as someone who has done a good chunk of runs I just wanna give out tips to anyone else who wishes to run this game, ill start off with general tips then onto level specific tips (some are more suited to how I run this game so ill mark those with a * and some are PC specific in regards to controls)

GENERAL

• Gatorade/MRE's restores your sprint so stock up and try to ration them throughout the run
• if you time it right you can shove yourself out of a grapple
• you can get through menus quicker by use enter to press buttons on top of using your mouse
• when tutorial pop-ups appear on screen you can press enter to get rid of them as soon as they appear
• some breakdowns are better then others, its better to get a breakdown at the campsite level than it is to get the suburban ally level, as the campsite level is smaller and a lot of easily grabbable gas spawns
• always take the highways
• DONT DRIVE THROUGHT THE HERD ITS A INSTANT GAME OVER
• Gas is your friend, don't be afraid to go slightly off course to grab some
• don't worry about gas or breakdowns when going from Sherwood to fire sign stadium as itll always go straight there no matter what

CABOT RIDGE

• during the section where you play as Daryl's dad shoot on your way to the walkers to alert them faster to get a quicker death
• at the start when you grab the knife and sports drink spam ENTER + E to quickly grab both and skip both pop-ups
• its better to skip executing the walker that's eating behind the cabin as you can just slip by them no problem
• • I recommend skipping the rifle and only grabbing the gas as you wont be really killing walkers until your in Fontana and by then you should have the double barrel and 1/2 grenades

SEDALIA

• • this is the only level I recommend dealing with scavenges with Jesse as he cannot die and will return with gas
• make sure to check the exit by the empty store you enter for a extra Gatorade spawn
• at the front of the super market make sure to swing far left to avoid getting grappled and to try and safe the grapple pop-up until the scripted grapple with Jesse in Garwater
• you can jump over the car that you get prompted to push, itll set off a car alarm but the walkers aren't hard to dodge
• make sure to grab the extra gas behind the generator, easy way to grab it is to jump onto the barrels and then onto the fence without stopping, and jump from there
• after you grab the gas from the pump now its a mad dash back to the car

GARWATER

• keep a eye out for extra gas spawns on the way to the rangers station, they usually spawn next to the fire pits (Smokey would be very upset about that)
• while you wait for the ham radio to go off grab the potential MRE/Gatorade spawns in the 2 rooms behind
• after the cutscene shove the Ranger you don't have to kill him, quickly rush into his office and grab the keys and however many grenades are on his desk (hopefully 2) and dash to Jesse
• with any luck you delayed the grapple pop-up until jesses, so during the cutscene spam the enter button and then quickly finish Jesse ending the level

FONTANA

• you can jump over the fence and skip having to go around it if you jump on the cardboard boxes on the right
• close the door behind you when you enter the diner to prevent having to kill extra walkers
• throw the 2 grenades at center mass at each group, if you only received one use the double barrel to take care of the other group
• talk to Mia and run out the door to the Jail -after this its a straight shot to the end of the level

CLEBURNE

• only real tip I can give is just to learn the layout of the level as its pretty much a mad dash

LEMON HILL

• grab the gas spawn by the dumpster if it is there
• you don't need to go into the gas station, you are able to talk to Meryl through the glass
• quickly grab the fireworks, if you grab the alleyway bundle you'll only need grab the ones on the way after
• after that just follow the mission and be quick with it, and then itll be smooth sailing to the end of the level

BARKSDALE

• having less items in your inventory can actually help for the later half of the level for when you have to gather your gear back, I recommend stashing everything except for a gun to kill the walkers at the end of the level
• its faster to shove the biker and execute then it is to grapple them

LAFFERTY

• this level is another mad dash, only tip i can offer is that you can shove the walker that will jump scare you at the 2nd inside door to prevent a grapple

POLKSVILLE

• another mad dash, spend some time learning the level and you'll be fine

SHERWOOD

• its faster to talk to the old couple then the lady across the street, but it is faster to safe the girl across the street instead of the old couple
• you can grab the dudes duffel bag in the mechanic shop before you talk to him to speed it up, you can also jump off the building after to rush back you'll take a little damage but its worth it

FIRESIGN STADIUM

• you cannot put things away for this level as it starts instantly and skips the start up menu, so if there is something in your car that you want, make sure to grab it at the beginning of sherwood
• this level is mostly a mad dash and then a shooting gallery at the end, so this is the time where you'd want to have your best aim and try to utilize the propane tanks to the best of their abilities
• THE END thank you for reading this, I hope this improves your runs, because I want some more people to race, plus I don't want to be the only person who has ran the no relics category lol