Zombies, Run! Fitness App

Zombies, Run! is a fitness app created by Six to Start and author Naomi Alderman. The app plays on any iPhone or Android device. You play by listening to a series of “radio broadcasts” and voice recordings that run in between songs from any of your playlists. You can listen to the storyline unfold while running, jogging, or walking on either a treadmill or out in the fresh air. So far Zombies, Run! has over 800,000 players.

Yes! Zombies, Run! contains an immersive storyline that unfolds in a series of runs or missions. The missions encourage you to keep moving as zombies chase you and other dangers arise. The story takes place in England shortly after the outbreak of a zombie plague that has destroyed modern society as we know it. In the story you are Runner 5, a person who has just survived a helicopter accident and found themselves alone, surrounded only by the undead. That is until a man named Sam comes onto the comset and helps you, as Runner 5, get back to the relative safety of a place called Abel Township.

You are Runner 5, one of a handful of “runners” who venture outside the walls of Abel Township to find supplies, survivors, and ways to repel zombies from the town – among other dangerous missions. It soon becomes clear that what started the zombie plague is a complicated mystery the major players at Abel Township want to solve in hopes of finding a cure or a vaccine for the virus.

So far, Six to Start has released 3 “Seasons” for Zombies, Run! The storyline always comes back to zombies, but continues to evolve over time. Season 4 is in the works.

In each mission it is always possible you will encounter a ravening, quickly shambling, horde of zombies. When this happens your headset tells you zombies are approaching. In order to escape the pack of zombies you have to move faster than you have been moving for a short period of time. If you don't pick up your pace enough the zombies will “get” you and you'll have to drop some of your supplies to keep from getting munched.

You can turn the Zombie Chase feature on or off in the app. So, if you don't want zombie interval training you don't have to have it.

As of Season 3, In total there are over 160 runs (missions) currently available – that will keep you running for a while! Season 4 is already in the works.

You download a mission and set the approximate length of it for either 30 or 60 minutes. If you set the app to 30 minutes usually you'll hear one song from your playlist between story bits. If you are set for 60 minutes you'll usually hear two songs between story sections.

During the mission you run (or walk) while you listen to the story segments and the songs in your playlist that break them up. If you have zombie chases turned on then you may also be interrupted by zombies at any time.

During the mission you will pick up supplies. These supplies range from bottled water to everyone's favorite, a sports bra. You'll also collect 2 or 3 materials per mission. Supplies and materials help you at Abel Township.

Each mission will wrap up that particular piece of the storyline. The next mission will pick up and go from there. Each season has a complete story arc and later seasons build on the earlier storylines.

You don't have a choice as to what to do in most missions – you listen and run. But, in Season 3, Six to Start introduced a few missions in which you make one choice during that mission.

No. You can walk while listening to the missions and the app. The app still tracks your progress and the storyline progresses in the same way.

Apart from just advancing the story, Abel Township is the small town of survivors that is Runner 5's home. As you play the game you collect items and can add people, buildings, and stronger walls to the township.

Collecting supplies and materials to build your version of Abel Township is a mini-game that plays out over the fitness game's many episodes.

Yes, it does. Your app keeps track of many stats for you including how long you run on a mission and what your total running time in the game is so far. The app also keeps track of miles (or kilometers) run, average pace per mile, time per mission, how many total runs you have done and what your longest and fastest runs have been.

You can also go online at www.zombiesrungame.com and log on to Zombielink. With Zombielink you can see even more statistics about your runs and your progress over time. You can also read full story recaps and share your runs with your friends through Facebook and Twitter.

Zombies 5k is a fitness app set in the same world as Zombies, Run! But this app is specifically designed to take you from sitting on your couch to running a 5k in just 8 weeks. The story takes place between mission 1 and mission 2 of the first season of Zombies, Run! You are Runner 5 and you are learning to be a runner for Abel Township.

Zombies 5k includes a specific series of instructions on stretches, when to walk, when to run, and how to ramp up to running the full 5k – all while maintaining the same level of zombie fun.

Zombies, Run! Encourages people to get out and run – or walk. It uses a series of immersive storylines, zombie chases, tracking of mission stats, town building and nifty audio effects. It just plain makes it more fun to exercise. Because who doesn't think running around in a post-apocalyptic world full of undead isn't fun?