At long last! The WDW Half Marathon recap!

Ok, I have put this off long enough (don’t now why, really). Let’s go…

I arrived Friday (what a lovely, short drive from PSL!) and hit the Expo to pick up my bib, chip and overpriced souvenirs (and wine!) For whatever reason, my check-in line was the longest one of all! Note to Disney: I am very happy that you employ many older cast members, but could you maybe have more than one working a line that was…oh, 20-30 people deep? When I got to the front of the line, I realized what the hold-up was. The CM was incredibly nice and pleasant, but apparently left his reading glasses at home, so the sign-in took forever (I almost took the list of names from him to look myself!) I then got my shirt, swag bag (sad to see that Tylenol wasn’t sponsoring, so no pre-race aspirin – but lots of breath-freshening products. You need fresh breath when you’re sweating up a storm, right kids?) and collectable pin (and did I mention the wine?) We stayed at the Port Orleans this year. Nice hotel, life-sucking check-in line. Passed up Vito’s for my pre-race dinner and went to a new (to me) Mexican restaurant at the Florida Mall (aka “Heaven”.) I was really anxious about the race this time around (because I slacked on my training a lot, as faithful followers of this blog know) and I was afraid I’d never get to sleep, but slumber came surprisingly easy for me this time around (and the hotel was blissfully quiet – no Pleasure Island revelers to be found!)

The alarm went off earlier than I wanted it to, but at least I knew this year that I didn’t have to take the absolute first bus that showed up (buying me an extra half hour of precious sleep.) Last year, it was 29 degrees at the start of the race and I never took off one article of clothing (sweatpants, sweatshirt, long tights, etc.) during the whole thing. This year, it was delightful – didn’t need a garbage bag or anything – just shorts and shirt. I think it was in the 70s all day. Nice!

I caught one of the (many, many) buses heading to the start line, munched on my protein bar and enjoyed the water I remembered to bring with me this time (I’m no longer a noob!) They had a pretty decent band in the parking lot to get everyone’s blood moving and (thankfully) skipped the annoying army men from “Toy Story” this year. Again, pirates were the dominant costume, with Tinkerbell as the most popular choice for the ladies. I did see some ladies with incredible hats that were created to resemble some of WDWs most popular attractions (Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, etc.) – my Stitch ears could hardly compare. And sadly, no Asian men dressed like ol’ Tink this year.


Disney had a different set-up as far as the start of the race went. They replaced the “corral” system they had last year with “waves.” Yours truly was in the last wave (no surprise there.) Wave A started at 6, wave B started at 6:15 and we were supposed to go at 6:30-ish. The holding areas for the waves were a little tight, but overall, I think this new arrangement worked fine. Of course they had the Star Spangled Banner and flashy start (fireworks, characters, etc.) and they did do it 3 times, so this year I could actually see what was going on. The gun for our wave actually went off closer to 6:20 and it only took about 12 minutes to cross the start line this year. The course itself was cool, and as you can see I got to take some pictures. It stayed overcast for most of the race, which was great for little ol’ sunburn-prone me! I kept hydrated (the first few water stops were kind of disorganized, but after that, they seemed to be fine) and had gels at 6 and 11 miles (love those chocolate ones!) Didn’t get to see Mr. Incredible or the “real” Jack Sparrow, but I did get a decent castle picture (I’m actually smiling!) Mile 11 hit me again this year (the last 2 miles have the most up and down parts of the trail, which kind of stinks!) My mom was at the finish to cheer me on, and at the sight of her paired with the looming finish line brought on the hyperventilation (a race day tradition!) I skipped the post-race snacks (note: bad move! I felt really faint until we were able to get out of the parking lot – which took forever…long story…and get back to the hotel for some food.) My overall time was 3:07 and change (worst time out of the 3 races I’ve done, but only by a minute. I blame water stops and photos. Can’t be that lack of training thing!) I’m proud of myself, because I spent the rest of the day (sore) walking around Disney MGM Studios (I had to see those Christmas lights – they are spectacular.) What a trooper, huh? (Well, the “trooper” passed out cold at 9:30pm.) I now have medal #3, some great pictures and memories, and travel plans for September (Disneyland Half) and January (yup, I’m doing it again next year!) Am I crazy? You betcha! (Top photo courtesy of ASI photo.)