COMPLETE- "We're Never Coming Back!...Until October" FEB '14 Princess Half Marathon

[emilyindisney]

Those 'Ohana pics look amazing!

That is a great fireworks viewing spot! Your pictures came out great.

Thanks, Courtney!

I'm so hungry now after looking through your O'hana update!

I love the spot you picked out for Wishes! Isn't it awesome how Wishes can give you a completely different feel when you pick a different backdrop? Or should I say foreground? For the past couple of trips (as you saw on my TRs) I've been motivated to experience Wishes from new locations. Great update!

Yes, totally! What a new experience! Speaking of your Wishes adventures- I've been voting for Rapunzel's Wishes in the DIS photo contest. Good luck!!

LOVE those shots of the fireworks over the train station! That is a vantage point I have never seen them and will consider now! Love it!

Definitely a good spot to beat the crowds, or if you're not going in the park like us!

 

[emilyindisney]

Enchanted 10k part one

Today was early morning number two, and the first official race of the Glass Slipper Challenge! A little background- the Glass Slipper Challenge was brand new to this year’s Princess Half Marathon weekend festivities. It is a distance, multi-race challenge that consists of a 10k and a half marathon back to back. As long as you finish both, you get a special race medal to commemorate your achievement. This year Disney sold only 6,000 entries to the Glass Slipper Challenge and 19,000 entries for the Half Marathon (totally 25,000 runners!)

The alarm went off at 3:15 and we got ready. We’d laid out our costumes the night before but it definitely took a little more time than I was hoping to get ourselves situated, decide what running gadgets we wanted to carry with us, get breakfast made (oatmeal and a bagel with peanut butter for the road) and get out the door.

While we were waiting in line for a bus, we took some pictures of our costumes!


P1020104 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr


P1020105 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr


P1020106 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

I decided I wanted to utilize my mouse ears and run as Minnie, so Caitlin decided it was only fitting that Minnie be joined by her best pal Daisy!

The race weekend program said that runners had to be on transportation by 4am, so we headed out to the bus stop at 3:45, and were slightly concerned to find a fairly long line there. One bus came and went, and we moved further up and line, and continued to wait….and wait….and wait. There was no sign of another bus, and it was now going 4am. Thankfully, we had a very concerned bus attendant who called multiple times, and a new bus finally showed up around 4:15, and we hopped on and were on our way to Epcot! The 10k had the same amount of total runners at the 5k so the start/finish line and the corrals were set up the same as yesterday morning. It was definitely more humid today so we drank a lot of water and powerade on our way over. We made our way around by the DJ and decided to head right over through the security check to the corrals. The wait for the bus actually timed things our perfectly for us. We had enough time to sit down and eat breakfast, and stop for some more pictures to post on facebook and send to our friends. We headed into corral A and made our way towards the front of the corral. Our goal was to get moving down the course and hopefully get ahead of some of the crowds, then stop for character pictures later in the course, lines permitting.


IMG_2307 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr


IMG_0340 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Soon we were moving up into the start gate. It was nice to heading in this direction and getting ready to start with much less of a wait than yesterday (another perk of corral A!)

Jeff Galloway, dressed as Mickey, came on stage to wish us luck before he joined the corral.


IMG_0343 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Next came Fairy Godmother who brought her magic wand and pixie dust to count us down!


IMG_0344 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Finally, we were off!


IMG_0345 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr​

 

[emilyindisney]

Enchanted 10k part two


10K WDW by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

The 10k course was the same one Disney used in January for marathon weekend. I’d read that the first three miles were kind of boring, but the last three were great. After running, I agree!

We started off by running out of the parking lot and exiting the Epcot gates. The first entertainment on the course was the Queen of Arundel herself! Elsa was on an overpass sending us some snow, and wishing us luck as we ran under. Maybe it was some real Disney magic, because I swear it actually felt cooler under that overpass than on the road before and after it!


P1020107 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

After that we ran down the highway to a turn around where the Alice and the White Rabbit were posing for pictures but we didn’t stop. Somewhere along this portion of the course, we spotted a great Gaston costume, and told him “Nobody runs 10k like Gaston!” He liked that. At this point we started to look for a bathroom stop. We stopped first at one porta-potty with a line that wasn’t really moving. Mini rant: if you are using an in demand bathroom-at a race, concert, sporting event, ect-PLEASE try your hardest to be in and out quickly! I know that some people will need to take longer than others for whatever personal reasons they may have, but I have never seen a portapotty line move as slow as this one! #endrant We decided to keep running for the next one, which was a group of ten that we got through much quicker! There were some very nice volunteers directing runners to which units were empty-very helpful! Running is much more comfortable when you don’t have to go.

As we got back on the road there was music and big video screens up along the course that were a fun pump up.


