Woo hoo, it was time for my second Dark Side weekend! The Dark Side 5K last year was my first runDisney event and I learned a lot! I had a ton of fun then and even more fun this time since I knew better what to expect. I ran all three events in 2017 (5K, 10K & Half Marathon; last year I skipped the 10K) and took my time to enjoy each one.
For this race I ran as General Organa from The Force Awakens using a shirt, long maroon vest, and running capris I found at thrift stores.
The course ran through Epcot, with the start/finish in the parking lot.
Training & Goals So in training I run back-to-back-to-back on consecutive days to prepare for a runDisney race weekend. It's total overkill though, since my pace for the training runs ends up being a lot faster (more than 2x faster for the 5K!) than the actual races. I guess being over-prepared is a good problem to have, right? Goals for the weekend were typical for these superfun runs: have a good time and don't get hurt.
Race Day: April 21, 2017 The 5K started at 6AM which meant a 3AM wakeup call. I was out the door by 3:35AM and had the car parked at Epcot at about 4:25AM. I had time to stand it the very long line for Boba Fett with Han in Carbonite. At first I looked at Han for a minute with a sad face but the cast member and PhotoPass photogs didn't capture that. I even had time for a quick snap at the Rogue One backdrop before heading to my corral, B for this race.
It was 61°F at the start with 88% humidity.
Mile 1: 23:27 I crossed the starting mats at about 6:08AM. Nine minutes later I was at the first character photo stop for the race, and it was a good one, with a very long line. Ewoks!
Twelve-and-a-half minutes later I was on my way again. But I wasn't running for long -- the next photo stop was just about a minute away. As I waited to sit in the Emperor's Chair I heard runners passing by saying with confusion, "It's just a chair!" LOL whatevs.
Mile 2: 21:13 Next up was an epic line for a photo with R2D2. I got my picture with him last year so I decided to skip this one. This part of the run took us through World Showcase and around a short backstage area before returning to Epcot. There were lots of PhotoPass photographers in the park.
Mile 3+: 17:45, 4:54* At the start of the final mile there was another epic line for a character. This time it was Chewie, who I've seen many times and can visit any time in Hollywood Studios. So I skipped a hug with the wookiee. Like last year, there were a couple of Stormtroopers standing on the stage in front of Spaceship Earth. I snapped a couple of photos without getting in the long PhotoPass line and ended up almost getting run over by the departing crew of 'troopers.
Next up was a short line for a photo with Sabine & Ezra from Rebels. I had completely missed these guys last year. After this stop it was a short run out of Epcot and to the finish line in the parking lot. Good times.
After the race I got a snap with Darth Vader (I said "Hi Dad" but got no reaction). Other characters available at the start/finish area were BB8 (new this year; he was at the Expo last year); Jabba the Hutt, Kylo Ren, and Captain Phamsa (all the same as last year). The lines were huge so I elected to head home right after my picture with Vader.
Recommendation Star Wars runDisney races are the best runDisney races, so you won't hear any complaints from this runner. runDisney events are a strange and expensive beast and while I would highly recommend the experience I know they aren't for everyone.
Garmin time: 1:07:29 Race Amenities: Fun course through Epcot, Star Wars theming, characters and ambiance, nice cotton tee and great finisher medal. Cost: $80.00 ($5 increase over last year)
Chimpathon is a special 16K race that takes place in Fort Pierce, Florida. The course runs from the St. Lucie County Fairgrounds along a multi-use path and rural road to Save the Chimps, the world's largest chimpanzee sanctuary. Particpants run the dirt roads of the sanctuary, alongside and between islands where the resident chimps live. The sanctuary is not normally open to the public so this race is a unique opportunity to see the facility and run among the "pant-hoots" of the chimpanzees. Why 16K? The number represents the $16,000 annual cost to care for one chimpanzee at the sanctuary. The 2017 run was the third annual.
Training & Goals Through September my training is going to be a static "half ready" plan aiming for fairly consistent weekly miles. For this race I planned to run the non-sanctuary miles (about four at the start and four back) at race pace, then take it easy and enjoy the sanctuary miles (almost two) at a more leisurely pace.
Race Day: April 9, 2017 Right. So Chimpathon is way down in St. Lucie County. I opted to drive down on race morning, which meant a crazy early wake-up call. The long 2+ hour drive was uneventful and I arrived at the fairgrounds starting area with plenty of time to park, pick up my packet, take some photos, use the restroom, and otherwise prepare for the race. It was a pleasant 64°F at the start with clear skies and 60% humidity.
Mile 1: 11:06 This first mile took us out of the fairgrounds. We ran across dirt road and a grass field to a pedestrian ramp and bridge over Okeechobee Road. The ramp was a funny course feature that I knew would be no fun to run again at the end of the course.
