2010's Walt Disney World's Princess Half Marathon: A very belated race report on a very magical race!

Walt Disney World is hosting their third annual princess-themed half marathon today, and to honor the occasion, and since I cannot attend this year's event, I thought I'd write a race report of last year's race. (March 7, 2010.)

This was one of my most favorite races of all time.  Mainly because it occurs in Disney World--and I LOVE Disney World. (No joke--LOVE--pure and true.)  I did a brief stint there as a food-server in Epcot after college, and being there just makes me happy and turns me into a giddy six year old.  Also, the race took place during the late winter, a time of year when the cold weather has typically driven me to the brink of insanity, and I need a temperate climate to revive my spirits.  Lastly, my younger sister had agreed to run it with me--her first half marathon ever, and my second.  She had also agreed to dress up in Disney-Princess-themed garb for the race which, in my opinion, is absolutely essential to any Disney-related running event. 

I dressed as Snow White and Anne-Elyse dressed as Tinkerbell. (she was going to try to be Belle form Beauty and the Beast, but since I was crafting the race-day outfits myself, I was worried she would just look like a girl who really loves the color yellow. A lot.  This was before I discovered sparkle skirts...if only I'd known.)  For my Snow White outfit, I bought a yellow swim-skirt and hot-glued red fringe and red ribbons and bows to it.  Then I bought a royal blue top and put some white fringe around the neckline and a red ribbon in the center.  I was slightly concerned about the fact that I could not train at all in my race-day outfit (I was not going to run around in the snow in my bright yellow and red swim-skirt!) but thinking back, I actually have never run a race in a training outfit---I always seem to end up in something brand-new and untested.  To alleviate anxiety, I made my collar velcro so I could remove it if it started to irritate me. I made Anne-Elyse a bright lime-green glittery tutu out of tulle, and found a bright green tank top for her to run in.  I brought along wings to complete the ensemble, but we thought running with elastic bands under her armpits might be really irritating, so we left them in the suitcase.  She did wear a green and purple tiara and she carried a magic wand all 13.1 miles--impressive! (And, all my fears were unwarranted.  The weather was cool and sunny, so my outfit was as comfortable as it possibly could have been!)

I didn't have much opportunity to train for long runs because the two months before the race, the DC-Metropolitan region was hit with record-breaking snowfall (The "snowpocalypse," as I'm found of calling it).  I remember trying to do a long run outside and having it become a hike/stomp through mounds of snow and mud.  Often I was clinging to a stop sign or a street post to balance myself as I climbed around the snow-covered sidewalks, and I remember thinking that I would be so terribly upset if I twisted my ankle in the snow and mud the weeks before my race and couldn't run. (Thankfully that didn't happen!)

We left DC on Friday morning.  The race wasn't until Sunday, but this gave us a day to relax, pick up our race packet and wander around before the actual race-day.  This turned out to be a great decision, because apparently the expo was packed with people on Saturday.  (Friday it was busy, but far from crowded.)  Even waiting for our plane at the airport had a tremendous sense of occasion. A lot of women were traveling with us who were also running...some of them were even wearing their tiaras on the plane!  It made me so excited for the race.  Check-in at the hotel was the same way.  Lots of women who were so excited to be there!  (It really IS a magical place!)

Expo at Disney's "Wide World of Sports" complex.

Our packets left a lot to be desired.  The expo was great, with lots to look at and shop for (AE & I presumptuously bought some snazzy "I did it!" tee-shirts.) But the packet was skimpy for the price we paid to run the race.  The shirt was champion and either white or baby-blue (shouldn't a princess shirt be hot-pink or something really vibrant?)  Also, the race was sponsored by sharpie, so you'd think they'd give you a sharpie or something....no.  Not much. The thing I thought was really fun was that the race bibs had our names on them "Princess Mary-Michael" and "Princess Anne-Elyse!"  I loved that!  They also were color coordinated to match with your favorite princess--a small but fun and magical touch!

