Zombies chase down couch potatoes and the unprepared

Zombies chase down couch potatoes and the unprepared  - Kim Painter, USA TODAY 3/8/2012 4:41 PM 

How did zombies become the go-to mascots for health, safety and emergency preparedness? Blame the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ever since the CDC started its tongue-through-cheek "zombie preparedness" campaign a few months back (because if you can prepare for a zombie apocalypse, you can also prepare for a hurricane, earthquake or pandemic), it seems everyone wants a piece of the undead. The latest:

 --A new smartphone app called "Zombies, RUN!" prompts runners to run faster to escape rotting, brain-hungry invaders. The running game is designed for experienced joggers who need an extra adrenaline rush or for novices who just need a push off the couch. "We have all the built-in instincts in our brains to run away from predators," says one of the developers.

 --Michigan State University is offering a new online course entitled: "Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse -- Catastrophes and Human Behavior." Mostly, it's about how people get through plagues, meteor strikes and such. But students also will form survivor groups to deal with a simulated "zombie pandemic," because, as instructor Glenn Stutzky says, "zombies make everything more interesting." (At least Stutzky was the instructor: A zombie appears to eat his brain in a rather graphic promotional video for the class).

Meanwhile, the folks at CDC continue to enjoy the company of zombies -- despite the fact that a fictional version of their Atlanta headquarters was destroyed during a zombie pandemic on AMC's The Walking Dead. Ali S. Khan, director of the CDC's public health preparedness office, reports that he was one of about 2,500 people who ran from a muddy zombie mob just a few days ago. The event was a 5K fundraiser. Khan writes at his blog: "What better way to improve your race time than to be chased by zombies?"