Zombies invade campus

Terrified students fled from highly infectious zombies on Halloween afternoon at Warwick.

Whilst there were no casualties, an initial population of six zombies swelled into an almighty army of over 250 by the end of proceedings. The cause of all the commotion was the first ever Warwick Sport Zombie Run, which has been hailed as a triumph by organisers.

The event invited teams of up to six students to start from the Sports Centre and make their way back through a pre-determined route, collecting stamps from bases as they went. Volunteers dressed as zombies had the job of catching fleeing students as they made their way around campus, and infecting them with a (non-lethal) stamp.

Teams that returned with infected members were then painted as zombies, and sent out to infect the remaining competitors. Prizes were awarded to the fastest team (winning time 13 minutes), best fancy dress and most infected team.

The event was run by Warwick Sport, who were “really happy” with the level of interest, with over 285 students taking part. The Zombie Run was part of the new “Warwick Active” programme, which aims to offer “fun, informal and casual sports opportunities for more students and staff to get active”.

The reaction to the first “Warwick Active” event of the year will have given Warwick Sport reason for optimism with regards to their future plans. Whilst nothing has been officially confirmed, given the success of the Zombie Run, there could be a return of the dead to campus next year.

“We are really happy with the engagement of over 285 people in this event,” said Jen Emeny-Green, Sports Development Coordinator at Warwick Sport.

“Warwick Active is a programme engaged to develop fun, informal and casual sports opportunities for more students and staff to get active.

“The project encorporates fun events such as this, informal ‘give it a go’ sports sessions, leagues, ladders and sports courses to increase opportunities for Warwick University to get active.”