The night before the race, we ate a light and early dinner at the "Earl of Sandwich" in Downtown Disney, then went back to the room to rest up.  As we were getting ready for bed, Snow White (the full-length movie) was actually on TV!  I took this as a sign that race day would be great--princessy and successful!  I put some finishing touches on our outfits, set at least three alarms, and we fell asleep.  We had to be on the bus heading to the start line before 4:30 a.m. (two hours before the start of the race! Ugh....I don't care how much I love Disney, I still did not welcome Mickey Mouse's cheerful voice calling me at 3:30 am to tell me to get out of bed!)  I probably got about eight hours of sleep, but it was not restful peaceful sleep because I was so worried about missing my alarm.  I kept jolting awake thinking I was late....

4am: The line for the bus outside of our hotel.

A small cross-section of the insanely large crowd!

All too soon, it was actually time to get out of bed and ready to race.  I mixed up some delicious instant oatmeal, and my had usual pre-race banana baby food, and we headed out to join the masses (& I mean masses) outside the lobby of our hotel.  The line just to catch the bus was unbelievably long!  Both runners and spectators were filed in line, waiting to head out to Epcot to the start line.  Since the sun hadn't come up yet, it was a nippy thirty-eight degrees outside...my swim skirt and knee socks were not exactly keeping me warm.  When the bus finally arrived at our hotel to take us to the start, it was a relief to take refuge in the heated bus for a while.  (We were laughing at all of our comrades who were clamoring to get of the bus as soon as it parked.  We stayed put and were the last two people off.) We finally emerged from our warm sanctuary and made our way to bag check and the bathrooms.  We had brought some garbage bags to put over ourselves while we waited for the race to start, but those did very little (nothing) to keep out the cold.  Fortunately, the thousands of runners surrounding us provided a bit of body heat....the crowds were enormous.  I really couldn't believe how many runners were there, and how organized it was.  Disney is great at crowd-control if nothing else!  

Dawn at Epcot. CHILLY!!

Snow White! (& one of the very few male runners!)

A few more spirited male runners: Minnie Mouse & Belle

Cinderella - she must have been freezing.

Trash Bags (did nothing to keep us warm)

There were TONS of wonderful costumes and fun tee-shirts too!  Almost everyone running was channeling their inner-princess---even the rare male runners! I was one out of a sea of hundreds of Snow Whites, each with their own take on the wardrobe.  Anne-Elyse  had lots of tutu-ed companions as well.

Go Time!

The race started with tremendous fanfare. Cinderella's fairy godmother was there at the start, and they set off fireworks at the beginning of each wave.  There were so many runners, it took us almost thirty minutes to actually cross the start line.  (We were in the back because it was Anne-Elyse's first race.  Even though she's a better/faster runner than me, if she couldn't prove her time, she was in the back of the pack.)  It was almost daylight by the time we got started.

The first few miles were mostly spent weaving in and around the walkers. (I quickly realized there are a lot of walkers in the Disney races who are not necessarily avid runners, but very avid Disney fans!) We chatted about boys and life, and pretty soon three miles were already under our belts.  Also fortunately, as the sun came up, and we kept pressing along, we started thawing out a bit and the weather became quite pleasant and nice...perfect running weather!

I had my camera at the ready throughout the whole race so I could snap a photo at a moments notice.  The odd and most frustrating thing about this race (and probably all Disney races) is that there are characters along the course, and lots of opportunities to take picture.  For me, it's a constant mental battle between my inner-competitor, who wants a great time, and my inner-Disney Princess, who wants to pause for every photo opportunity.  Anne-Elyse, being slightly less enthralled with the Princesses and also nervous about her first-ever half marathon, was game to keep moving, only stopping here and there for a quick snapshot. We agreed that we would only stop for characters with short lines.  This meant we missed Belle, Cinderella & Pocahontas.  But we still had time to stop with lots of other characters along the way! (I did say my one exception to this rule was if I saw Snow White, but it was not an issue because she didn't show. Boo-hoo.)

