Now where did I leave off? Oh yes, Disney World time! Yes, you read right. After the 5k, I decided that it would be a great idea to make the most of my time and head on over to the parks. I didn’t even nap after finishing the 5k. I headed back to my hotel and got changed for the parks. In hindsight, I should have just spent a little extra money and paid for 2 single park tickets instead of 1 park hopper ticket. The reason being that everything was extremely packed due to marathon weekend. If you weren’t there early enough, the wait times for the rides would take anywhere from 1 – 3 hours. From 8 am to 5 pm, I rode one ride and attended two shows. How sad is that? 😦 I did walk around a lot, which was also a mistake because when I woke up for my 10k, I strongly believed I wouldn’t have enough energy to complete the Dopey Challenge.
Walt Disney World 10k – Both the 5k and 10k have very similar routes. The only real difference is that there are more characters along the 10k. For this race, I wore my Wonder Woman costume along with a down jacket. Best. Decision. Ever. By the time I finished the 10k, it was maybe 40F? For the 10k, you run more along the backstreets of Epcot and head into the park for a mile or two before heading back out.
Character stops – Despite having to run outside of the parks, the Disney people know how to keep you entertained. There are characters outside of the parks and there are cheer groups that you pass by. During the race, I got to take pictures with Flik and Princess Atta from A Bug’s life, Flynn and Rapunzel from Tangled, and Pinocchio! 🙂 I finished the 10k in one hour 45 minutes and seven seconds. 🙂 I took my time knowing I’d have to knock out another 39.3 miles the next two days. LOL
After the race – Disney supplied each of us with a box full of snacks, which I was eternally grateful for. I then grabbed a mylar blanket and headed back to the hotel to rest. 🙂 I did not do very much that day except just rest and maybe play a little Top Golf. 🙂
Walt Disney World Half Marathon – The Disney World half marathon was my 20th half marathon! 🙂 I had deliberately not signed up for any halfs after Vegas so I could make this one my 20th. Great planning, right? 🙂
After the 10k, I was ready to leave Epcot behind. LOL. Luckily, the half marathon takes you through Epcot AND Magic Kingdom and honestly, getting to run through Magic Kingdom was one of the highlights of my trip.
We entered through the front entrance, ran down Main Street towards Cinderella’s castle and into Tomorrowland.
We veered around through what I think was Frontier land and circled around the castle and then through it. That portion wasn’t as magical as I thought since there are so many runners and there is only so much space underneath the castle, but it was just a sight to see all the buildings so beautifully lit up. There were characters littered through park so naturally, my pace was that of a snail’s because I had to stop at every character stop. LOL. Throughout the race, I took pictures with characters from Monster’s Inc, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, The Incredibles, and even Pirates of the Caribbean. 🙂
It took me 3 hours 2 minutes and 32 seconds to complete the half marathon and I enjoyed every moment of it.
My marathon review will be up next so stay tuned. 🙂
Question for you: Have you done a multiple day race? How was it? Were you exhausted afterwards or did you think each race loosened your legs up for next day’s race?
A Girl on a Search for Adventure 