After arriving in California late Wednesday night, it probably goes without saying that we were pumped to get the weekend started! Momma K and I woke up bright and early to head out to get our mile in for day 1194 of our run-streak and grabbed a quick bite to eat. We quickly got showered and headed over to Disneyland Hotel. If you have ever been to a runDisney expo, you know that the official race merchandise tends to be the most sought after items of the expo. Lines start to form to enter the expo hours before the expo opens so we made sure to get there early. We arrived to the Disneyland Hotel shortly after 8:00 where we were greeted by Cast Members who directed us to the waiting area for the expo. We were given colored wristbands upon entering which signified when we entered line to help line-jumping. We had about two hours to spend in line, so obviously it turned into a "expo line party." It was great to meet up with friends from around the country that were all here for the same reason this weekend. Even though we only see each other periodically, it is like we just saw each other last week when we are reunited. Everything was very well organized and there was plenty of room to move around and shop. The generic runDisney merchandise was in one aisle, Disneyland Double Dare merchandise was another aisle, Disneyland Half Marathon in another and so forth with a final section of accessories, pins and magnets, and I Did It shirts. runDisney really did a great job with this year's merchandise. The Disneyland Double Dare merchandise was by far some of my favorite pieces today. They did a good selection of colors and designs and even different styles of items (for example, two style of men's and women's jackets for each race - a light windbreaker and a traditional jacket). (Thank you Jennifer for taking pictures of merchandise during the VIP early expo hours) Now it was time to make our way through the rest of the expo. My first stop was obviously to say hello to the wonderful ladies at Sparkly Soul! They released a few new pieces for the Disneyland Half Marathon Expo which I was super excited to get my hands on. There were some other great vendors which I of course had to stop by to say hello and pick up some goodies. Surprisingly, the expo wasn't overly crowded for it being the first day of the expo. There was room to move around on the expo floor and lines were moving rather quickly. Are you a fan of the runDisney New Balance collection? Man, New Balance had one heck of a surprise for runners this weekend...buy 1, get 1 50% off! That is right, the highly sought after runDisney shoes were on SALE! Momma K and I couldn't pass up this deal as we both still had our eye on a pair of 2017 shoes, so we made a purchase together - Mad Tea Party for me and Haunted Mansion for Momma K. One of my favorite freebies of the expo were the photo ops. Aren't they adorable though!?!? Our final stop was bib pick up. If you read my expo survival tips last week, you know that I always preach to do this last. Your bib is not going anywhere. They cannot sell out of them so why do it first (unless you don't plan to shop). After picking up your bib(s), you head back into the main expo hall to pick-up your race shirts. This process is super organized and size swaps is easy as well. Each year runDisney has continued to improve the format and organization of the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon Weekend expo. Thank you runDisney for making the kick-start to my 2017 Disneyland 1/2 Marathon weekend so great. Now, excuse me while I hit up the parks and start carb-loading Disney-style. Question of the Day: What is your favorite part about race expos?
1 Comment
chris
9/9/2017 12:23:19 pm
I am excited to hear your thoughts on the race since you come from a warmer climate
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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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