For the last post in my Princess half marathon weekend series, we are finally talking about the big event – the princess half marathon!
For those of you that are new to the blog, I will let you know that the princess half marathon holds a special place in my heart, as it was my first race EVER back in 2016. My cousin Ryan and I decided to sign up to run it, not being runners or having any idea how to train properly, but somehow managed to cross the finish line. The moment we were done, I knew that running was going to be a part of my life for a very long time, and have been chasing the feeling that I had at that finish line ever since.
So, for the 2018 Princess half marathon the theme was “Snow White,” with a big apple shaped medal. I wanted a costume that would go with that theme, without hitting the nail on the head and just dressing up as the princess herself. Rachel and I spent some time brain-storming this one, and we decided to go as the mine train (Rachel) and the poison apple (me).
I had so much fun putting these costumes together, and even learned some new skills along the way. I decided to make the focal point of the costumes the skirts, and then build the shirts and accessories around it. For my skirt, I made it to look like the poison apple itself, with a red base and a sparkly white top, shaped like the poison dripping down the apple, complete with an eerie face. Then I used my mom’s Cricut machine to create iron on transfers for my shirt. I decided to go with a play on a line from snow white – changing “Just one bite and all of your dreams will come true” to “Just one RUN and all of your dreams will come true.” To complete my outfit, I ordered a poison apple hat and a pair of red ProCompression socks, and I was ready to run.
So, on race morning I rolled out of bed too early for the third day in a row, and got myself dressed for the day. It was basically a routine at this point, so I had everything laid out right where I needed it. As I left my room I texted Rachel to see how she was feeling and asked if she was going to run the half (the day before, she had nearly collapsed from dehydration). She said that she was feeling better and was going to give it a go, and we agreed to meet up in the start area like we had for the 10k. I hopped on the next bus that pulled up to the All-Star Music resort and was on my way to the start village.
I found Rachel easily enough, and we hung out in the start area until it was time to begin the long walk to the corrals. For this race I was assigned corral B, while Rach was in F. We were originally planning to run the race together, but since Rachel hadn’t been feeling well the day before we decided to run separately, so that I wouldn’t wind up pushing her too hard. As I hopped in line for a porter potty she headed to her corral, hoping to get a spot near the front – for this race corral F had nearly 10,000 runners, about 30% of the race field.
I made my way to the corrals surrounded by thousands of other runners, some in costumes. Near-by was a man dressed as Ursula, joking about needing to brace himself for the calamari jokes he was likely to hear throughout the day, as the temperature rose. It was about a 15 minute walk to get to the corrals, and once I found corral B I headed in and tried to relax, feeling more nervous than I usually do before a race. As the start time grew nearer, I took some time to stretch, and eventually took my first Gu of the day. By that time, the announcers were on the stage and the pre-race show was underway. Jeff Galloaway remarked casually about the 90% humidity, as if it was an everyday activity. To get the race started, they brought out the Fairy Godmother and had her countdown to race start with a cry of “Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo!”
The first wave of runners were released with a show of fireworks, and then corral B was moved right up to the start line, and a minute later, we were off into the morning. My plan for this race was to have fun, and soak in every bit of Disney magic that I would encounter over the next 13.1 miles.
The first mile was a little congested, with all of the runners trying to find their groove. There were volunteers lining the side of the course, cheering as we started our trek down the highway. Since I knew I wanted to make some stops for characters along the course, so I picked up my pace to make up for time i would loose in lines. My plan for characters was simple – if there was little or no line and I wanted a photo with the characters, I would stop. If it was the Evil Queen disguised as an old woman, I would stop – since it matched the theme of my skirt. But most of the time, I wound up snapping a quick photo or video as I ran by.
The first stop was at mile 1.7, where I saw that Jack Sparrow was set up with his pirate ship. The props made it a cool stop, so I pulled over and got in line for a photo… but then realized it was a slow moving line and decided to cut my losses and keep moving. It was still dark, but I was already feeling the heat of the morning. This was the day that I would learn how much I am capable of sweating.
Soon after the pirate ship I came upon the entrance gate to magic kingdom, lit up and shining. This is one of my favorite parts of the race – even though the park is still miles away, I get so excited knowing that I am headed there. I stopped and took a selfie, mimicking one I took with my cousin in 2016.
The next stop that I came upon had an assortment of Disney princes and heroes, and I deemed it a necessary stop – after all, it is the princess half, and I felt like to post with the princes was a photo I had missed out on the first time around. It left a dent in my time for that mile, and I took off fast as soon as my photo was done. Of course, soon after came the one character stop that I “NEEDED” – The evil queen, and boy did she have a line waiting for her. I suppose since I was in an early corral and all it wasn’t the worst wait it could have been, but when I was moving I was running paces in the low 8’s, and my mile average still came in at almost a 14 min/mi for the two miles that I did these character stops.
