Destruction from Hurricane Helene cancels Zombie Run

The Rotary Club of Morganton Zombie Run 5K and Family Fun Run has been canceled due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. While this should be the week where all the planning comes together culminating in a fantastic Zombie filled experience, the damaged caused by Helene to our local communities, our city, our county and to our venue, Catawba Meadows Park has forced the cancellation of the Zombie Run.

Our committee agonized over what to do - postpone? quickly turn the Zombie Run into some kind of virtual event? But, ultimately, with limited time and our genuine desire to focus on assisting in any way we can with recovery efforts, we have decided to cancel the event. Our club members are helping serve meals to emergency workers who have jumped in to assist our area, brought 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. Under the leadership of one of our club members, J.J. Musgrove, President & CEO, The Community Foundation of Burke County has set up The Burke County Disaster Relief Fund to support non-profit organizations in Burke County working on recovery and relief activities (www.cfburkecounty.org). If you would like to contribute, please visit their website to learn how you can donate to this fund to help our friends, families and neighbors.

For our 2024 Registrants/Participants - our partner RunSignUp sent email communication to you, but we’ve heard that some of them did not get received. According to standard practice, with the event being canceled due to weather, your registration will roll over to next year’s event in 2025. Please keep an eye on our Facebook page and here on our website for the date for next year’s event!

The Rotary Club of Morganton is committed to holding the Zombie Run next year, but for now, we are here to serve our community with rebuilding and coming back stronger than ever.