Mile 2: 10:12 Zoom zoom, faster than race pace for this distance! We ran along a multi-use trail next to Okeechobee Road then turned right onto S Header Canal Road towards the sanctuary. From the fields we ran alongside I heard Eastern Towhees, Northern Mockingbirds, and Eastern Meadowlarks singing.
Mile 3: 11:04 Though we were still about a mile from the entrance to the sanctuary, we could already hear the chimps from about the mile 3 marker.
Mile 4: 10:36 Good (though inconsistent) pace for the first four miles. We entered the sanctuary just after the mile 4 marker.
Mile 5: 13:51 The fun part! The sanctuary cares for over 250 chimps on their 150 acre property. The race took us past the 12 3-acre islands where most of the chimps live. Chimpanzees can't swim so the canals separating the islands keep the chimps safe where they belong.
Mile 6: 14:26 Once we had been through the sanctuary, it was back out on S Header Canal Road for the return run back to the fairgrounds.
Mile 7: 12:13 After all of the walking I did in the sanctuary, it was tough to get back up to race pace. I wasn't going for any records though so I decided to take it easy.
Mile 8: 11:50
Mile 9+: 11:31, 11:36, 0:19 We had to run over the pedestrian bridge again just after the mile 9 marker. Somehow it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 16K is about 9.94 miles. I wasn't running the tangents so my Garmin gave me a bit over 10 miles (I suspect it might have been confused by the bridge ramps as well).
After Party After the race runners were treated to a pretty good spread of packaged pastry treats, chips, bananas, cold water, and CHOCOLATE MILK. I didn't stick around too long because I faced a long drive home, so I missed the award ceremony where top runners in each age group received original chimpanzee art.
Recommendation This was definitely a top-5 race for me. I loved it! Course support was excellent with plenty of water stops and volunteers cheering us along all through the sanctuary. The website for the race is probably the best I've seen, with complete information presented in a well-organized format. The soft shirt runners received is pretty nice. We also got a Chimpathon buff -- great swag! The medal and drawstring backpack are average. The course itself is almost completely open with no shade but the weather wasn't too hot. I wouldn't mind an earlier start but I'm sure safety and comfort of the chimps plays into how early the race can begin. The race provided pacers and is very walker friendly. Highly recommended.
Chip time: 1:58:25 (new distance = PR (LOL)) Placement details: 29th of 57 in Age Group, 170th overall out of 390 finishers Race Amenities: Swag included a nice soft short sleeve shirt, average medal, drawstring backpack, unique course Cost: $64.10 which included $4.10 processing fee
I was suffering from a lame case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and ended up registering for this race rather late. Race reps were at the vendor area for Swamp House and since then I had been coveting the nice race shirt. A late, unexpected promo code got me in. Since I had a 16K race the following weekend I decided to run the 5K at Riverside (instead of the 15K headliner).
The Riverside Dash 15K is a pretty flat and fast run along Lake Monroe in Sanford; the concurrent 5K runs a bit along the waterfront and through historic streets of downtown Sanford.
Training & Goals Through September my training is going to be a static "half ready" plan aiming for fairly consistent weekly miles. Goals? What goals? I'm just here to have fun.
Race Day: April 2, 2017 Sanford is super close to home (another factor in my FOMO -- why not run all the locals?) so getting to the start line on time was easy. There is plenty of street parking around downtown and I ended up with a nice spot close to the festivities. I had picked up my race packet prior to race day so I didn't have to get up too early. It was about 63°F with 94% humidity and partly cloudy skies at the start.
Mile 1: 9:38 I was feeling good and enjoying the run. This is a good race pace for me, but no PR time. The course was a sort of lollipop route taking us along the waterfront from the start line through downtown streets for the first mile.
Mile 2: 9:44 Pleased with my pace. Mile two took us through streets of downtown Sanford.
Mile 3+: 9:45, 1:37* The final mile was a repeat of the first back to the start/finish line. In at 30:32 for my third best 5K showing.
After Party The Riverside Dash takes good care of its runners. There's a decent vendor area to explore and a nice warm pancake breakfast waiting for finishers. After enjoying my pancake breakfast I went to cheer the 15K runners coming in. After a while I went to check the results board before heading home. I began scanning names under my age group from the bottom, and was surprised to find my name listed 3rd for my AG. Three cheers for local races! I wouldn't consider this race to be particularly small but the stars certainly had to align for this non sub-30 5K runner to get an age group award. Needless to say I delayed my departure so I could pick up my major award.
Recommendation Ugh, FOMO. I had regrets about not running the 15K but of course those feelings vanished when I won an AG (Age Group) award. The Riverside Dash 15K runs a beautiful route along the St. Johns and shuts down a major road (17-92) to do so. I am sure I'll run the 15K at some point. Course support was good for the 5K and imagine the same was true for the signature run. The vendor area plus food spread and great atmosphere make this race a huge win in my book. Highly recommended.
