One of the hardest things about the runDisney multiple race challenge weekends is battling the early wake-ups for multiple mornings. Momma K, Becky, and I played it right though and made sure that we were all hydrating and refueling well each day and getting back to our rooms at a reasonable time so we could get a decent amount of sleep. While it is tempting to shut down the parks and run 13.1 miles after spending the entire day on your feet and with 3 hours of sleep, it was not in the plans for us - we will play after our business is done. We left the hotel around 4ish and got to the race area a little before 4:30 which gave us plenty of time to use the restrooms and head to our corral without much stress.
Today was the day! With 2 races and 9.3 miles down, it was time for 'the big one' - the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon. It was my 3rd DIsneyland 1/2 Marathon (for my 3rd Dumbo Double Dare Challenge) and Momma K's 2nd Disneyland Half Marathon. One of the hardest things about the runDisney multiple race challenge weekends is battling the early wake-ups for multiple mornings. Momma K, Becky, and I played it right though and made sure that we were all hydrating and refueling well each day and getting back to our rooms at a reasonable time so we could get a decent amount of sleep. While it is tempting to shut down the parks and run 13.1 miles after spending the entire day on your feet and with 3 hours of sleep, it was not in the plans for us - we will play after our business is done. We left the hotel around 4ish and got to the race area a little before 4:30 which gave us plenty of time to use the restrooms and head to our corral without much stress. The "herding" into the corrals was a little unnerving. Despite leaving for the corral early, there were so many people heading into the corral and the corrals were filling up quite quickly. It appeared that they were even creating "sub-corrals" outside of the corrals waiting for the corrals to move up because some of the corrals were full. This is why we always get into our corrals early (but not too early). Our group consisted of Momma K, Becky, myself and our friend Jeff from Pennsylvania. Jeff is coming off of a knee injury and was needing to run a little more reserved this weekend so he asked if he could run with us. I think he secretly just wanted to see how much fun we have out there ;-) There was about 10 minutes between corrals but the time really flew by as we waited. There is so much going on and the announcers ,Rudy and Carissa, are always very entertaining and engaging with the crowd. The first 1.5 mile or so has you heading towards California Adventure. After entering into the park through a backlot area, you are greeted by the breath-taking views of Cars Land and Route 66. I love running through California Adventure and my favorite part is running past Mickey's Fun Wheel. If you are in the early corrals and fast enough, you are lucky to catch the park still lit with the evening lights on. Sadly, by the time we arrived the lights are slowly turning off as the sun is starting to rise. It is still a beautiful sight regardless <3 If you have ever ran a runDisney race, you have likely experienced the outpouring of support and chEARs from Cast Members. Today was no different. We received countless chEARs and "high-fours" from the amazing Cast Members that were along the course in the parks. Next, we made our way over to Disneyland! It was time to run down Main Street! Ahhhh! There is nothing like running down Main Street - period! The music, sights and magic are unlike anything else. Before exiting Disneyland and heading to the streets of Anaheim, we made our way through some more backstage areas. While it might seem boring to run through this, it is actually a lot of fun. Between Cast Members arriving for work and chEARing you on, parade floats on display, and even seeing some of the behind the scenes magic there is always something to see. Around mile 4 we exited the parks and were heading through Anaheim. The entertainment and support along the way is great. There are countless marching bands, cheerleaders, and dance groups performing and cheering along the way. They were so great that Jeff even decided to cheer for them as well with his clappers! Around mile 8 we were greeted by hundreds of awesome antique cars and crowd support. Words cannot express the amount of gratitude that I have for all of these wonderful people giving up their Sunday morning to come cheer for thousands of runners. At the same time, you enter the territory of the Anaheim Ducks. Shortly after passing the Honda Center, you run about 1/2 a mile on the Santa Ana River Trail which is a fairly narrow gravel path but it is nothing too extreme so don't let the word "trail" scare you. Mile 9 is one of my total favorites! Growing up as a huge fan of the movie Angels in the Outfield, Angel Stadium always gets me pumped! After going through the Clif Aid Station, you cross the 15K marker. Oh, did I fail to mention that you run INSIDE of Angel Stadium? Imagine entering a stadium with hundreds of screaming children cheering for you. Entering Angel Stadium gives me goosebumps every year. Even though I know what is about to happen, there is just something special about getting those much needed cheers just before mile 10 when you need it most. Some of the signs in the last 10K were pretty awesome. That, or we were just that delirious at this point - I vote for awesome! Going into the morning, there were no intentions of PR'ing. Today was a morning for having 13.1 miles of fun and memories as a group of 4. Jeff and I were keeping a close eye on our pace. As we were coming into the final 5K, we knew that it was possible for Momma K to PR. As we got into the last mile, the possibility of a PR was really shaping up. We had ran a very consistent pace the entire race, so we just needed the last 1.1 mile to be consistent as well. Momma K started to lose a little steam in the last mile, but Jeff was an excellent coach to keep her on pace. As Jeff prompted for each run-walk interval, a portion of the crowd around us was actually following Jeff's announcements for the intervals. We crossed the finish line with a new PR for Momma K by 25 seconds! It isn't much, but a PR is a PR! Not too shabby for having fun, taking photos, and still PR'ing! After crossing the finish line and celebrating our accomplishments, we headed to receive our haul of bling. We each received our Disneyland Half Marathon medal, Dumbo Double Dare Challenge medal (for completing 10K on Saturday and Half Marathon on Sunday), and our Coast to Coast medal for completing a half marathon (or further) at Walt Disney World and half marathon at Disneyland in the same calendar year. Our bling was absolutely amazing! The half marathon medal was absolutely beautiful as it incorporated the 10th anniversary of the Disneyland Half Marathon along with the 60th anniversary of Disneyland. Thank you again to all of the runDisney staff, sponsors, volunteers, chEARleaders, and fellow runners for making this a truly magical weekend. I am always sad to see runDisney weekends come to a close because of all the wonderful memories and friendships that are made, but first we have one more night to celebrate in Disneyland!
2 Comments
9/14/2015 08:34:58 am
Disney races are always so much fun and you captured it well in all of your pics! Congrats on your accomplishment!
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
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
Archives
February 2020
|