Almost tripped on the downhill sidewalk while snapping this.

makeshift bathroom.

Before long, we were making our way through the gates to the Magic Kingdom parking lot, and Space Mountain loomed on the skyline.  We entered the park from "backstage," not through the main entrance, and there were a few porta-potties lined up before we entered the park.  Unfortunately, for two sisters with small bladders, the lines at the porta-pots were exceptionally long.  (It was a predominantly female race, after all.)  Interestingly, about 200 yards from the porta-pots, a small cluster of shameless (or desperate) women, were dashing off into the bushes to relief themselves.  I've never seen this in a race before or since, but AE & I immediately followed suit.  We veered off course and ran into the woods.  There was a small clearing that had become the makeshift restroom.  We took care of business, had a quick laugh about having just urinated in public in the Magic Kingdom, and started running again.

A few minutes later, we were cruising up Main Street with Cinderella's castle in front of us.  I almost wanted to slow down to prolong the view and the feeling I had--it was an exciting moment, and the sun was rising beautifully above the castle.  We paused very briefly for a picture in front of the castle, and kept going.  Running up to and through the castle were by far, the highlights of the race.  I've walked through the castle dozens, if not hundreds, of times but there was something about running through it during the race with the camera man snapping your picture that was extra-exciting.  those brief fleeting moments made the race worth the price of admission (which, if you're at all familiar with Disney races you know, is not cheap.)

Sadly, after we emerged form the castle, we were ushered out of the theme park pretty fast.  The next few miles, seven through nine, were a bit on the quiet side....there was still entertainment along the way (Thank you, Jack Sparrow!....although the line was too long for a picture with him.)

The last mile and a half was heading back into Epcot, doing one quick lap around "FutureWorld"  then crossing the finish line.  As we had been running at the same leaisurely pace for most of the race, I was expecting more of the same....maybe a few extra pictures of the park and the characters in the last mile.  But, Anne-Elyse turned to me as we passed mile-marker 12 and said, "ok, let's just bang this last mile out." She then started sprinting toward the Finish line!  She's a naturally better runner than me, but also I was not in tip-top shape anyway. I was not sure I'd be able to just "bang that last mile out."  But, I was not going to let AE cross the finish line that far ahead of me! I picked up my pace and started running as fast as I could after her. 

Anne-Elyse heading toward the finish!

Ursula (with Blue Body-Paint)

The park was now officially opened for guests, thankfully, because people started cheering for me as I ran past--definitely a pace (& mood) booster!  Some of the keener spectators actually caught my name on my race-bib, but most just yelled "Go Snow White" as I dashed by.  As we ran around the international gateway, I noticed that the Disney characters got more plentiful and closer together (again, an internal dilemma between my competitive runner brain and my disney-addict brain.) However, I could not stop and snap pictures or take much notice, because I was barely keeping up with AE.  Sorry Evil Stepmother--I'll have to see you later.  Peace Out Mickey & Minnie--we will catch up at the character brunch! 

I ended up rolling across the finish line only a few seconds behind Anne-Elyse.  I didn't catch her, but I didn't lose her either...We were awarded our tiara shaped medals, we grabbed as much free fruit and Luna bars as we could stuff into our arms, then we picked up our bags at the check-in and headed to the Contemporary Hotel for an enormous breakfast buffet.  (Our waitress had done the Goofy Challenge!!) We then headed back to our hotel where we lounged/napped in the sun for a few hours before hitting the parks. 

Doing this race--my first "Disney Race" was amazing.  Also, doing it with my sister was a fabulous time. I'm glad I got to run with her during her first half marathon.  I'm currently trying to convince her to do the Goofy Challenge 2012 with me in January.  She's agreed tocome to Walt Disney World, but I'm not sure if she's game for two days of getting up at 3am to go for an extended run.....not to worry, I have 10 months to change her mind!!

Post-Race (& post-nap) Mini-Golf!

I hope everyone who ran this year's princess-race has just as magical an experience as I did! Good luck runners!!