Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon

On Saturday I ran my last Disney race of the year.  I read several reviews prior to the race and they all wrote about how much fun it is.  I was excited and looking forward to it.  However, I was not ready for the weather.

I got into Orlando Saturday morning on a 5:30 am flight.  Once I landed I made arrangements with Emily to head over to the expo.  We got our packets and proceeded to see what items we would buy. It was pretty much set up the same way with the same vendors as in previous Disney races.  I bought two Team Sparkle skirts.  One to match my Oiselle singlet and a pink one because well why not?  I also purchased a pair of Balega Hidden Comfort socks.  Wow, definitely did not get one blister even with all of the rain!

Perhaps a future race for me?

Great shirt but not much good stuff in the bag.

After the expo Emily and I headed back to the hotel for lunch.  Her husband, Adam, also met us there. I was tired and in need of a nap.  Well, that didn’t go well because I ended up not taking a nap.  I tried. I drank a Coconut Mojito, watched TV and even graded some homework.  Nothing worked.  I finally got up at 5:30 to get ready and head over to the cafeteria for dinner.

After dinner I got in line for the shuttle bus.  I did not have to wait long and was at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex around 7:30.  I waited for Jeff and Elaine as we had plans to hang out prior to the race.  A few minutes later they arrived and off we went to wait a long time for the start.

There wasn’t a lot of people yet so the bathroom lines were not long.  Of course I did not have to go at that moment but did have to go just before the start of the race.

There was so much excitement around us.  It was cool looking at costumes and for a minute I regretted not wearing one.  There was a DJ playing great music and some people were dancing. Finally it was time to check my gear bag and head over to our corral and to wait some more.

I was in Corral D but moved back one corral to join Jeff and Elaine.  By then it was drizzling a little so I put on my poncho.  Thanks to Jeff and Elaine for buying it for me!!

Love the fireworks to announce the start of a new corral.  Finally it was time to run.  It was dark.  I did not like that at all.  I took it slowly to take it all in.

The first few miles were on the road between the parks.  There was nothing exciting to see.  There might have been some characters but honestly I do not remember.  Finally we arrived at Animal Kingdom.  There were a few characters but I only took a picture of Timon from my favorite Disney movie “The Lion King”.

Then it was back on the road.  It started to rain more and I was cold.  I could feel some chafing in my inner thighs.  Halfway through the race is when I lost it.  I had little energy and blamed it on so many things.  But I kept going.  Well, mostly walking.  My right hip was bothering me and my toes too from the neuroma and the bunion.

Then we got to Hollywood Studios which was my favorite part of the race.

I spent a good few minutes enjoying the view and taking pictures.  It was definitely magical for me.

Then on to the Boardwalk which left us with about 2 miles to go.  I was miserable and could not stop feeling sorry for myself.  I really, really tried to enjoy the whole race but just couldn’t.

Almost there!

I was so happy to see this sign.  Once I saw it, I took some pictures and ran to the finish line.  I think I heard the announcer say my name but am not sure. Heck, my name is not common and so easy to mispronounce.

Each mile marker had a different travel destination picture and music to go with it.

Before the race I had decided to enjoy the post race festivities.  Ha, big change of plans.  I walked a long time (it seemed long to me) back to the shuttle buses to take me back to the hotel.  Once in my room I cranked up the heat and called it a night.  I think by then it was almost 3am.

This was definitely not the experience I was expecting for this race.  I did not like running through the parks at night.  There was definitely nothing pleasant about running in the rain.  I liked the crowd support and volunteers.  It was very well organized even with over 14,000 runners.  And yes there is something magical about running a Disney race.  The metals are pretty neat.  And I got two of them!

I did like staying at the Disney All-Star Sports Resort.  My room was about $113 with taxes and it included transportation from/to airport and resort.  Plus, it included transportation to the expo, parks, and race.

Disney races can be fun but also EXPENSIVE.  Next year I would love to do the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon in Disneyland.  And I am hoping to get together with some friends for the Princess Half Marathon in 2016.

Next race: Williams Route 66 Half Marathon in Tulsa, OK, on November 23.