Chip time: 30:32 Placement details: 3rd of 39 in AG, 138th overall out of 535 finishers Race Amenities: Swag included a really nice tech shirt (gender specific coloring); typical medal; goodie bag Cost: $28.00 (includes $3 processing fee; used $10 discount code)
*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.
The Jenny Albert Hatchling Dash 5K race benefits the namesake foundation, which provides support and funds for sea turtle rehab, conservation, and more.
I ran the second annual event, which took place at Bill Fredricks Park in Orlando. This was an untimed run with awards only going to the first three male and female finishers.
Training & Goals This three-miler fit into my training plan nicely and I love to run races that support conservation causes so this seemed like a no-brainer. I was looking to have a nice tempo run and enjoy a new running location.
Race Day: March 25, 2017 Arthur and I headed to the venue early Saturday morning. I still had to pick up my packet so we wanted to arrive in time.
We chatted with an acquaintance from Arthur's volunteering days with turtles at the Marine Science Center. We learned the course though the park was a pretty one that included some running along the lakefront.
Before the race the event DJ stressed several times that runners should watch for the yellow arrows to indicate the course. Like, really stressed it, many times. Okay. Got it. I WILL PAY ATTENTION TO SIGNS ON THE COURSE.
Soon it was time to start. The starting line was a wooden contraption built to resemble the markers put on sea turtle nests along the coast. Cute.
Mile 1: 9:32 Way too fast, ugh. We ran from the back of the park towards the main entrance, and then back towards the starting area. We would do a few laps like this, going back and forth across the long and narrow park.
I was paying attention. I saw several yellow arrows and followed them, along with everyone else. We passed the water stop shortly before the M2 marker and continued on.
Mile 2: 10:22 Hey, I managed to slow down, great!
I didn't notice any yellow arrows. I followed the runners in front of me and continued on.
Mile 3+: 11:03, N/A Hmm, where is the part of the race where we run by the lake? That must come up very soon, right? No yellow arrows, just several runners before and behind. Run on.
At about 2.6 miles I could hear the music playing at the finish area. A fellow runner told her companion that we must be close to the finish because we could hear the music. I realized that I had inadvertently cut the course, along with at least the dozen or so runners within my view and possibly many more.
When we reached the start/finish area no one told us where to go. I mean, obviously we made a mistake on the course because our approach to the area was all wrong, but we got no advice on what to do or how to get back to the course or ANYTHING. A few of us trotted towards the starting line cage thing, trying to figure out where the finish line was, only to find the way blocked by cones. I went back the way we came and asked someone where the finish line was. He had me run around the cones and come up to the finish line which was very unclearly marked. I got my medal and then proceeded to run another half mile or so on a random path in order to get in my three miles (realizing later that I did not complete a 5K (3.1 miles), ugh!).
Arthur saw me at this time and without knowing what was going on he was surprised to see me at the finish area so quickly. Here I am running around like a goof with my medal to get in my 3 miles.
It was a long time before we saw runners coming in on the (presumed) correct course. Totally bizarre. We heard people grumbling but no one from the race staff or volunteers said anything about all the course cutters.
Recommendation To be fair I didn't vocally complain to anyone about the situation. I just grumbled to Arthur and fellow runners in the same confused situation. Sorry to say I will likely not run this race again. It took place on the same day as this year's Winter Park Road Race which I was sorry to miss. After the course fiasco at the Hatchling Dash I regretted missing Winter Park even more. Ugh.
What happens when a race director marries her runner sweetheart? A wedding followed by a celebratory race. And a whole lotta fun!
Training & Goals My goals were to have fun, not cry too much (weddings, man!), and not get too sweaty. Also it would be nice to have negative splits. I've been trying to start out training runs at a slow pace... with mixed success.
Race Day: March 17, 2017 First I forgot my phone -- Arthur came running out of the house to give it to me just before I drove away. Then about halfway to the venue I realized I forgot my Garmin, so I had to turn around. Luckily I made it to Beck Ranch Park with time to spare.
This wedding and race took place on St. Patrick's Day, a holiday special to the happy couple and to West Volusia Runners, the club that brought them together. Along with folks dressing up for St. Pat's, there was a bridesmaid costume contest, so several runners (male and female) were dressed in old formal dresses for the evening. There were also runners wearing tuxedo t-shirts and many more wearing regular running clothes. It was a fun mix. I wore a running skirt and a matching top to look a little bit nice for the wedding and still feel comfortable for the run. It was a beautiful evening for a wedding. At the start of the run it was 66°F with 43% humidity and bright sunshine.
Mile 1: 11:30 The course was a simple out-and-back along the multi-use trail from Beck Ranch towards the St. John's River pedestrian bridge.
Mile 2: 11:15
Mile 3+: 11:01, 1:24 Negative splits: NAILED IT!
