The undead are coming to Unadilla, but for a good cause.
The inaugural Zombie 5K run will take place at 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 19. Cash-only, day-of registration will be open through 8:45 a.m. and online registration is open through midnight, Oct. 18. The run will begin at 214 Main St. in, Unadilla.
The run, organized by Kirsty Roefs, owner of the House of Consignment and feral cat advocate, and veteran runner and village resident Melody Garnica, will raise funds for the Unadilla Feral Trap & Release program. Through the program, feral cats are humanely trapped, neutered or spayed, then released. Funds will be raised via the $30 run registration fee.
“There are over 11 colonies; there’s so many cats,” Roefs said. “We’ve already done 51, but it’s expensive, so we’re just trying to fundraise. We did a huge kickball tournament (in August), and that was absolutely wild.
“Melody is a phlebotomist … and she’s young and she does a lot of 5Ks and marathons and she said this would be really good, because there’s the Joker Run in the spring,” Roefs continued. “In the fall, with Halloween, they used to do zombie walks in Binghamton and Oneonta, so she said, ‘How about a zombie run? Where there’s zombies posted periodically and you’re running from them?’ And I thought, ‘Well, that’s right up my alley.’”
“We started trapping and releasing cats this past year, and we were both looking for ways to fundraise, because it’s not cheap, to do this for the community,” Garnica echoed. “I had recently, back in April, started running again, after 12-ish years, and I always noticed that there was a charity connected to every race that I ran. I was like, ‘Let’s try this.’ I was part of a few brand-new (runs), and I saw how much the community came out to support them, and race, which is always fun.”
The run will cover the village loop known as “Crookerville,” with Unatego and area students volunteering as the zombies to earn community service hours. Anyone interested in being a zombie should contact Roefs at 607-369-2827. Roefs said zombies can arrive at 8 a.m. in costume and makeup, or supplies will be provided.
Planning for the run began in August, Roefs said, though the village’s feral cat problem has been increasing for years.
“It’s the economy,” she said. “I would say half the cats that we’re trapping, they are starving, they’re skinny and they’re definitely neglected, but they’re receptive to us, so it leads me to think these are dumped housecats. I’ve taken in two of them, because they were just so nice that I couldn’t put them back and return them, because that’s what you’re supposed to do, but if I can find them homes, I do.
“It’s (my husband) George and I and (fellow Unadilla resident) Miranda Couse; she’s like the unsung hero of this, and I’m just the nut that puts myself out there,” Roefs continued. “Erin (Insinga, director of the Delaware Valley Humane Society) is just inundated at the shelter, and I’ve gone to Susquehanna SPCA (in Cooperstown) and they have said there’s been such an uptick in people abandoning and bringing in their pets. They need medicine or whatever and people are just broke, and it’s easier to dump a cat; or they move and leave their animals behind and they join these colonies.”
Roefs said she began trapping and releasing cats in April.
“A lot of people have been stressed about this, because there’s just cats everywhere,” she said. “It got to the point where I said, ‘Who’s going to do it?’ So, instead of complaining about it, I said to George, ‘Let’s just buy a trap and see.’ Now, we have seven cages and we’re taking them every other week and taking (the caught cats) as far as Pennsylvania or Oneonta — wherever we can get in — and we get the feral cat or barn cat rate. So, if we’ve done 51 cats, we have prevented over 3,000 cats from being born in the village.
“The last thing I saw for my future was catching cats full time,” Roefs continued, laughing. “But it’s been a good thing. And, fortunately, I have a had a lot of support from the community.”
Roefs and Garnica said the run, too, has been well received.
“People love it; they think it’s fun,” Roefs said. “A couple ladies were terrified, but they were older and definitely couldn’t run. But it’s got people talking.”
“The inspiration, really, was getting the cats fixed in town,” Garnica said. “That was my biggest inspiration: let’s see how we can fundraise and do something fun for the community. We have people that are so excited … and I know a bunch of people are coming day of. I do want it to be annual.”
Run participants are encouraged to come dressed in costume, though they do not need to dress as zombies. Prizes will be given for best costume and first-, second- and third-place winners will be awarded in women’s and men’s groups.
For more information or to register, visit runsignup.com/Race/NY/Unadilla/UnadillasZombieRun or find “Unadilla Zombie Run” on Facebook.
