Long Overdue

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Recap!

We arrived on Disney property at about 4 on Saturday. Thankfully, Huntsville has direct flights to Orlando on airtran that are pretty cheap. Yay! We checked in at the hotel and were headed to the expo less than 5 minutes later. We were kind of cutting it close because the expo closed at 6, and we didn't get there until about 5:00. Checking in took awhile. Anyway! We arrived at the expo where I saw this Braves Mickey and had to take a picture. The expo was not very crowded since we were some of the last people to get our packets. We met Christina there.

Race day was Sunday and Christina met me at 3:30 at the hotel. We got in the longest line for buses I've ever seen (except maybe RnR Nashville) and this is the line wrapped around the huge pool and going all the way through the Disney lobby. We finally boarded a bus around 4:15 and were headed towards the start village. For some reason, people in Florida think 60ish degrees is cold and people were wrapped up in blankets at the start, but Christina and I were enjoying the gorgeous weather! Couldn't have asked for better starting temps.


Once we got to the bus drop-off we walked maybe a quarter mile to the bag drop-off and porta potties area. They had a DJ getting runners crunk and all I remember is hearing the Cupid Shuffle. Twice. We took the time to take our picture in front of a fake magic castle..

Then walked about a mile to the starting corrals. I think I read there were something like 15000 participants, and almost half are first time half-marathoners! It's a great atmosphere, about 99% female, and about 90% dressed in costume of some sort!!

Minutes before the start. Still all smiles! But we realized just before the start our feet already hurt 'cause we'd been standing for 2 hours already! I understand the need for the logistics like this, but... it was brutal. Our feet were killing us!

Who knows if this video will work, but the fairy godmother sends us off in grand fashion at 5:45...

The first few miles are DARK and on some highway... but they have characters out and about ready for photo-ops. This race is truly unlike any other. Very few people are running for time, most are willing to stop and take pictures with characters and each other. Here are some pictures of us "racing"...

Blurry, but coming into Magic Kingdom

Had to run by the racing experience first...

Then we saw a picture of Belle at Mile 4! Side note: you had to pick a favorite princess for your bib color, Christina and I both picked Belle, but neither of us really cared! Just funny. Maybe only funny at 3:30 AM?? Who knows.

Hello, Main St. and Cinderella's Castle!

We were obviously excited!!

Had to take a minute to share my excitement with a video!

(Bad things happen when I carry a camera for 13.1 miles)

Pinocchio and Jiminy (sp?) Cricket!

The Genie! In front of a statue of the Genie! Weird.

An Ant from Antz! Again, in front of the Antz sign. Disney is very meta.

Mama Incredible!

I finally saw Mulan! It was getting very bright and I am very squinty. Plz excuse! This was almost at Mile 12. We were looking for Buzz Lightyear and Mulan the ENTIRE RACE. Never saw Buzz, but I was very happy to see Mulan! She is my actual favorite Disney princess, though I suppose she's not actually a princess. This is far too much text about Mulan.

PLUTO!! We made it inside Epcot!

Finally around Mile 12 you get to Epcot. 

You also shoot a funny video of yourself...

Heh. What are blogs if not for incriminating evidence of oneself? 

Mile 12.9 or 13 brings you past a gospel choir! Then you turn the corner and cross the finish where an old man (prince?) gives you your medal that you worked long and hard for!

I am sure he thought I was bananas. Which I am.

Princesses with their medals shaped like tiaras!

It was such a fun morning. I love running with Christina! She had a baby to feed, so we hopped on the Disney Magical Express to take us back to the hotel less than 10 minutes after crossing the finish line. It's hard to say whether I'd do this race again or not. I think some parts are really boring (like all the miles on back roads and highways) but the parts in the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I wouldn't trade for any other race! Plus it was flat, flat, flat. The only hills are on highway exit ramps (which have a severe bank and hurt knees/hips... bad call Disney) but that's kind of beside the point. 

If you made it this far, congratulations. I think this may be my longest blog post ever. I know it's the first with video, so hopefully that works out alright.

Official time: 2:34:36.

Running wise, this was the first race I had to stop and use the little girls' room. Not tragic, but disappointing nonetheless. We definitely weren't running for time and still finished at a decent pace, IMO!

Hope you enjoyed it, and if you want to run the Disney Princess Race with me next year, I'm in! I just probably wouldn't do it alone.