MSU’s sexual assault program. She came to the event dressed up as a dead Color Runner.

“I’m sure there (are) tons of people that saw zombies running around and then did some research,” Fluegeman said. “It’s a great way to get the word out.”

Steven Ward, the organizer of the walk, estimated that around 75 people attended the event, however he did not have official numbers of attendees or the money raised at press time.

Ward said the event had a different spin on it this year because they partnered with the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing to add a 5K run. All proceeds from the event went to the Women’s Center.

The zombie walk began in 2010 when Ward decided to combine a passion for zombies with the desire to do charity work.

“I’m a Christian, (so) it’s a religious choice for me. I believe service is key,” Ward said. “I could serve people and have a great time doing it.”

In past years, the Zombie Walk collected monetary and food donations for the Greater Lansing Food Bank. However, this year the Women’s Center offered to fund the event to bring in the zombie element. Registration to participate in the 5K was $20.

This is the fifth year the Women’s Center has hosted a 5K, said Cindie Alwood, the executive director of the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing.

“We didn’t want to duplicate an existing event, so we decided to combine forces,” Alwood said.

Alwood said the funds raised by the event will go toward general operating expenses geared toward helping women achieve economic self-sufficiency.

Both Ward and the Women’s Center saw a drastic drop in attendance this year compared to their respective events in the past.

Ward, who was hoping for a turnout of 500 attendees, said this year’s lack of attendance could be attributed to the changes in both his Zombie Walk and the Women’s Center’s 5K.

“Previous attendees of those events didn’t know what to make of it,” Ward said, adding that last year had an attendance of 325 people.

Alwood said the 5K lost participants this year because it was not a timed race, in contrast to the past years.

“If people want to be in costume, it’s unfair to them,” Alwood said. “We decided to just do a run — it’d be more fun and less pressure.”

Ward remained positive about the money they were able to raise because of the event.

“We’re not ungrateful,” Ward said. “Whatever we collect will make a difference in these peoples’ lives.”

Aside from the 5K element, the event featured a Zumba program, an obstacle course and a costume contest

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