After Party After the race, runners, those in the wedding party, and friends and family gathered for a catered barbecue feast and fun. The whole event was put together beautifully with all aspects blending together seamlessly; I know a lot of people put a lot of work into making everything perfect and to my eyes it was a huge success.
Garmin time: 35:10 Race Amenities: A beautiful wedding, plenty of food and bev for all to enjoy, t-shirt & finisher medal for all Cost: $28.00 including $3 processing fee
I ran the sixth annual Swamp House Half Marathon on March 5th. It was my first time running this race, which courses through my hometown of DeBary, Florida.
Swamp House is a fundraiser for my local running club, West Volusia Runners (WVR).
The route follows residential streets, our small town's main drag, and oak-covered canopy rural roads. The start and finish are at the namesake sponsor venue, The Swamp House Grill on the St. John's River.
Training & Goals As far as training goes, I'm still focused on weight loss and staying healthy and "half ready" with my modest weekly base.
Goals? What goals? I have a hard time putting together a race strategy or plan, I guess due to fear of failure. This race was no different. Coming off of an easy week following Princess weekend, I kept expectations low. I did have the nebulous idea that it would be nice to run a sub-2:30 half marathon "at some point" this year.
Race Day: March 5, 2017 The start/finish area for Swamp House is accessible via one two-lane road, so although we live close by, Arthur and I left home around 6:15AM for the short 6 mile drive. The road in was to be closed to vehicle traffic at 6:45AM and Arthur was planning to drop me off and drive back home. By about 6:40AM we were still a mile away, stuck in a long line of cars headed to the parking lot. I got out to walk the remainder so Arthur could turn the car around and get out before the road was closed.
I arrived at the staging area and left my drop bag and used a portapotty. Soon it was time to line up for the race. Conditions were near perfect with partly cloudy skies, light winds, and 63% humidity. It was 61° at the start.
Mile 1, 2, 3: 10:40, 10:40, 10:37 Too fast, too fast, too fast. I felt good though and just kept going, constantly trying to tell myself to slow down. I planned to run intervals of 4:30 | :30, and at least I did that from the start. I also took water at each water stop.
These miles took us through residential areas as we ran east on Highbanks and then turned north on Donald E Smith Blvd. I looked for Florida Scrub-Jays on Smith but didn't see or hear any, but I did hear a few Eastern Towhees.
Mile 4, 5, 6: 10:30, 10:43, 10:51 Mile 4 had a lot of downhill, but here is another set of three miles ran way too fast. I knew I'd crash and burn at some point, but I felt good and apparently I don't know how to slow myself down so I kept going.
These miles were through a country club community along Debary Planation Drive before we turned south onto 17-92, the main road through DeBary.
At the end of mile 6 we took a short jog into the Springview neighborhood. Arthur walked over from home to see me on the course here. He even ran with me for a while! It was a great boost to see him. I told him I was going way too fast and I would probably have to start exclusively walking soon. He asked me why I didn't just slow down. Shrug.
Mile 7, 8, 9: 10:59, 11:00, 11:01 This pace is a bit more like it, but still faster than I would have liked to have been going if I had actually made a plan.
These miles took us back out onto 17-92 and the west down Fort Florida Rd for some nice "old Florida" scenery. When we ran by the overpass by Konomac Lake I looked for the American Kestrels I've seen there frequently this year when birding. No luck.
Mile 10, 11, 12: 11:00, 11:15, 11:50 By now I'd been keeping up a good pace for a big PR (personal record). I still felt good in mile 10 but by mile 11 I'd suddenly had it. I've biked this area frequently so I know the route very well but I kept underestimating how much further it was to the finish line and it discouraged me.
After I passed the mile 11 marker I just kept telling myself I had less than 25 minutes left of this running nonsense and then I'd be done. A little further, and I thought Amy, it's less than 20 minutes of running left, you can do this. I even thought I could "run" a 16 minute (or whatever) mile 13 and still get a big PR... but that would only be cheating myself. Banking time is a race strategy, but it's not a very good one. Along with talking myself into pressing on, I was doing a lot of mental math. Come on Amy, come on, you can do this! Oh, the head games a runner plays during a race!
Mile 13+: 11:32, 1:35 There was beer at the mile 12 water stop. I took water for the last time and tried to push for a strong finish. I was so happy to see that finish line and the number on the clock.
Every time I raise up my arms in race photos I look like an idiot so I try really hard not to do it, but I couldn't stop myself at the end of Swamp House. I knew it was a big PR but I wasn't sure exactly how big (7 minutes 25 seconds) until the official results were posted.
After Party This race is known for its great after party with unlimited free beer for participants as well as barbecue food and the usual runner's fare of bananas and donut holes. There were also plenty of vendors and reps from upcoming local races at the party, which takes place at The Swamp House Grill right on the St. John's River. It's a beautiful spot on the river for a party. After I picked up my drop bag, I had a few beers, rang the PR bell, and walked back to watch others finishing the half.
