Zombie 5K

This race was a complete lie. Some 500 runners showed up and there seemed to be 3 people running the whole thing. I would say the race «organizer» probably spent under $ 150 on the whole event. And considering how much each person paid– I consider this highway robbery. I have copy/​pasted some excerpts from the race website below:
«There will be a series of man-​made and natural obstacles that will be physically challenging, but not impossible. The obstacles will test your strength, speed and the cooperation between you and your fellow hopeful survivors. Work as a team. There will be mud, water and maybe some blood. You will need to climb, crawl, duck and dive your way to the finish line. Oh and there will be a bunch of flesh-​starved undead on your tail.»
Let me begin by stating that there were no obstacles. Absolutely NONE man made. Unless you count a hill as «man made» or a playground. The director actually said «cars have stalled on this hill» like this was a daunting obstacle. I’m a runner– this was not a steep hill– it was a suburban neighborhood. There was no mud– water –nothing. A road. That had cars on it. Because no one in the town knew this race existed– not even the police or anyone living in the community. They didn’t close down any roads for it so we were literally running aside and around cars that stopped in the street because 500 people were swarming them. Besides this being extremely dangerous, it is also, I believe, illegal. Of the three volunteers not a single one was directing people– so many people got lost around the course. And there were about 10 zombie volunteers– high school kids– throughout the course. The guy in charge «Vince» shouted into a microphone that they had run out of «life flags, safety pins, numbers» and then proceeded to yell the race directions to us– turn by turn. I KID YOU NOT there was not a single course marker– he yelled us the directions in the beginning. And how hard is it, seriously, to send someone out to home depot and buy more safety pins and caution tape (because that’s what the flags were)?
There was no one keeping time– oh and the best part– it wasn’t even a 5k– it was 2.6 miles as someone’s Garmin told me. There was basically no finish– some people thought it was the half way point because we were done so early. Then– and you really can’t make this stuff up– Vince yelled out– raise your hand if you came in first place.
I would seriously be laughing about this event if I hadn’t wasted $ 80 and drove over an hour out for it.
Finally– this from their website:
BESIDES BRAGGING RIGHTS, ALL RUNNERS WILL RECEIVE:
*Racing Bib complete with number
*A medal to signify your survival (or zombie transformation)
*First, Second and Third Place prizes!
*The frist 100 accross the finish line gain admittance to the Zompocalypse Party
So of course– 1. Many did not receive a racing bib, 2. NO ONE received a medal except the top 3 finishers (who «raised their hand») and 3. It doesn’t even matter about that awful party where it apparently cost 40 bucks to enter for some pizza.
As you can see, my friends and I are extremely disappointed with this event. I’ve seen that the event organizers have been erasing fb comments ever since the race– as everyone I talked to that day was completely blown that this was actually happening. The website even has categories for music and vendors and of course– there were none.

Not happy…
We arrived at noon, walked up to a school in town and to a single table handing out «life» flags made from danger tape. We asked were the start for 1PM was and none of the volunteers seemed sure. Around 12:30 they announced they were out of «life flags», so anyone who gets tapped by a zombie losses 1 of 3 lives.
Close to 1 we joined a large group of 300 – 400 runners on the side of the school. The race director got on a loud speaker and proceeded to tell us we would be running down the city street behind us, about a mile, take a left at a landmark, go up a hill (watch out for a cliff), and then down and through a playground to the finish. Oh, and «watch out for cars since the streets are NOT closed». There were a lot of confused looks as everyone had come ready for mud, water, obstacles and what we thought was an off road course.
So we began running. People in cars driving down the street stared in bewilderment as the hoards ran past. After a half mile we saw two zombies. I also saw two national guard on the course, but not a single paramedic or local police. We passed another 2 zombies at mile 1.5. And then we ran through a park with 3 more zombies. The finish line was by a group of National Guard who were there with their «promotional» booth. After crossing the finish I looked around for my «zombie» vs «human» finisher medal. (Not that it was hard to survive 7 zombies). Everyone else was milling around too looking lost. We were within the first 80 or so across the finish line, but when it came time to hand out tickets to the afterparty the race director looked at the group, made a line and said people on one side got to go.
Before we left I asked about the finisher medal. We had driven 2 hours to get there and even though the course was a street in a town, only 2.5 miles, and only 7 zombies I wanted something to show for my money besides an empty gas tank and an entire day gone. The race director told me only something for 1−3^rd and groupon messed up. We left disappointed and feeling ripped off.
Later that afternoon the website edited their page to change some items. (Now says «some» will get bibs and finisher medals.) People started posting complaints on the FB page and all 90+ comments were removed. I personally recieved an email response to my complaint and was told the following:
«We did not promise anything.» and on his FB page he posted ««1^st of all the website said in regards to changes «ALL INFORMATION UP TO THE DAY OF THE EVENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.» So you should have expected anything or even less.»
I don’t think it is unreasonable to expect what I paid for. If I bought a ticket to a concert to see Garth Brooks and instead was presented with a local band, I would ask for a refund. I am not sure why I shouldn’t expect a zombie run with mud, water, obstacles, and zombies as promised with paid purchase. I’m just glad I bought through groupon and only paid $ 22. I feel really bad for the ones that bought directly from them and paid full price for a race that we are told we «should expect anything or less…». Please be very cautious if you sign up for a race with this group. Where the money went? That is still being asked.