Hurricane halts Morganton Zombie Run; Rotary donates $10K to disaster relief

Catawba Meadows Park, the site of the planned event, sustained significant damage from the storm, so club officials made the decision to cancel this year’s event.

Before the hurricane, the club had already collected $8,000 in sponsorship funds. Rotary Club of Morganton President Kim Van Sickler said most of the run’s sponsors agreed to donate their contributions to the Burke County Disaster Relief Fund, set up through The Community Foundation of Burke County. The fund supports nonprofit organizations in Burke County working on recovery and relief activities (www.cfburkecounty.org), Van Sickler noted.

“That’s $8,000 raised from a run that couldn’t happen,” she stated. “The club is supplementing that donation to equal a $10,000 donation to the fund.”

Once the decision to cancel had been made, club members quickly pivoted to offer assistance to area residents affected by the storm.

According to Van Sickler, Rotary members took water to residents on Creekside Drive who lost everything, traveled east to collect and bring back donations and supplies to two local child care centers that were flooded, and collected blankets for aid workers sleeping in trailers.

Van Sickler said the Zombie/Family Fun Runs will take place in October 2025. Participants who had already registered for this year’s event will be automatically registered for the 2025 runs.

In a Zombie Run, participants complete a 5K course while avoiding the advances of costumed zombies. Runners are equipped with Velcro belts holding three flags. The goal is to finish the run with at least one flag left.

Zombies are stationed intermittently throughout the route, and they try to steal the runners’ flags, which can be redeemed for prizes at the race’s conclusion.

The 1-mile Family Fun Run was offered for those who didn’t want to take on the 3.1-mile route or to deal with zombies.

Van Sickler said the Rotary Club of Morganton wants to thank sponsors for being accommodating and willing to pivot to meet the changing circumstances.

Lurker sponsors included Atriax, PLLC, EmergeOrtho, Packaging Corp of America. Roamer sponsors were: Smart Start, Blue Ridge Healthcare. Creeper sponsors included: Case Farms, Electronic Sales & Marketing, Smith Builders, Ronnie Thompson Real Estate, Appalachian Naturescapes, Stroud’s Building Supply, Perry’s Berry’s, Lowdermilk Church & Co, LLP, Edward Jones. Crawler sponsors were Heritage Funeral Services, Engel & Volkers Foothills, Seiren NA, VanNoppen Marketing, Table Rock Printing, and Rotarians Ron George, Deborah Jones, and Steve Della Sala.