Better late than never 🙂 I registered for the Disney Half waaaay back in April when I was at the expo picking up my bib for Boston. I had run this race back in 2007 before I had Ellie and Emmy, so it seemed like the perfect excuse to get our Disney-fix for 2015.
Ellie, Emily and I flew down to Florida on the Friday before the race to pick up my number. The expo was really easy to navigate, and we had the number and snapped some pics all within 20 minutes.
ready for 13.1 magical miles!
Saturday morning, my alarm went off early. Like 3:45am. OOF. One of the only downsides to Disney races is that they are all so early (unless they are super late…) because they need to get the race done before the park opens (or close to it). The official start of the race was 5:30, and I was driving myself into the park this year (we were staying just outside the park). There was a little bit of traffic getting into the Epcot parking lot, but I still had plenty of time. I didn’t want to check a bag, so I stayed in the car where it was warm until the last second I could, and then started the walk through the village and towards the start line. Here is what I wore…
yes I made a custom Elsa shirt with my name on it
I was in one of the first corrals because I put a really fast estimated finish time, which ended up being great. If you are in a later corral, you could be standing around for a LONG time. So tip from me, lie about your time 🙂 There was an awesome fireworks display to send us on our way, and then we were off! Pretty much every mile had a character picture opportunity, and I stopped at almost every one to get my photo taken. When I was running, I was moving at a pretty decent pace and definitely felt the Disney magic the whole entire way. I don’t think I stopped smiling once!
-
- Captain Jack Sparrow
-
- Elsa took over the castle
-
- Princess Aurora
-
- Croc
-
- Country Bears
-
- Mickey and Goofy!
-
- Just keep swimming…
-
- Sisters for my girlies
I cruised into the finish line with a time of 2:18, which wasn’t horrible considering how much I stood in line waiting for pictures with characters. From start to finish, there wasn’t a single moment of pain, or unhappiness. It was truly 13.1 magical miles, and if you are even THINKING about signing up for this race, do it. You will not regret it one bit. And I’ll probably go with you 🙂
Random highlights: Running through Cinderella’s Castle, meeting Mickey on the golf course at the Grand Floridian (yes, I am 32 years old and just typed that), fireworks at the start, and high-fiving Minnie Mouse at mile 13.1Â
Hudson Strong 