Runner

Overview

Runners are people who have only recently turned into zombies. They are not yet experiencing the later stages of decomposition or bodily injury characteristic of Walkers or Shamblers. As a result, they are highly aggressive and capable of running at high speeds. Over time, Runners will eventually become Walkers as their bodies continue to decompose.

Runners are the most recent recruits to the ranks of the undead, and so appear more human than zombie, especially from a distance. Thanks to their recent infection, their bodies are mostly intact aside from perhaps a bite or two, which may still be covered by a bandage. Outside of some blood from either their infection or biting a victim, Runners are mostly untouched, though their bloodshot eyes and swollen red veins will still give them away. Many are found wearing athletic gear, indicating that they were once athletes or at least more sport-minded than others, which may explain how they were able to remain uninfected longer than less athletic individuals.

Runners patrol an area, stalking around hunched over, occasionally pausing to let out a scream before resuming their patrol. When they spot a victim, they charge straight for them, ignoring all obstacles. They will attempt a flying grapple, leaping at their prey to grab and bite, as well as clawing and biting up close. Thanks to their freshly turned state and intact motor functions, Runners will also dodge attacks, either to the side or directly backward, before going back on the offensive. They can also push players back to interrupt attacks and combos.

Heavy attacks are not well suited against Runners due to their speed and tendency to dodge, making them a waste of stamina. The Drop Kick works well against them, knocking them down for several seconds. Dodging their leap attack to the side opens up a follow-up hit or a counter if timed perfectly. Using the Block skill against their leap stops them dead in front of you, making them easy to strike. Maiming their legs is the single most effective approach, it eliminates their speed advantage and reduces them to a Crawler.

Notable Runners

Tony Sinclair – spawns during the second wave of zombies during the first Curtis Sinclair quest.

Goat Pen Troy – *IMPORTANT* The three goat pen zombies will despawn and never return after you have looted the goat pen key, DO NOT LEAVE THE AREA until you have killed all 3 and marked that you get credit for them. There is no way to recover from this and you can consider your named zombie hunt completion impossible until NG+ if you do not kill these 3 zombies here on your first visit. I suggest killing them in this order- Troy, Marissa, Dan, as I have noticed Troy despawning before I picked up the key because I got too far away from the roof. Troy is located on the roof terrace outside the second floor bedroom. Update: This bug is still present in the latest version of the game (1.7).

Coach Ace – spawns in the tennis court behind Emma Jaunt’s mansion on the road to Beverly Hills. Spawns as soon as you leave Emma’s for the first time.

Obi the Pool Guy – spawns during the final step of the Lost & Found quest The Clean and the Snatch at the Goat Pen pool. Hard to miss if you’re on that step of the quest.

Military Courier – spawns in the hotel lobby after completing The Ravages of Rav-X. He’s almost always out there as soon as I complete the quest so he’s kind of hard to miss. 

Nosy Neighbor – down the road from Farouk/Dave’s house near the crater/truck crash area and Concerned Engineers note. Spawns after clearing Rikki Rex’s house during the main story. May also need to rescue Jessie first too.

The Guitarist – spawns during the quest The Ballad of Rikki Rex. I did not get credit for this zombie one of the times I killed it. I did however have one zombie on my named zombie stat that run that I couldn’t account for so this may have been an instance where i was erroneously awarded credit early on like the Seismologist. This zombie was also killed by a grenadier walkers explosion though so that may have had something to do with it as well. I abandoned the run after this and didn’t do further testing unfortunately. All future runs I’ve done since then I have gotten credit for this zombie every time.

Brody the Lifeguard – spawns at the south corner of the beach near the lockbox that his key unlocks. Either available immediately upon entering the zone or after completing The Giant Slayer.

Nell The Lifeguard – spawns during Missing: Shane. Impossible to miss if you’re on this quest.

Amanda Styles – spawns at the end of the quest Going Viral. Amanda was reported to be heavily bugged and often did not count for credit at game launch. As of 2024 she seems to be fixed and has counted for me every time. Still I recommend backing up a save before taking on this quest to make sure all your kills here count.

Streaker Kyle (SoLA DLC) – streaker Kyle spawns every time for me near the entrance to Eco Village. Hypothetically according to other sources he can show up anywhere in SoLA. I most often encounter him after having visited Cadenza at Eclipse so this may be a prerequisite for him to start appearing. No note required for him to spawn. 

Where to Find Them

Runners are among the most common zombie types in the game and spawn virtually everywhere across Los Angeles from the very beginning. They are encountered in large numbers during the story quest Flight of the Damned and appear consistently in every area of the map thereafter.

Zompedia

Zombie Challenges