Collecting Castles and Sipping round the world - a WDW half marathon adventure

[Caitlyn Allen]

Count me in on your journey!
Hope your race went well, hoping to do my first one next year!!

 

[Neon Cactus]

Love the Tiki Room costume. I stayed at Art of Animation for the 2016 marathon and those Little Mermaid hotel rooms are a hike, which is why I went with Pop Century this time. But I did love their rooms and the overall layout of the hotel. I haven't been to Skippers Canteen yet, so I'm looking forward to trying it.

 

[JulieODC]

Joining in! Great start!

How cool that your Dad was at WDW on day 7!

I’ve never been to skipper canteen - it looks tasty

 

[ZellyB]

Fantastic first day!! You really got a workout though the day before your race. The magic of runDisney races, right? LOL

We also tried Skipper Canteen this trip and I thought it was pretty tasty as well. I didn't know there was some secret room to eat in, we were right in the main section as you come in.

And, I've said it before but will say it again, that Tiki outfit is awesome!

 

[run.minnie.miles]

I love that you were able to take this trip with your Dad- what a great first day!

 

[Ariel484]

Yay, so excited to read this! I love that roxydad went to the MK on the 7th day it was open, that is awesome! Also love that pic of him, roxymama's mama and roxy kiddo.

Looking forward to reading about the half...hope you have lots of pics in your outfit, as it is perfection.

 

[TCB in FLA]

Loving your report so far! I’m a Tiki Room fan as well and LOVE the half outfit!

 

[roxymama]

I am here for this report and excited to hear all about the adventures of the roxy father-daughter trip. Already sounds like you're off to a good start!

Yay! I wish I had more time over the race weekend to come find you and hang out. I've started your journal recaps and that club level sounds amazing!!!

Yay for your trip report!

Totally get why you asked all those questions about Minnie Vans now! Sounds like a successful expo visit and a nice start to the trip at the Magic Kingdom!

The Minnie vans were a lifesaver on several occasions. Spoiler that they are addicting and we used them more than once. But I also had a built in budget to use them

Yay, I'm here!

Love the Tiki Bird outfit!!! I liked your post on Instagram in case you were wondering who the strange "Sharon" is.

Haha, now I know who "Strange Sharon" is!

Love the outfit! It's pretty great you got to spend this time with your dad!

I agree, it was a good bonding trip.

Following along!!!

Thanks!

Count me in on your journey!
Hope your race went well, hoping to do my first one next year!!

I'm excited that you are thinking about doing a rundisney race. Which race are you looking at now? There's so many I still want to try.

Love the Tiki Room costume. I stayed at Art of Animation for the 2016 marathon and those Little Mermaid hotel rooms are a hike, which is why I went with Pop Century this time. But I did love their rooms and the overall layout of the hotel. I haven't been to Skippers Canteen yet, so I'm looking forward to trying it.

So Pop isn't quite as spread out? That's good to know!
I had requested "as close to transportation" as possible and building 9 (since I got advise about that on the AOA thread here.) I got my building, but still a long trek.

Joining in! Great start!

How cool that your Dad was at WDW on day 7!

I’ve never been to skipper canteen - it looks tasty

It is really cool that he went there so close to opening. Would love to time travel back to be a fly on the wall for one day.

Fantastic first day!! You really got a workout though the day before your race. The magic of runDisney races, right? LOL

We also tried Skipper Canteen this trip and I thought it was pretty tasty as well. I didn't know there was some secret room to eat in, we were right in the main section as you come in.

And, I've said it before but will say it again, that Tiki outfit is awesome!

Yeah, we probably walked around more than we should have that day. But it's hard not to want to do everything once you get to disney.

There's also a parrot chandelier room next to the library room, but it's got a normal door and not a secret book shelf door.

Thanks RE the outfit. Still have never seen another Tiki bird run costume yet.

I love that you were able to take this trip with your Dad- what a great first day!

Me too!!!

Yay, so excited to read this! I love that roxydad went to the MK on the 7th day it was open, that is awesome! Also love that pic of him, roxymama's mama and roxy kiddo.

Looking forward to reading about the half...hope you have lots of pics in your outfit, as it is perfection.

I know, I love that pic of them. She was taking them to small world for the third time or so.
Half report coming shortly (I know I've said that before.)

Loving your report so far! I’m a Tiki Room fan as well and LOVE the half outfit!

Yay Tiki Room enthusiasts unite!

 

[Caitlyn Allen]

I'm excited that you are thinking about doing a rundisney race. Which race are you looking at now? There's so many I still want to try.

Well my granparents rent a house in Orlando every February so I was hoping to be in shape enough to do the Princess next February!

 

[iivye]

Following along, I love that your dad was your trip buddy!

 

[roxymama]

Well my granparents rent a house in Orlando every February so I was hoping to be in shape enough to do the Princess next February!

