Zombie Outbreak Fun Run in Palawan

The first-ever #ZombieOutbreak fun run held from October 28 to 31, 2015 at the Sports Complex, Puerto Princesa, Palawan was a success!

This blogger/photographer was present for two nights at the site with some visitors friends from Manila.

The event was in time for the Halloween  season, trick or treat is not a thing in this non-urban province and it was an excellent idea indeed to substitute that with a popular movie-themed activity.

The youths of the city including perhaps those from the outlying towns poured into the vast area of Puerto Princesa city’s sports complex, orderly queuing eagerly to get free entry to the “zombie-zone”.   It was four nights of thrill with participants terrifyingly running and screaming, amidst the swarm of zombies marching along the maze of several obstacles from piles of vehicle tires, aged vehicles,  spiderweb-like passages, makeshift tunnels, improvised graveyard adorned with wooden coffins, crosses and tombs, ladies garbed in black veils crying over a dead body in a coffin, all these going on amidst the blue-lighted fog effects covering the area and the eerie sounds coming from giant speakers.

Prizes await the winning participants. The Goal is – to get to the safe zone with at least 3 life flags.  The life flags were given and tied around each participant’s waist which acts as “Runner’s Lives” that attract the attention of zombies.  Once all the flags of a participant were grabbed by the zombies, he or she can still finish the race but is already considered as infected.  Three remaining flags entitle the participant a prize.

It was fun-filled teeming with excitement.  Supporting the event was no less than the honorable Mayor Lucilo Bayron present every night during the 4-day activity.

Mayor Lucilo Bayron flanked by participants of the #ZombieRun.

It was dubbed as the “first” run, so it’s gonna be an annual program for the city and everyone would be expecting and awaiting a different and bigger one on the next year’s #ZombieOutbreak. 

If I may suggest though, a one-day #ZombieParade would be an added attraction right before the start of the program, say, along the main thoroughfare of the city to inform and entice the residents and tourists who are not aware. I only found out when a friend tagged me along to the site.  While on it, why not throw in some prizes too for the best and most terrifying costume or make-up effects.  

Well, if Baguio has their annual most-awaited “Panagbenga Festival” and Kalibo has their “Ati-Atihan”, Palawan may as well have its own, which in my opinion is quite unique and might as well be the host of a big annual gathering, to the tradition of Rio De Janeiro’s carnival. Just thinking out loud, but hey, why not?

It could potentially be another draw for tourists flocking the city which is one of the country’s premiere tourist destinations being home of one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, the “Underground River”.  

Kudos to the organizers for a successful event. Special thanks to CIO Impormasyon and Dreu Manlawe for allowing us to take some pictures inside the Zombie Zone.