On the upside of things, I was quickly approaching the Magic Kingdom, and over the next two or so miles it was all highway and no characters, so I was able to make up for some of the lost time. I wound up settling into a pace close to a 9 minute mile, but then slowing myself down as I approached the magic kingdom, not wanting to miss a second of time there. We passed mile marker 5 just before running though the bus bays outside of magic kingdom, then headed through the park’s main entrance and down main street USA – the smile on my face in the race photos says it all, and I found myself holding back excited tears as I made my way through the park. Have I been to magic kingdom before? Yes. But there is nothing quite like running down main street. Plus, this was the first time I was starting a RunDisney event in my designated corral rather than dropping back to run with someone, and I was in awe of how empty main street was.
Once I made it down main street the course turned into tomorrow land, and I felt like it was a parade of character stops in magic kingdom – first up was Buzz Lightyear, before running passed the story book circus, then into new fantasy land, where I spotted Gaston near his tavern and the White rabbit, who was probably running late and shouldn’t have been doing a meet and greet. Just before the castle Cinderella’s evil step-sisters were stationed, with people pulling over for pictures, when I could hardly contain my excitement enough to even consider stopping.
Then one of my favorite moments of a Disney race: running through the castle! I had it nearly to myself, and stopped to get a picture in front of the castle before going onward into frontier land. I quickly spotted tiana and Louie, then Woody and Jesse, followed by Goofy. There was only one person on line to meet Goofy, and being a sucker for classic Disney characters, I stopped for a photo with him before continuing to run to the part of the course that would bring us backstage in the magic kingdom.
I only got to spend a quick minute backstage, as we just ran by a few buildings before leaving the park, but they had some festival of fantasy parade floats out, so I grabbed a quick photo with the giant dragon float, since there was no line and I couldn’t resist such a cool photo op. There were some princesses out with their floats as well, but I ran on by as I said goodbye to the Magic Kingdom. I made one last photo stop on my way out – they had the rail road car pulled right up to the course, so I threw myself in the path and posed dramatically, as one does. I was basically dying because of how much I was sweating at that point anyway, so I may as well get a good photo of it.
The next few miles were all highway, as we made our way back to Epcot. We ran by the grand Floridian, where tinkerbell was hanging out with her fairy friends. As we approached mile 8, they had put up signs with cheesy jokes on them to amuse runners as they went by, all Disney themed of course. My favorite had to be “Who is the funniest Disney princess? – Ra-PUN-zel!” But I am a sucker for cheesy jokes. Just after mile 8 they had props and performers from the long closed Adventurer’s Club, which was once a restaurant in downtown Disney. Having read stories about it, I may always be a little bitter that I never got to visit myself, but I always enjoy when RunDisney brings out entertainment like that.
As I continued on the highway, miles 9 and 10 ticked off on my watch. The mile marker for mile 10 was a little special, as this was the 10th anniversary of the princess half. I slowed my pace a little at this point, as I was starting to feel the effects of the high humidity. Plus, my thigh was starting to chafe! I had run TWO marathons and countless training runs in the shorts I was wearing and never had any issues, but apparently the humidity was doing me in for this one. By the time I was finished with the race, I had a raw patch of skin on my leg. With mile 10 came the overpass, AKA the one “hill” of this Disney race. Once I was up the overpass, I could see runners on the highway for quite some distance.
With mile 12 I started to enter the Epcot resort area, and mile 13 brought me all through the parks. I was loving this race, but the heat was getting to me and I was more than ready to get to that finish line! I picked up the pace a little for the last mile, running passed spaceship earth, and to the final out and back of the course. Then one more trip passed spaceship earth, around the bend, and the finish line was in sight. There was still confetti on the ground from the winners crossing the finish line, and Prince Mickey and Princess Minnie were waiting by the finish line as runners approached. As I ran by Mickey I snagged a high-5, then threw my hands in the air as I crossed the finish line, full of joy.
Finish time: 2:13:37
A volunteer handed me my medal, and they had fairy godmothers in training on hand to sprinkle finishers with pixie dust. Then it was just a long walk down the finishers chute, where I collected Gatorade, water, and a snack box, then verification at the fairy tale challenge tent, where I collected my second medal of the day. The last thing to do was pick up my checked bag, and head for the bus back to the hotel.
I completed my second Disney princess half marathon, and my first glass slipper challenge. It was exactly the magic that I was hoping for, and that I have come to expect from RunDisney. I spent the rest of the day hanging out with my family at my aunt and uncle’s house, just taking it easy and celebrating a successful race.
As for Rachel – she finished too, and even snagged herself a new PR, crossing the finish line in just over 2 and a half hours.