That sounds like a perfect scenario and you have so much time between now and then that you definitely can be ready. I have a link to my journal in my signature. The first year of that journal was me deciding to start running because I wanted to do a disney 5k that following year and what I went through during that time. If you need some inspiration

 

[girliea]

I'm here--late but present!
Loving all of these TRs from Marathon Weekend! Can't wait to see all your pics and love your race attire.
And how awesome, a Daddy/Daughter trip! I know your mom is just smiling on both of you!

 

[jennamfeo]

Sounds like a perfect first day to me! Can't wait to read about the HM.

 

[roxymama]

Sorry for the delay y'all. The polar vortex is over in Chicago (hopefully) and I'm back to my normal routine (hopefully.)


WDW Half Marathon Race Recap - Oh Boy! Every mile is magic!

Looking back at previous rundisney races I’ve don’t know that I’ve ever woken up this early before. I think (and I could be wrong) that the 5ks I’ve run I started later (or just took later busses) and the DL race I did I literally walked from my hotel to the corral. (Can’t wait for DL races to come back if ever!)

So when I set my alarm for 2:30am knowing I should try to leave my hotel room by 3am...I felt a little nuts. At least I knew it would be worth it. Well, hopefully!

If I gave my sleep for that night a grade I’d say a B-, which for me is actually pretty good pre-race. I tend to sleep better one or two nights before and like absolute garbage race day. I woke up 10 min prior to my alarm. The night before I set everything out because 2:30am brain is not my best brain and if my gels/earbuds/Mickey band/etc aren’t out in my face I’m gonna forget them.
The AOA rooms have a curtain between bathroom and room which helped me try not to wake my dad.



Successful getting ready! Took care of business (if you are a runner you know what that means and why it’s a relief. If not, just move along!!)
My dad woke up as I was pinning on my bib so I felt kinda bad. He said not to worry as he was gonna go back to bed after wishing me lots of luck. We’d already decided I’d see him back at the hotel and he was free to do “whatever you want” in the morning

Walked to the bus and one was leaving as I walked up. Doh. But I soon realized two more were lined up right behind it. Shortest race bus wait I’ve ever had. At wine n dine 2017 5k I sat on bus for 30 min waiting for it to fill. This was better.

Arrived at the Epcot parking lot. And got a text that my friend AD was on her bus. Texted some disboard people but seemed like I was first to arrive. The races usually have characters out to line up for pre-race (and usually after too.). But I’ve never done a pre-race meet. I saw Dopey and Goofy meeting. The line got Dopey was long (understandable since there’s a challenge where if you run 5k, 10k, half, and full the give you a Dopey medal.) Goofy line was shorter and although I wasn’t doing his challenge (half + full) I couldn’t pass him up. Took me 15 min or so. Cast member photographers started singing Tiki birds at me and Goofy acted like a bird...so that was the dream. I realized my costume was very specific and not a normal theme.

So glad I stopped. Didn’t realize Donald and Mickey were also out but their lines were nuts by the time I noticed.



I got a text as I was almost to the Goof that AD had made it to the pre-race area. We found each other easily. Hadn’t seen her for a year or more so it was really a nice moment. She moved from Chicago years ago but we still see each other when she comes back to see family.

We used the porta potties and were loitering near gear check waiting for them to say corrals were open. I noticed some familiar faces from the dis and said “ok I’m gonna say hi to some people but if it’s not who I think it is this I’m gonna seem crazy”
Luckily two of the group were mouseketeers with their names on their shirts. Thank you @jennamfeo and @Bree for being easily indentifiable otherwise I may have chickened out!!!

We had no idea where the corrals were. Eventually we just followed people and figured it out. Was a .5 mile walk or so but honestly I didn’t mind. We’d been standing for so long it was nice to move. Corral A-F were on right and then G-H on left. The corrals must have been open for awhile because it was like “Oh here are all the people!!!” I had one cast member yell “wrong way to me” because I had a C bib but I said “I’m with her” and they laughed and said “come on in”

We were somewhere in the mid or mid back of G and just moved up until we hit a wall of people and we sat down.

Us in the corral! That’s Fritz, my parrot. I hoped he’d run the whole race with me but I wasn’t so sure. I was gonna try to keep him with me though



So the wait to start was long. I honestly think it had less to do with time passing and more to with my bladder deciding to bug me. I think maybe I didn’t time my pre race Powerade appropriately! Bless AD who gave me the rundown on all bathroom options she remembered from her previous marathon. My fave quote “the bathrooms in the parks are open but they will be destroyed bc runners are animals!”
Foreshadowing!

Soon enough (ok not really soon enough...I had to pee!) we were walking to the start line. The host was screeching at us about Mylar blankets. Thank goodness for cutie pie Donald who started us with a Ready, Set, Go! At least that’s what I thought he said.

