As the latest of a long-running series of events of unprecedented scope, Outbreak Manila: Arca South once again gave fitness and zombie enthusiasts and everyone in between an exhilarating, scream-filled experience last weekend. Filipinos have long been fascinated with zombies and the many stories and media around them and have long wished to have an experience in what it would be like if there was a zombie apocalypse in the Philippines. Outbreak Manila: Arca South gave them that in spades as screams were heard everywhere from the afternoon all the way into the evening.
arkadymac.com is an official media partner for Outbreak Manila: Arca South, and it is to date our biggest non-cosplay event coverage to date. With our team of photographers, correspondents, and cosplay models, we are glad to bring you highlights from this extremely unique event.
Ever since it started back in 2012, Outbreak Manila has been held in different parts of the Metro, adding a whole new twist to the typical 5 kilometer run and giving people a a reason to run as if their life depended on it. This year, runners had to evade bloody, flesh eating, flag grabbing zombies as they conquer a crazy obstacle course spread over the length of the run.
Ever since it was first announced, the faithful as well as the curious have been making their reservations for their slots, the thought of missing the latest installment of the Outbreak Series a frightening thought in its own right. Runners get to choose batches or “waves” where they get to participate in, with participants being released into the course in 15-minute intervals.
Each participant was given a belt with three life flags representing their health. Zombies would attack them along the way to grab them. If a participant lost all their lives, they would be considered “dead.” Those who got to reach the finish line with at least one life would be considered “alive” and get a dog tag as proof that they have survived the run. This year would even be more challenging as they needed to clear a wacky obstacle course while there were zombies on their tail. Costumes are highly encouraged as they make the experience even more fun.
The zombies are the highlight of the event, of course, to bring screams and terror to the runners by giving them a good chase. The makeup and other effects were magnificently (or frighteningly?) done by a superb tram of makeup artists, making their subjects as scary and as believable as any zombie can get.
Through our partnership with Outbreak Manila, we got to field in some of our team and cosplay models as zombies. They were as frightening as they were effective, claiming lots of “lives.”
After instructions, the host led the runners of the current wave into the holding area where runners had to decide on being which “course” they wanted to be in, humorously named “appetizer,” “main course,” and “dessert,”with reference to the zombies of course. The host did a great job of revving and psyching them up for the run, all bursting with adrenaline as they were finally given the signal to run.
Aside from our cosplayers-turned-zombies, we also got to field in our team of cosplayer runners, all excited to participate in this event, their first time to do a run while in cosplay. Our correspondent Rin with Keileen shares her experience during her wave.
It was my first time at Outbreak Manila, so I was a bit nervous. I got to wear a belt with three life flags. These represented my life. Once the zombies take all of my life, I was “dead”. I went with the rest of the cosplayers of the arkadymac.com team. We got to choose which “course” we would be for the zombies: “Appetizer” being the first to be dispatched, “Main Course” being the second, and “Dessert” being the last. Wanting to see how the people would run and where the zombies came from, my team and I chose Dessert.
When the run started, I automatically ran as fast as I could to get away from all the zombies, despite the fact it had rained a while ago. The zombies were quite fast and were really good at getting the flags of the runner. They even had the flags of previous runners tied to their bodies to scare us off. For the first few meters, you just had to get away from zombies. I lost 1 of my life flags and scraped both my knees during that time. But I just got up with help from friends.
After that, you have to go through the various obstacle courses. It was really fun going through it ; I felt like a kid in a bouncy house. But rolling around in the dirt that the previous runners left? Not so fun. I also got one of my life flags taken there ; only one life left.
When we reached the first safe zone, we were so happy. I ran to the table and gulped down a cup of water in a blink of an eye. Running sure is tiring. The Mogu Mogu mascot was there and if we danced along with him, we get one free life flag, so we did.
After that quick break, we went back to running. There was another obstacle course but sadly, there was a problem with it so we couldn’t go through it. Soon after running from zombies, we reached the second safe zone. There was a medic there so I decided to let them put alcohol on my knees. The medics were really prepared for anything. They had tons of pills, an ice pack, wheelchairs, bandages etc. They even had an oxygen tank.
After we knew keileen was well, we went back to running. In the final zone, I saw a particular zombie who was covered in tons of flags. The only thing running through my mind was “OH NO I ONLY HAVE ONE FLAG LEFT!” I quickly dashed away from him, went through the obstacle course, and that was it!! I was finally done running! Thankfully, I still had one flag left!! I could still get the dog tag. I rushed to the claiming station and claimed my shirt and dog tag. Since I was in cosplay while running, I got a loot bag filled with Nissin’s Yakisoba. Luckily, all of us on the team survived the run. We had a really fun time running Outbreak Manila’s 5 kms, getting through courses, and avoiding all the zombies.
Many thanks to the admirable, creative people behind Outbreak Manila for organizing this huge, fun event, as everyone we met who took part in it said they had the time of their lives. Thank you as well for accommodating our team, especially to Judy . This has been one of our most enjoyable coverages this year. We as well as thousands of others are already looking forward to the next edition Outbreak Manila.
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