It was part 1 of our 22.4 miles of magic at Disneyland 1/2 Marathon weekend! If you have followed my blog in the past, you know that I am a huge fan of runDisney 5Ks. There are a number of reasons that I enjoy these races: (1) they are un-timed so it is more relaxed (2) watching the families running together (3) great shakeout run for the other races this weekend (4) PICTURES! When the themes of the individual races were announced, we honestly weren't overly excited about the Incredibles theme for the 5K. Since our buddy Brendan wasn't super excited about it either and Jennifer said "we are NOT running looking like Jane Fonda", we opted to do a different Pixar movie for our costumes for the 5K. I know, I know, Toy Story is the theme for the half marathon this weekend. Well, Toy Story is what Brendan wanted our theme to be, so that is what we did. I will be rocking the Mr. Potato Head in the Toy Story Mania ensemble while Momma K is running as Woody. We will be joined by Jennifer as Buzz Lightyear and Brendan as one of the aliens. With a 5am start time, we loaded up in our corral around 4:30. While we waited, we met up with a few friends for quick hellos, and were on our way before we knew it! The first .5 mile or so are outside of the parks as you make your way into California Adventure through a backstage area. There are a few little "tricks" in this first stretch as it is at a slight incline and you have to watch out for reflectors on the road, but other than that, it is is smooth sailing. There is also a good number of chEARleaders out in this stretch as you are outside of the parks, so spectators are able to line the streets here. Then the fun begins! As you enter California Adventure, you quickly find yourself in Cars Land! Nothing beats the glow of Cars Land lit up before the sun comes up! It makes my heart sing! I absolutely love running in the "dark" parks. While the parks are not open, you can still feel the Disney magic surrounding you as you pass attractions, shops, and restaurants that are currently silent and waiting for guests later that morning. We made our way down Buena Vista Street as we wrapped up our tour of California Adventure this morning. When you run this portion before the sun rises, you can't help but feel like you are taking a stroll in Hollywood. Just like last year, due to construction in Disneyland, this year's Disneyland Half Marathon weekend courses had to be altered slightly. For the 5K, rather than going straight from California Adventure over to Disneyland, you headed to a backstage portion for about half a mile or so around mile 1.5. Just past mile 2, runners entered into Disneyland in Tomorrowland and head into Fantasyland past Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, Matterhorn, Mad Tea Party, all just before reaching Sleepy Beauty Castle. We made our way through Sleeping Beauty Castle and stopped for a castle selfie before making our way down Main Street. I always get teary running down Main Street. The lights. The music. The MAGIC! Honestly, I had mixed emotions about how I felt about running away from the castle vs. "storming the castle". I think the pictures speak for themselves and show that we were overly excited to be running down Main Street. Race 1 was in the books! 3.1 miles down, 19.3 magical miles left! We met up with a few of our friends for some pictures before we headed back to the room to freshen up and get our day going. I truly loved every step of the Disneyland 5K! runDisney never disappoints me and I could not thank them enough for all the fun, magic, and memories that they created at this year's Disneyland 5K. 3.1 miles down, 19.3 miles to go!
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BrandiI love to run and most importantly I love to have FUN while I run....I am the "Funner Runner" Feedspot's Top 100 Running Blogs
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