We’d never ran together before and we’d been talking nonstop all morning so I wasn’t sure how it would go. But we started talking again the moment we crossed the start line. And I don’t think we stopped talking until the last .1 miles of the race. Whether people around us liked that or not, haha. Most people wear earbuds anyways.

The roads weren’t too congested for the beginning miles because the course was fairly wide here. There’s was a big range of paces though and so we kind of hung to the left and whoever was closest to a “window” or “pocket” would run through and the other would follow behind. I didn’t look at my watch barely at all the whole race but we definitely were at a manageable long run type pace. It was still really dark out and was fun seeing the lead runners and wheelchair athletes coming down mile 11 or so. We joked about the porta potties on that side not having lines but no way was I going to cross over there to use them.

I think the first character stop was pirates and we decided “why not”. After all I had a parrot. Maybe 10 minutes added on. I had no idea who the lady pirate was but AD guessed Penelope Cruz.



We passed by a few picture stops like Cars and Wreck it Ralph. The lines were pretty long. But it was still fun to see them. It felt like we got through the first 5k in no time but it was actually 41 minutes. Which considering the pic stop wasn’t too bad.

Now begin my bladder’s reminder that it still existed. I really wanted to hold out until inside the magic kingdom so that I could use an indoor bathroom. Although I had to go real bad I still drank water and Powerade at every aid station.

As we got past the TTC (line was way too long for those bathrooms) I finally couldn’t take it anymore and we stopped to wait for porta potties which felt like it took forever. But it probably wasn’t that long. I realized in line that I was well past my normal 45 min timing to eat gel for fuel. I grabbed a lime gel from my shorts pocket and ripped it open and started consuming it when a bunch of people exited the potties and now I was trying to slurp it down as I went inside. And the HORROR. Something bad had happened in that potty. I cant think about it without having severe flashbacks. I nearly threw up my gel from the smell. And it took my bladder forever to empty. I was holding my nose and trying to wrestle my shorts back on while holding my parrot under my chin. It was torture. I explained to my friend and she replied “I told you that runners are animals”.

Thus began our Every Mile is Magic line of jokes that continued for the rest of the course. I actually forgot to eat another gel the whole race despite having many of them shoved in my pockets. Lesson learned that when I talk I don’t pay attention.
Also I will never eat a lime gel again for fear of flashbacks!

I forgot to mention that we started imitating characters in the corral to bide time and it certainly started back up. We were cracking each other up...but I can’t even remember what we were saying. Lots of Oh Boys and Hot Dogs followed by innapropriateness.

We made it to the magic kingdom and it was a rush to have spectators out cheering for us. It definitely was a bit more congested now due to the course narrowing. We definitely had moments of just almost walk jogging until we found more room. And sometimes just straight up walking. We weren’t too stressed or worried about that because we were having fun and not gunning for any kind of perfect race or pace.

Running down Main Street was great. The sun was pretty much all the way up at least a mile prior to getting to the park. Although the castle lights weren’t on by now, the blue sky made for a pretty view. I may have gotten misty.

The course took us through Tomorrowland (loved running across the bridge into Tomorrowland with the futuristic music playing) and past the tea cups into fantasyland. I asked if AD wanted to stop for the white rabbit but she wanted to keep moving instead of stopping too much. I’ll have to get a pic with him on a future go round. The lines were pretty intense looking all around.

AD had told me that during her marathon you couldn’t really run through the castle because of the wall of people. I was worried about that happening since running through the Disneyland castle was a life highlight and I wanted to experience the same thing in Florida. Luckily, although it was crowded and I think we did have to walk while inside the castle tunnel for a bit we were able to get a window to really run through the exit of the castle arch. But we were like 6 across and right up against all the people in front of us and there were zero photographers out. So no “ happy running through” pic. However there were 5 or 6 lines of people in front of the castle to take a pic and I said “ we have to stop for this”

I found the shortest line which was the farthest away and it paid off because we got a great pic. Photographer did a nice job of not included the 5 or 6 other people all lined up next to us. If you squint you can see lil runners going through the castle



There was a pretty epic line for woody and bullseye. Another one I would have stopped for if it wasn’t so intensely long looking. After exiting the park we began “cone alley”. A single lane in close quarters. I’d been warned by my coach and others that it gets pretty congested compared to the beginning. And that is very true. All in all I think we did a nice job of finding little holes to run through and being patient and not being annoying about it. If AD found a hole and I didn’t I would just walk or jog behind people until found a hike and then catch up to her and vice versa. We passed a lot of this time trying to find “underrated” Disney costumes. Dark wing duck, blue fairy, steamboat Willy, kingdom hearts guy, etc. And were effusive in our shout outs to people we liked. Somewhere near mile 7 we saw the chipmunks in tuxedos and that made me want to stop and then I saw Clarice was with them and I’d only ever saw her in blogs about Tokyo Disney. I was also kinda needing a break from the congested cone alley jockeying. AD thought a break here would be fine so we stopped. And then about 10 min into waiting the chipmunks went on a break DOH!!! I knew they’d be back quickly but they had a long way to walk (or sashay in Clarice’s case.). So it took what seemed like forever for then to walk back too. But at least I got this amazing picture out of it!!


