4 September 2019

Nightmare on Lake Burley Griffin: Get ready to run for your life

| Lachlan Roberts
Join the conversation
178

Does a run around Lake Burley Griffin with killer clowns chasing you with knives sound fun? Images supplied by Running Scared.

A horde of 20 clowns jump out from behind trees and start chasing you around Lake Burley Griffin, as your blood-curdling screams fill the night air.

While this might be a premise for a terrible nightmare for most, some believe this heart-racing experience is the perfect way to celebrate Halloween.

So for the first time ever, a section of Lake Burley Griffin will transform for one night into a terror course with dangers and jump scares lurking at every turn.

The “horror fun run”, aptly called Running Scared, will start at Stirling Park in Yarralumla and finish in Rond Terrace, with thousands of people donned in Halloween costumes hoping to be scared by chilling characters.

Paul Kind, the main man behind the event, said participants can take as long as they need to run the five-kilometre, dimly lit track but the adrenaline rush from being scared might put wings on their feet.

“While there will be activities along the whole five kilometres, there will be around a dozen hubs that will have particular themes,” he detailed. “The hubs will be focused on a particular genre of horror, like a section dedicated to clowns, a section of chainsaws and other things that people associate with the horror genre and Halloween.”

Killer clowns

Clowns will feature in one of a dozen hubs at the run.

The course will be littered with an array of human and animatronic props, with drama students dressed up to send a shiver down the spine while moving props as large as six feet will scare your socks off.

Mr Kind said having the participants also dressed up in horrifying outfits will only add to the spectacle.

“Thousands of people running together in Halloween costumes will create its own atmosphere,” he said. “The people who are participating are part of the theatre of it and that is what we would like to see.”

Mr Kind said that they decided to stage the first event in Canberra, believing the nation’s capital was the “right market” for the run.

“There is a growing appetite for celebrating Halloween in Australia and I am fascinated by the rise in interest,” he shared. “As a young Aussie myself, I really had no interest in Halloween but now I have three teenage daughters who are really engaging in dressing up and celebrating Halloween.

Jason

A quirky way to celebrate Halloween!

“There is also a global trend around fun runs and theme runs so we decided to combine Halloween with a theme run.”

Mr Kind was adamant that the run is not just a Halloween gimmick and their intention is to send you and your nerves home in a frazzled mess.

“We are really going to scare you!”

If you make it through the run alive, join in the Monster Dance party featuring DJs, Halloween bar and food trucks at Rond Terrace.

Will you survive the night? Buy your tickets here, grab a team of friends, don your best costume and get ready to run for your life!

Running Scared – Canberra 2019
7 pm, 12 October
Stirling Park, Yarralumla

The map of the run.

Join the conversation

178
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.