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Ghoulishly good cause Ella Case, 5, of Medford, attempts to scare runners participating in the Running Dead 5k Loop at Hawthorne Park on Saturday. Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch Saturday Oct 22, 2016 at 2:19 PM Oct 23, 2016 at 9:37 AM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat Nearly 300 runners of all ages sported costumes and made a run for it this afternoon at the Medford Commons, where a much-anticipated brewery helped celebrate the zombie-themed "Running Dead" fundraiser with a soft opening. Common Block Brewing opened its doors for the first time at the end of the third annual 5K fun run, a fundraiser for Southern Oregon Goodwill in which runners flee zombies for a good cause. Common Block poured 10 Barrel Brewing beer and offered food from local food trucks. The run and brewery opening were just two of many facets of the event, which also included a "Drop Dead Beauty" contest. Just before the contest, Allyson Griffie of Medford and five comrades drizzled fake blood and Thousand Island dressing on hamburger buns as part of their In-N-Out Burger-themed team, "Zombies, Animal Style." The six in ghoulish makeup wore the chain's iconic white uniforms and hats with tattered red aprons and carried an inflatable palm tree. For Griffie, the piece de resistance was spooky dry ice placed in the chain's cups. "We like the little nuances," Griffie said. When asked whether the group was affiliated with the chain, the members laughed and shook their heads. "I'm a vegan," Griffie said. Some 284 runners participated in the marquis 5K run that looped from Pear Blossom Park to Hawthorne Park and back and featured "humans" trying to keep their football flags from the "zombies" chasing them. About a dozen zombies were staged along the course. Prizes, such as tickets to Randall Theatre's "Nightmare Chamber" haunted house, were awarded for runners who kept the bulk of their three flags, and for zombies who collected the most. Randall Artistic Director Robin Downward used the fun run to talk up the not-recommended-for children haunted house, the nonprofit theater's biggest fundraiser of the year. "It's got a plot," Downward said. "We're a theater company first." Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.