It was finally time to get our pic. I think 23 min later. The character handler kept telling people “don’t pick up the acorns” which made us really want to pick up the acorns!!!



Now the big test...would we be up to running now after stopping for so long. The first few minutes were a little dodgey but the ole legs bounced back. I don’t remember a ton of characters after that other than Donald and Daisy. But we weren’t thinking we wanted another epic line. They were super cute though in vacation clothes. If any ducktale member was out my friend would have waited an hour

Cone alley selfie! Notice her glowing tinkerbell that she begged (I mean asked) for.



The miles 8 through 12 are honestly kind of blurred together in my brain. My parrot started molting his feathers. I wondered if he’d be bald by the finish line. I started holding him around the neck which in hindsight must have looked a little sinister. We played Marco Polo with bored runners on the highway miles. There was a good few minutes of dog puns with guys in Dalmatian costumes. I was particularly proud when no one was laughing properly to say “cmon throw us a bone”. There were two women of a senior age that passed us and there was playful banter about us passing them but we knew they were going to beat us and we hoped they would.

At the sports beans table I grabbed one full pack and emptied it all into my mouth. As I was trying to chew them I just looked at AD and said “why’d I do that??”

There was now a lot more sun and a lot more of us running on the very edge of the road or on the grass. We just didn’t have much room to run anymore unless we did that. We also wanted to avoid the bank in the ramps so ran at the very tops.

But honestly we were both pretty proud of how well we were doing pace wise considering everything. We danced every time we went past a DJ. We hollered at cars stuck in traffic. We just were generally having a good time. My knee started getting weirdly twingey about mile 11 or so. I took my time at the water tables and would catch up. Took one walk break close to the end where the last characters were (clarabelle but I got a pic with her at wine n dine)
But despite the knee getting a bit angry I felt pretty comfortable from a cardio standpoint. I knew we were gonna be at about 3 hours. We ran at a pretty good clip once we crossed into the “on stage” part of Epcot and one of us yelled “every last .1 mile is magic” Got to experience the choir at mile 13 for the first time. They were singing a queen song and it got me. I smiled and cried to the finish! (See next post for more finish and on course pics!!!)

Overall I think we did pretty great. I’ve never talked a whole race. And I didn’t fuel right. My bathroom strategy was not great. And we definitely didn’t run a consistent pace. But I had a ton of fun and really enjoyed running together. We plan to do another one once we both reload the vacation finances.

Final time was 3:06. My slowest half but I’ve only ran a handful so it’s a small sample size. And I think we both had it in us to do even better save for that chipmunk line

I still want to know what would have happened if we picked up those acorns!!!



Next up, more race pics. Then I’ll recap breakfast and animal kingdom followed by late night at MK! Spoiler alert...my total mileage for the day was 24.97 miles!!!

 

[AuntieBean]

We had turkey sandwiches for our lunch before we went to the race expo at Disneyland for your first half marathon! That was the thanksgiving on a bun kinda sandwich at Earl of Sandwich I think... There just must be something about a pre-expo turkey sandwich that hits the spot!

 

[roxymama]

We had turkey sandwiches for our lunch before we went to the race expo at Disneyland for your first half marathon! That was the thanksgiving on a bun kinda sandwich at Earl of Sandwich I think... There just must be something about a pre-expo turkey sandwich that hits the spot!

I totally forgot about that! Tradition!

 

[roxymama]

More Pics! Thank you to @Dis_Yoda for the pic access and to @Princess KP for offering too!!!

I think I look particularly lovely in my White Rabbit and Ducks photo, haha. (no this was not a bib bandit, I just think he was 42001 and we have photo cart mix up going on.)

 

[Ariel484]

GAH that picture with Clarice kills me! What a great character stop!!

Great pics of you ladies and whoever that dude is...that 1 really does look a lot like a 7!

 

[roxymama]

GAH that picture with Clarice kills me! What a great character stop!!

Yeah, I was so excited! Don't think I would have endured the 23 minutes and 58 seconds for many other characters. And that includes just waiting for one on a normal park day.

 

[TheHamm]

Yeah, I was so excited! Don't think I would have endured the 23 minutes and 58 seconds for many other characters. And that includes just waiting for one on a normal park day.

Oh, good! We all lost 20+ minutes. I had no idea how long this stop would take!