Nothing inspires creativity in our house more than Disney. In case you didn’t know, we are seasoned Disney runners and travelers. Where does the creativity come in? Well, that’s easy….it’s the costumes. If you have ever wanted to run a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or a marathon for that matter, all while dressed as a princess or some other Disney character–You should definitely Run Disney! I started Running Disney races about 6 years ago. I started with the Inaugural Star Wars Dark Side run at Walt Disney World in 2016. It was my second ever 10K and honestly, I thought I was going to die. Then I decided to run the Half and let me tell you….I trained, but at mile 7, I had a temper tantrum breakdown. Funny and little known fact….I just had to pee. Once I did that, I was fine. Who knew.
My first 10K was the Charleston Bridge Run the year before. I ran with a bunch of friends and my sister. Of course, I walked most of it, but it was a start. And at the bridge run, it’s not really a costume optional run. I remember seeing a few people dressed to impress but most of us just wanted to finish.
When I decided to run a Disney 10K, I was far more prepared. I had my Princess Leia costume in all white, complete with buns. It paired perfectly with Naren’s Han Solo outfit. AND….I trained for it (which I had not really done for the Bridge Run) and it wasn’t too bad. Except at mile 7 coming out of Animal Kingdom. I had a full-on melt down and cried and talked of stopping. Turns out, I needed to pee. I hopped in the porta-potty at the underpass heading out of Animal Kingdom and came out a brand new person ready to finish. Weird, right?
Since then, I have run many times as many different princesses–Cinderella, Tangled, Princess Leia hologram, Ahsoka Tano, and Daisy Duck. I’m sure there are more, but I honestly can’t remember. I have run the princess Half twice, but I was Cinderella both times. Even got engaged at the castle in the middle of the run.
I was going to run my last race at the Star Wars Run Disney weekend in 2020, but we all know what happened in 2020—NOTHING. NOTHING happened and we all stayed home. So I retired at the Wine and Dine of 2019. I am happily retired from running but I still love to go to the races and chase the race.
This year, my husband is running his 3rd Dopey. I have found people think the Dopey is what they call the marathon. It’s not. The Dopey is when you go for marathon weekend and run ALL FOUR RACES in FOUR DAYS. Yep, you’ve gotta be Dopey to run that much. A 5K on Thursday morning, a 10K on Friday morning. Then a Half marathon on Saturday morning and a FULL (26 miles) Marathon on Sunday.
I am going to chase the race again. I did this last year and it was so much fun, but I didn’t make it back to the finish in time and I have yet to figure out how to beat him to the finish from Hollywood to Epcot. I just don’t think you can do it with Disney Transportation. I’m still going to try. We start in Epcot and take the monorail to Magic Kingdom. There’s plenty of road to be run to get you to MK in time to see your runner. It’s magical to be in the park when it’s empty and dark. I’m still working out my route, but I know this will be another fun year.
So, do I have FOMO from running? Yes. I do. I love these races. They put characters out you NEVER see. I have a photo somewhere of me with Jiminy Cricket. It’s so much fun and such a great way to love on that inner child of yours. Yet, my knees said we are not young and so, I go and cheer and support the runners and ring my cowbell (yes, Sam, I got a cowbell).
We will see you on the other side!
xoxo,
0 comments on “Running Disney”