BREWER, Maine — A race unlike any other will take place in September and it involves the undead and Brewer Witches.

Proceeds from the Zombies and Witches 5K Run will benefit the Brewer Youth Theatre’s trip to the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.





“It’s not a usual race at all,” Reed Davis, a junior this fall at Brewer High School, said at a Tuesday press event to announce the upcoming run-walk, scheduled for Sept. 6. “It’s not going to be timed.”

Human runners get a belt with three flags and must get through the zombies.

“If a human can get to the end of the race with one flag, you’re a survivor,” Reed said.

Participants who are “Witches” must come with green faces, long noses, wearing a hat or carrying a broom. They get to participate in the run-walk while observing the zombie attacks, the teen actor said.

The 5K, which will be a part of the city’s annual Brewer Days, starts at Brewer Community School at 6 p.m., goes down Parkway South to Elm Street and to the Dump Road and back.

The zombies will be strategically placed along the route, said Nancy Roberts, chair of the fundraising effort. Human survivors get a Subway gift card, she said.

Brewer students earned the opportunity to participate in the American High School Theatre Festival in the summer of 2015 in Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest performing arts festival.

Each year, between 25 and 35 high school theater groups from the United States and Canada are invited to perform a play, attend events at the festival and tour London and Edinburgh.

The students need to raise $120,000 in order to send 19 students on the trip, said Reed. How much the group has raised so far was not available Tuesday.

Darling’s, which provided a $2,500 donation, is one of the sponsors, said Kevin Tesseo, vice president of operations. He said it’s a “great fundraiser and a great opportunity” for the students.

Registration and “zombiefication” is at Brewer Community School starting at 4 p.m. Registration is $25 for humans and witches, $30 for zombies, and kids age 10 to 13 are $15.

Preregistration is encouraged and can be done at http://zombiesandwitches5k.racewire.com. The first 200 runners will receive a T-shirt.

“Zombies will be limited to 50 participants to give the humans a chance to survive,” Reed said.