If music isn’t enough to get you through daily workouts, and you need a little extra motivation to start running regularly, a new iPhone app may provide just that – in the form of the undead.
Zombies, Run! is a new exercise app that is part workout regimen, part audio adventure. When going out for a jog, users play the part of the “runner,” gathers supplies for a fictional compound of survivors in a world overrun by zombies.
As you run, audio of other survivors and the moans of zombies plays over whatever music playlist has been selected while you collect virtual supplies. The farther you run, the more supplies you collect that are later distributed in the second portion of the game, using them to unlock new missions and help the survivors prosper.
The app uses the iPhone’s GPS capabilities to track a user’s progress and the distance they have run.
The app also features “zombie chases,” which is a modified form of interval training. When a zombie chase begins, users are encouraged to speed up for one minute. If they don’t, they risk dropping virtual supplies they’ve gathered. The app uses this as a means to encourage users to push themselves further during their workouts.
Zombies, Run! started out as a Kickstarter project. Kickstarter is an online fundraising site which allows people to donate toward specific causes or projects.
Zombies, Run! received donations from thousands of individual contributors who are now listed and thanked in the game’s “survivor register.” Once it achieved funding, the Kickstarter project closed, and the creators began the game’sdevelopment.
At over $8, Zombies, Run! is more expensive than other iPhone apps, but additional free content is promised for users in the future. The app is currently unavailable for Android users, though it will become available on the platform “in the spring,” according to its creators.
For some, running is a repetitive and boring activity. Zombies, Run! aims to add an element of fun and challenge to a person’s workout while giving them an interesting story in which to take part.
For fans of films like “Dawn of the Dead” and “Zombieland,” Zombies, Run! is the best exercise app available for those wishing to survive the fictional undead apocalypse.