Recommendation The water stop volunteers, bike marshals, course pointers, and law enforcement folks who worked this race were all outstanding. Each water stop was full of enthusiastic volunteers who took their job seriously even though they were obviously having fun. The course is relatively flat and I really enjoyed running the familiar streets of my hometown. The amazing course support was matched by the great after party. I didn't stay too long but I enjoyed it and I know it's a favorite among local runners. I highly, highly recommend this race.
Chip time: 2:24:07 (7:25 PR) Placement details: 26th of 66 in Age Group; 376th overall out of 720 finishers Race Amenities: Swag included a nice gender-specific shirt, race-branded goody bag, unique alligator finisher medal with light-up eyes, fun after party Cost: $33.30 (super early registration discount)
Disney's Princess Half Marathon Race Weekend concluded with the big half marathon on Sunday. Since I ran the Glass Slipper Challenge, I had an extra challenge medal to look forward to at the completion of the 13.1 miles.
For this race I wore a custom t-shirt Arthur designed for me. The front read This is My Last Race in This Age Group in a Lilo & Stitch style font. The back read This Princess Turns 45 Tomorrow using text styled after The Princess and the Frog. As an early birthday gift from my parents I got my first SparkleSkirt, CalcuttaJoy in CapriSkirt style, which I paired with the t-shirt for the half marathon. I broke a big running rule -- "nothing new on race day" -- and did not live to regret it. I love my new gear and am looking forward to more running skirts from SparkleSkirts.
Princess race weekend is known as a women's event. Men aren't discouraged from running or participating, but there are no awards given to men and they must start in Corral B or later. For the half there were 18,504 female finishers and 2,097 men.
The course for the half is well-known to run through Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom. Actually it's kind of notorious because this part of the course is known as a bottleneck. Anyway, this would be the first time I would run in the Magic Kingdom (it should have been during the 2017 WDW Half Marathon). The start and finish were back at Epcot and between the parks was a bunch of road running.
Training & Goals I'm focused on weight loss for now and staying "half marathon ready" with my modest weekly running base. Going in I wasn't sure how I would run this, though I was certain I wouldn't PR. I like to stop for photos and enjoy these Disney runs so I was going to just wing it, though with Arthur waiting on me I didn't want to dawdle too much.
Race Day: February 26, 2017 Arthur and I stayed at a Disney Springs hotel the night before the race so we could set our alarm clocks a bit later than usual for the early 5:30AM start. We thought we had the right route to Epcot but soon found ourselves in a traffic nightmare along with dozens of others that had taken a wrong turn and were forced to make a U-Turn at a painfully slow crawl. We saw several princesses get out of their cars and start to run towards the starting area in a presumed panic, but they had a really, really long way to go (a couple of miles, probably). It took us a long time to get to the parking lot but we made it with time for me to trot to the starting corrals and even make a very quick stop at a portapotty before it was time to run.
It was about 59°F at the start with near 100% humidity. Once I got into the corral (G for the half), runners were already starting to creep forward towards the starting line. I arrived just in time! Moving towards the start did take a while in the early morning cold so I was happy to have a throwaway fleece sweater on that I left in a clothing recycle bin just before our wave was released to run.
Mile 1, 2, 3 | 5K split: 38:57
I don't have Garmin GPS data for my splits, but we did cross timing mats three times during the run. These first three miles were uneventful road running. For the third time during the weekend, the course felt more crowded than other Disney runs to me for most of the race.
I loved hearing "happy birthday" from other runners during the race. It was a nice boost each time I heard it. Two guys were confused though. The one who asked "when is your birthday? tomorrow? oh cool" and the one who asked "who's birthday is it? yours? oh cool."
Between the markers for M1 and M2 there was a photo op with Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbosa that I elected to skip due to the very long line. Later during the race I was very happy to have made this decision (read on). Next up was a photo op with several Disney Princes (Phoebos from The Hunchback of Notre Dame; Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid; Flynn Rider from Tangled; and John Smith from Pocohontas) that I also decided to skip. Next we hit the entrance road to Magic Kingdom and had some more road running before we actually got into the park.
Mile 4, 5, 6 | 10K split: 1:26:03
I passed up the next two photo ops as well -- lines continued to look way too long. Mrs. Incredible was followed by a double opportunity (two photo ops with one line) of Maleficent and The Evil Queen with her mirror.
Next we ran under an aqueduct with a funny guy wearing ridiculous huge character hands. He was cheering us on and saying funny stuff and gesturing with his huge hands and it was hilarious.
