A group plans their route for Survive DC in 2011.Photo by thisisbossi.

This Saturday, hundreds of adults are expected to run through the streets of D.C. in a race that’s part-game of tag, part-scavenger hunt. SurviveDC is in its seventh year, although many residents may be unaware of the competition that’s been weaving through Washington all these years.

Individuals called “runners” dart through the streets trying to reach checkpoints as quickly as possible. Simple enough. Except, in this road race, participants must also avoid being caught by “chasers,” who are trying to get as many runner ribbons as possible. Runners who are caught become chasers. Runners wear blue ribbons, chasers wear orange.

Last year’s event drew 1,500 to the starting line, but only 200 made it to the end without being caught. This year’s event, which is open to all ages, kicks off at the Dupont Circle Fountain on Saturday at 7 p.m.

In an attempt to capture SurviveDC’s inherent insanity, filmmaker Aviv Rubinstien will direct and produce a documentary about this year’s event, along with his fellow producers Rachel Mossberg and Keith Brown. Rubinstien and Mossberg answered questions about the project for DCist.

What made you want to create a film about the event?

Rubinstien: What really attracted me to telling the story of this event is that it’s a pretty well-kept secret. Most of the people in D.C. aren’t aware of this gigantic game of tag, but those that are become obsessed with it. Some travel hundreds if not thousands of miles to be a part of it. It becomes tradition. One of the main questions our film will explore is, Why do people do this? Why do over a thousand adults get together every year without fail to play tag?

An image that really stuck with me: I was waiting for the metro after the 2011 race [at] 1 a.m. on a Saturday night, and the station was empty. As I waited, I saw two chasers sitting on the floor of the metro station, one of them was sobbing, weeping, the other rubbing his hamstrings. The crying chaser had just come up short for the most blue ribbons collected and had pushed himself to the limit doing so. That’s why I wanted to make this movie.

Mossberg: For me, my desire to make this film with Aviv was born from our film adventure from last summer, a feature length road trip project called The Anchorite. At some point shortly after our production wrapped, Aviv mentioned SurviveDC and his desire to make a documentary about it. Since we work well together and had accomplished the seemingly impossible task of pulling of a 33 day shoot in a van travelling all around the U.S., I felt confident we’d make this idea come to life. Learning more about the project and talking about the story we wanted to tell really solidified it for me.

Have you participated in SurviveDC? Can you explain to the uninitiated what it’s like to participate in?

Rubinstien: I drove down from Boston in 2011 to participate in SurviveDC with my friends. The event was unlike anything I’d ever seen, and even though I had a severe cold, as soon as the bullhorn went off and my adrenaline kicked in, I ran faster and further than I ever thought I could.

The one thing that sticks out above all else is paranoia. In a sense the game takes over the city and regular folks who aren’t playing the game wind up participating, in that players (runners and chasers both) are constantly peeking around corners and squinting at distant pedestrians to see whether they have a ribbon tied on their arm.

The entire event allows you to be the star of your own action movie, and you get to feel some primal emotions, fear, paranoia, the rush of running as fast as you possibly can.

Can you tell me anything about the subjects you’re following? Are they are from D.C.?

Rubinstien: We’re following four teams of runners, a chaser and a non-playing character who has some special powers. I don’t want to give too much away, but they range in age from three months to 60 years old, they come from all walks of life, some are coming thousands of miles to participate and some live right down the street.

To you, what sets this apart from other scavenger hunts and foot races?

Rubinstien: There are a few things that set this apart from other races/scavenger hunts. I think this event is equal parts game of tag, athletic competition and social experiment. There is no set course, instead runners can visit a checkpoint in any order, take any streets they want (they can use the metro, but no buses, cars, bikes, skateboards, etc.) and they constantly have to be on the lookout for attacking chasers.

Additionally, the game is still fun and incentivized for runners who have “turned.” If a chaser collects the most blue ribbons he or she gets a trophy. That means that the game is constantly evolving as you play it. People employ different strategies with routes, hiding places and the use of Non Playing Characters to complete the course.

It’s [also] a race in the middle of a city on a Saturday night. Washington doesn’t stop for SurviveDC; It keeps trucking on, which makes the game more fun for the people who play it. They get to run around in their own personal Zombie Apocalypse scenario while other people are just going about their normal lives.

Mossberg: In addition to everything Aviv mentioned, I think what sets this race apart from other similar games is the people of D.C. and the SurviveDC’s organizers. As Aviv and I meet and interview the people who are responsible for the race, I am continuously impressed and amazed at the attention to detail, organization and creative efforts these people are putting forth.

Something our documentary touches upon is why D.C. works as the setting for this kind of event, and it’s clear that the answer has a lot to do with the city’s residents. To me, it seems like the perfect storm of highly intelligent, driven, active people harnessing all of their powers to create a night of complex organized chaos and fun. The game keeps evolving, adapting and improving. Social media plays a big part; I won’t divulge too much but having Twitter on your mobile device will probably improve your chances of surviving the night.