Fairfield Zombie Run brings inmates, grandmas with moonshine to Jefferson County Fairgrounds

FAIRFIELD - Bloody inmates and creepy creatures were out on the loose at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds for the second annual Zombie Run on Saturday, Oct. 26. About 30 Halloween and running enthusiasts showed up to the event to take part in the obstacle course run, which included traipsing through hay bales, walking on logs and crawling under tarps.

Koby Freeman, who pioneered the run and organized this year's event said, 'The extension always has the trunk-or-treat so we kind of wanted to put something in conjunction with that … I wanted to do something physical, like exercise.” Freeman added that the run usually raises several hundred dollars to support the fairgrounds.

The event included a half mile course run for kids and a 2 mile run for adults as well as costume contest.

Although she didn't come in costume, six-year-old Audrey Bailey excitedly completed the half-mile run saying her favorite part was 'getting the apple from the water” from the apple bobbing obstacle of the course, and getting to eat the fruit afterward. After crossing the finish line, she excited asked fellow race participants whether they saw her successfully retrieve the apple. The Fairfield native came out with her family to support the fairgrounds and have fun.

Jessa Muldoon and Sydney Shively, both 19, traveled from Davis County to take part in the Zombie Run because it melded two of their interests: fitness and Halloween. The pair came and escaped inmates, littered with blood splatter, presumably from unsavory and illicit activities. The first-time Zombie Run participants were excited to try the obstacle course.

'We are about spookiness and we are about fitness and so this perfectly put them together,” Muldoon said.

'We got a couple looks on the drive here,” Muldoon added, explaining the attention she and Shively got because of their orange costumes.

The pair also added that their favorite part of the scary holiday is pumpkins, which conveniently matched their outfits.

'We like to eat them, we like to carve them, we like to paint them. It's just fun,” Shively said.

Following completion of the race, the teenagers noted that their favorite part of the run was getting through the school bus and car wreck scene, which included a hidden zombie actor who jumped out to scare participants.

'The bus was fun … there was a zombie in the driver's seat, it was really cute,” Shively said.

'We're definitely coming back next year,” the pair added.

Breanna Drish, a ten year old from Batavia, crossed the finish line first for both the half-mile and two-mile race, finishing the adult obstacle course in an impressive 12:19. Drish, who has attended the race both years that it has been held, noted that her favorite part of the run this time was getting through the hay bales.

As the two races concluded, Freeman announced the two costume contest winners which included 12-year-old Landen Pilcher from Fairfield who ran the obstacle course with a giant Batman mask adorned on his head and Sheri Dill-Billings, who was dressed as an old-timey grandmother carrying around a jar of moonshine.

Dill-Billings, who grew up in Fairfield has attended the run both years that it has been held.

'Watching the kids having a good time and seeing the spooks, I really enjoyed it,” Dill-Billings said of her favorite part of the run.