Mile 6 was some slow, crowded fun. We ran through the Magic Kingdom and there were cheering crowds lining Main Street and all around Cinderella Castle. I was able to find Arthur and grab his hand as I ran towards the castle. There was a lot of congestion all over but it didn't bother me. It was a lot of fun to run by the spectators and through the park. Arthur took the following two photos while waiting for me to arrive.
There were a ton of characters out for photos in the Magic Kingdom: Buzz Lightyear; The Queen of Hearts; Gaston; Beast; and Woody. As we ran under the castle from behind, Anna, Elsa and Kristoff from Frozen cheered us on.
Mile 7, 8, 9 | 15K split: 2:06:36
We ran back out through some backstage areas and then it was back to the road to run back to Epcot. There was an elaborate castle backdrop set up with another set of two-for-one photo ops with Cinderella & Prince Charming and Snow White & the Prince. Then we ran by a big fire truck with a DJ blasting loud music and informing us that we were halfway done!
The 8th mile was jam-packed with photo ops. Runners could stop for the penguins from Mary Poppins; Richard the Grand Floridian Greeter; some dapper gentlemen with a Glass Slipper, and holiday Genie with a golf cart.
Mile 10, 11, 12
We were back on World Drive for Mile 10. I was surprised to see two repeat character stops: the Princes and the Pirates. The line for Jack & Barbosa was very short so I hopped over. I expressed confusion on seeing them again and a castmember said that they were out before but the PhotoPass camera "broke" so I guess they moved to the other side of the road for the runners? I wonder if the same happened with the Princes? Stopping for the pirates only took about 70 seconds. Cool.
Running up an overpass, a Green Army Man was a welcome sight. His hilarious motivational shouts of encouragement were a great distraction to the elevation. Hill? What hill?
Around this time I found myself playing leapfrog with the #PrincessMen. I was happy to get a photo of them a bit later.
Mile 13+ Just outside of Epcot runners could stop to have a photo with Mushu. Here are those #PrincessMen!
Inside Epcot, Daisy was a very quick character stop. She coincided with my watch telling me to take a 1 minute walking break. After I got my photo with her I started to run again... and about 20 seconds later my watch told me to run. So that was a very short line indeed!
It's typical to have a gospel choir singing at the end of a Disney half. When you hear the angels singing, it's almost all over, one way or the other!
During the Pro Bowl 5K in January I had qualms about stopping for a photo right before the finish line. But Mickey got me over that worry this time -- I stopped for a quick pic with The Mouse before crossing the last timing mat and picking up my medals.
After getting my medals, water, and banana, I met up with Arthur and we stood in line for a celebratory finisher photo with Merida, plus a couple of backdrop pics showing my shirt & medals.
Recommendation If you like Disney princesses and don't mind crowded courses, you'll love this race. I started in the middle of the pack and found it crowded. Starting corral and desired pace play a huge role in a runner's perception of course congestion. The amount of characters out on course was great -- there were a lot. Plus it was a ton of fun running through Magic Kingdom.
Chip time: 2:56:39 Placement details: 854 of 2166 in Age Group; 8956 overall out of 18504 female finishers Race Amenities: All the fun Disney stuff, including a tech t-shirt and a cute medal, plus one extra shirt and one extra medal for the challenge Cost: $331.11 (the cost of the Glass Slipper Challenge, which is the 10K and the half)
Princess weekend, day two! The 10K race was the first part of the Glass Slipper Challenge, which was followed by the half marathon on Sunday.
I ran this race as Anna from Frozen. It was the first time I ran with my hair in two braids and I was afraid it might be annoying. Luckily it was comfortable.
The 10K course took us from the Epcot parking lot, out to Epcot Center Drive, and then back to Epcot for some miles in the theme park and around the Boardwalk resort area. It was identical to the Wine & Dine 10K route.
Training & Goals Disney challenge weekend means the plan for this race was to take it easy and rest my legs for the upcoming half marathon on Sunday. I planned to stop for many, if not all, of the photo ops.
Race Day: February 25, 2017 Arthur came with me for this race. We left home at around 3:35AM and were parked by about 4:30AM. We went to get in line for a photo with Ariel. The race was to start at 5:30AM and when we got in line we were a few parties behind the "last in line" castmember. We knew we might not make it but Ariel stayed out for a long time and I was able to get a photo with about 5 minutes to spare.
I had time to use a portapotty before hurrying to my corral (C for the 10K) where I found position near the middle of the pack. It was about 61°F at the start with near 100% humidity.
Mile 1 Arthur took a short video of my starting wave.
I have no split data for this race due to reasons, but it was another long parade-style "run" with lots of photo stops and fun.
Leaving the Epcot parking lot we ran under an overpass where Moana was encouraging the crowd from above.
Mile 2 Shortly after the Mile 1 marker, there was a princess photo op with Elena of Avalor. The line wasn't too long and I haven't seen this character before so I decided to wait. After that came a photo op with Tinker Bell and some of her friends from Pixie Hollow. The line was pretty long and I elected to skip this photo op.
