Full of brain-hungry zombies and muscle-straining obstacles, the Zombie Brain Drain 5k run is creeping up this Halloween.

Organized by the Pott College of Science, Engineering and Education Student Advisory Board, the theme for the event was chosen because of similar events around the country and shows such as “The Walking Dead” gaining popularity.

Participants can choose whether they will be a human or a zombie at registration which ends the day of the event.

“It’s a really cool course,” said Chair of Student Advisory Board, Renaye Wahl. “Almost half is in a wooded area so it’s eerie and really goes with the zombie theme.”

All funds the event take in go back to student organizations under the Pott College to help fund future events, Renaye said. As a fundraising event more people are expected to sign up, however, numbers are down from last year’s 300.

The event will conclude when all participants have finished the race. Various awards will then go to participants for Best Team, Best Zombie Team and Best Zombie.

“It’s a novelty race (that is)popular across the U.S.” said Glenna Bower, Chair of Kinesiology and Sport Department.

There will be nine obstacles on the course, more than half are hand made by student volunteers. Some of the obstacles have changed from last year, to make sure each year is different than the last.

“We improved on our obstacles, making them more sturdy and making better ones,” Bower said. “Other than that we kept it the same. We felt like we did a decent job for a brand new event.”

For those who want to participate without zombies, there will be a Blood Bash Expo taking place alongside the run. There will be booths showcasing other running organizations, merchandise and information on other events.

To maximize the safety of the participants, there will be designated zombie zones between each hurdle so no zombies will interfere with contestants as they’re traversing the obstructions. If someone gets hurt, there will be people on stand-by along the path. A Perry Township ambulance will also be onsite in case of emergency. Humans will be released in waves of 15 at a time with three flags and individuals can choose to pair up either at the start or during the event. As long as participants finish with one flag, team or individual, they’ll have completed the race ‘alive’ and be awarded an event medal.