Newport's junior lifeguards do the Monster dash

Newport’s junior lifeguards do the Monster dash

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Alex Nathan, second from right, is greeted by a zombified junior lifeguard Thursday during the Newport Beach Junior Lifeguard Program’s annual Monster Mile near the Balboa Pier. (Scott Smeltzer / Daily Pilot)

By Daily Pilot staff

Aug. 4, 2016 3:58 PM PT

Zombies swarmed Newport Beach on Thursday morning.

But it wasn’t the apocalypse, or even an episode of “The Walking Dead.”

It was the annual Monster Mile competition for more than 1,300 costumed Newport Beach junior lifeguards. Contestants ran one mile from the Balboa Pier to 10th Street and then swam back.

The Monster Mile was one of the last events of the seven-week summer Junior Lifeguards Program, during which youths ages 9 to 15 learn about physical fitness and ocean and beach safety.