Mile 3 The next photo op was with the Evil Queen from Snow White dressed up as the old witch. After a bit more road running we finally made it to Epcot where we entered at a backstage area around Mexico.
Mile 4 The sun had started to come up as I got to Epcot. The first photo op here was a bunch of stilt walkers. I skipped the next two photo stops as well: Dopey in Germany and Pinocchio with Gepetto in Italy.
Mile 5 In France there was a very long line for a photo op with cast members holding giant wine bottles. I got line for this before I found out what it was for. This was kind of standard operating procedure for many of the photo opportunities during Princess race weekend. I would get in line and there would be a small chorus from all of the new arrivals -- "who is this?" "what are we in line for?" "which character is here?" Inevitably someone from a group would run ahead to find out or the info would get passed on from those already waiting. It was pretty funny. I decided not to wait for the wino photo and went on to have a picture taken with a cat. Marie from The Aristocrats was posing in France. This is a somewhat "rare" character appearance so I decided to wait in line for a photo with her.
Next runners headed into the Boardwalk area from the International Gateway of Epcot. I took a short video here.
Mile 6 As we headed back into Epcot from a backstage area there was an epic line for Princess Minnie, also a somewhat "rare" character. I elected to skip this line and just snap a picture of her on the run.
Back around World Showcase, we headed towards Spaceship Earth and back out to the parking lot for the finish. For a while I was running behind a pack of Meridas. If you look closely at the video I posted above at the Boardwalk, you can see them running.
After the race I met up with Arthur and we stood in line for another princess photo. This time we got Jasmine, where I complimented her on her shoes.
We headed to our favorite changing-booth/resort, Art of Animation, where I had a quick clean up and change of clothes before heading out to Animal Kingdom for breakfast at Rainforest Cafe and some park fun. Later we checked into our Disney Springs hotel and spent some time at the Springs before an early dinner at Noodles & Co. and an early bedtime for the big half marathon the following morning.
Recommendation It's a Disney race, what can I say? This felt crowded the entire time and I thought the huge lines for characters were daunting. I would have liked to stop for Minnie but the line looked like it would take over a half hour and I didn't want to waste that much time. The 10K course for Disney races is getting a bit stale as well. If the course doesn't change for this race I don't know if I would do it again. (Right, who am I kidding?)
Chip time: 1:47:08 Placement details: 1106 of 1311 in Age Group; 9753 overall out of 11593 finishers Race Amenities: All the fun Disney stuff, including a tech t-shirt and a cute medal Cost: $331.11 (the cost of the Glass Slipper Challenge, which is the 10K and the half)
I registered for all three Disney Princess races at the WDW Marathon Weekend expo. That's rather late -- just about seven weeks out. The races were listed as sold out on the runDisney website for months so it was both a pleasant surprise and a last-minute decision to sign up. A milestone birthday was coming up so I intended to celebrate my 45th with the races and a little getaway to Disney World with my sweetie.
A Disney race weekend always starts with a visit to the expo for bib and t-shirt pickup. It's also fun to shop for official event merchandise (I always pick up a car magnet), check out the vendor booths, and pick up any freebies being offered. When I got my bib the expo volunteer seemed mildly alarmed to see my name was not printed under my number. I tried to reassure him by letting him know it was due to my late signup but he was still flustered.
Sometimes there are photo ops available at the expo as well. The race weekend theme was Beauty and the Beast so a photo op with Beast's rose was available when exiting the expo.
I decided to run this race in a simple Gaston-inspired costume. I wore my yellow 2017 WDW Half Marathon long sleeve tech top under a red short sleeve tech top I already had. A big ugly brown belt and a black skirt, both already in my closet, finished the look, along with a new tiara bejeweled red baseball hat.
The course took us from the Epcot parking lot through the park and back out to the parking area for the finish.
Training & Goals Disney challenge weekend means the plan for this race was to take it easy and rest my legs for the upcoming 10K and half marathon on Sunday.
Race Day: February 24, 2017 I left home at 3:35AM and had the car parked at Epcot by 4:25AM. This left me time to get into the massive line for one of the two Princess photo ops. I had time to get my photo taken with Snow White before heading to the corrals.
For this race I was in corral B which meant a relatively early start. They released the corrals in waves and since I was alone I managed to shuffle my way to the front of the corral to start with the first wave at about 6:07AM. It was around 66°F at the start with approximately 93% humidity.
Mile 1 Since my Garmin was having some problems during race weekend, I don't have my splits for any of the races. But this was a very slow race for me (more like a parade) with lots of stops for photos and fun. The course took us alongside Epcot via an access road before entering the park. There was a photo op with Meeko from Pocahontas before we hit the Mile 1 marker.
Mile 2 The first photo stop in World Showcase was a bunch of viking dudes in Norway. They were funny -- just grunting and gesturing and not really speaking actual words.
Next there was a massive line for a photo with Dopey, and then shorter lines for Abu (Aladdin) in Morocco and for the mice Suzy and Perla (Cinderella) in France.
Mile 3+ Mile 3 started in a backstage area where we ran shortly before heading back to World Showcase via Canada. In Future World we ran by The Seas where there was a photo op with pretty costumed sea characters.
Then it was back around the middle of Future World to race under Spaceship Earth and out to the parking lot for the finish.
After the race I stood in line for a photo with Belle or Rapunzel (there were two backdrops with 2 princesses each with switching shifts). When I was near the front of the line, the group in front of me offered to let me pass them for a photo with Rapunzel. They were waiting for Belle (we were told it would be around 3 minutes) and I decided to wait as well. Word that Belle was coming out passed down the line and for a while there was no one who wanted to have her photo with Rapunzel. The race DJ felt sad for her and came over for a selfie.
Belle eventually came out to applause and cheers. Sorry, Rapunzel, this was Belle's race after all.
I went to change clothes and have a bite to eat at Art of Animation before heading to Hollywood Studios for a couple of celebratory post-race rides. I had my photo taken with the Oscar they had on display inside One Man's Dream and then rode Tower of Terror for the first time in years. I also rode Star Tours and Toy Story Midway Mania.
Recommendation The course was crowded and slow for the most part but I was taking my time so I can't complain... but I can warn others. All three of these Princess races felt much more crowded than the Dark Side and Wine & Dine races I ran last year. I enjoyed all of the photo ops and was happy they weren't all princesses because I prefer my characters to be furry. ;) I would recommend this race to anyone that enjoys a fun Disney run and knows exactly what they're in for.
Garmin Time: 1:23:04 Race Amenities: All the fun Disney stuff including a cotton unisex shirt and cute finisher medal Cost: $74.99
Report written March 8, 2017
Addendum 9/28/22: I gave this shirt away (Goodwill) in September 2022
My Garmin 235 started acting wonky a few weeks ago. At first I wasn't concerned about it, but performance started to suffer and I even started missing data without knowing it. It's not unusual for a smart device to need a soft or hard reset. I'm not sure if these initial problem "signs" all really could have been solved with a reset when I first noticed them, but since giving the watch a hard reset the other day the watch is performing as expected once again.
1) The first problem I encountered was a mystery .2 mile addition to my run during the Daytona Beach Half Marathon close to the start of the race. Typically GPS watch distance data doesn't match up exactly during races, but this was a strange, early anomaly.
2) Shortly after the Daytona Beach Half I noticed my watch was taking a bit longer than usual to be GPS-ready. While a wait of less than 5 seconds had been normal from the beginning, it started taking 30 seconds to a couple of minutes for the device to indicate it was GPS-ready.
3) The Bluetooth connection with my iPhone took longer and longer to sync. I wasn't typically using this feature during runs, only afterwards to sync data, so this issue wasn't too bothersome.
I wish I had reset my watch after noticing these small problems, because it seriously affected the data I got for the three races I ran during Princess Weekend at Walt Disney World.
4 & 5) During the Princess 5K, the watch gave me nearly 2 times the mileage (5.93 miles for a 5K / 3.1 mile race). I didn't find out until later that it also didn't capture or save any GPS data at all. I had stopped a lot for photos and I was kind of giving the watch some slack for the strange "workout" I was having it track. Still, I wish I had reset the watch after this race. I run all these Disney races for fun, with the 5K being the most about fun and least about time (I typically stop for all photo ops during a Disney 5K). So at the time I was just hoping the Garmin had experienced a one-time tracking issue.
During the Princess 10K, the watch gave me a distance of 8.3 miles versus the 6.2 I actually ran. I was trying to let Arthur know where I was and it was hard to predict when I'd come up on a mile marker or know how far I still had to run with the watch acting wonky. I have no GPS data from this run either. I was irrationally angry at my Garmin but it unfortunately still didn't occur to me to reset the watch.
During the Princess Half Marathon, the watch gave me a distance of 14.72 miles versus 13.1. While I wasn't trying to PR or even race this event, I was still disappointed to have my running watch giving unhelpful pacing information. It was an unfortunate distraction.
After race weekend I tried to troubleshoot what was going on with my Garmin and found this helpful post from The Wired Runner: Troubleshooting Your GPS Watch.
A soft reset didn't seem to have any effect so I did the hard reset and the watch has been working as new ever since. A hard reset puts the watch back to factory settings but synching with my computer got my personal data back and I just had to re-add my interval alerts and resync the Bluetooth with my phone to get back in business.
Have you ever had problems with your running watch that were simply solved by doing a soft or hard reset?
Report written March 9, 2017