P1020108 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr


P1020111 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

As we turned off of Epcot Center Drive, we hit the halfway point! We commemorated this by singing Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Pray (which none of our fellow runners seemed amused by!) Side note-anybody else finding themselves singing “woooaaaahhhh, we’re halfway there!!” at the midpoint of any run?

Now we took a turn through backstage Epcot and linked up with part of the 5k course we were on yesterday.


P1020112 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Here we saw the toy solider from the Disney Christmas parade/specials out. We decided if it was the reindeer we would have stopped, but seeing as they weren’t out we kept going.

We entered World Showcase between Norway and China. As we passed Germany, we stopped for a picture with Snow White (even if she was looking a little green!)


P1020113 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

In Italy we made our first character stop for Jiminy Cricket! Just as we got in line he needed to take a quick break so we asked someone to snap our picture while we waited.


P1020115 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Once he was back we got a picture and were on our way.


P1020116 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr​

 

[emilyindisney]

Enchanted 10k part 3
Mile four! Tangled, Flynn, and Maximus are all my FAVORITES so I was super excited to see this sign!


P1020117 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Mile four was across from the American Adventure where Tiana, Naveen and Louis were greeting. Their line was a little long so we kept moving and ended up stopping for Marie in France instead!


P1020118 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

We ran out the International Gateway and started the loop by the Boardwalk! Baseball Goofy was out by ESPN so we stopped to meet him next.


P1020119 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

We were hoping to see MJ out on the Boardwalk but couldn’t find her. (When we caught back up with her later, we determined that she must have just missed us- oh well!) There were a handful of spectators out on the boardwalk and their support was greatly appreciated. I especially liked the guy who had a sign that said “You look hot when you sweat” and assured us that we did, indeed, look hot. Which kind of hot, well, I’m not really sure We crossed the bridge by the Swan and Dolphin and stopped for a picture on the bridge!


P1020120 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Mile five was by the Beach Club. It was somewhere around here we saw a princess running in a full length gown- you go, girl!


P1020121 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Next we were headed back towards Epcot through the backstage portion. We got a little too caught up in the excitement during the boardwalk loop and accidentally picked up the pace so I started to suck wind a little here. Luckily, when we got into Future World Donald was out so that gave me a minute to catch my breath.


P1020123 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Donald was happy to see his best girl was out for a run! We passed Spaceship Earth and passed through a quick backstage portion on our way to the parking lot where we hit mile six.


P1020124 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Finally in the homestretch, we sprinted when we hit the grandstand!

We finished in 1:10:48, just over 15 minutes over my PR. I was very happy with this pace because we stopped for quite a few pictures which took time, and we had been trying to take it relatively easy since we still had the half marathon ahead of us. Also, we finished about 2 minutes ahead of Jeff Galloway, so we patted ourselves on the back for beating an Olympian at his own best distance!

We kept moving and grabbed our medals.


100_7254 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Even though this medals were heavier than the ones we got yesterday they were gorgeous! We passed a lot of runners complaining about the humidity but we didn’t care- we didn’t mind being sweating as long as it wasn’t snowing. One woman actually told me she would have preferred if it was snowing. I told her that clearly she wasn’t from New England….


P1020125 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

We grabbed our food boxes (same as yesterday), our 10k finisher bands (for proof that we’d finished to earn our GSC medal), and made our way to the bus pick up to meet up with MJ at the Boardwalk.


DSCN0021 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Final thoughts on this race- I LOVED this course! We were so excited to be running and just having a great time that I didn’t necessarily notice the first three miles being boring in terms of scenery. I was so surprised at how many short character lines we saw so it was definitely an unexpected treat to be able to stop so often. The 10k is one of my favorite distances so overall, this race was probably my favorite of the weekend.

I also loved this race and the course! I didn’t really mind the lack of entertainment for the first 3 miles, it gave me some time to warm up and get my legs moving before getting into the good part. I was also pleasantly surprised by the short lines for most characters, especially in the second half of the course. The crowds really thinned out after the first two miles and it didn’t feel congested at all, which was really nice. We would both highly recommend this race to runDisney newbies and veterans!​

 

[jdd]

Yay - love the 10K updates This was the race I ran, and I agree - thought it was great This was only my second race ever (did a local 5K last September) and I was blown away with how entertained I was. Even though I didn't stop for any pictures/character meets, I still had a really slow time due to my awe over everything...

I absolutely loved running through World Showcase with all the countries lit up and the torches going. The music was great through there too - and I'm pretty sure I just had a goofy smile on my face that whole time. Then my parents were out at the Boardwalk (that's where they stayed) and I was just so pumped up.

Somehow I completely missed mile marker 4 - and Tangled is my favorite too, so how did I miss that

Unfortunately, around mile 5 my calves just seized up and I had to walk a good bit of that last mile. I think it was a combination of walking too much the day before (between the airport, the expo and hitting both Epcot and MK, I think it was just too much) and over-hydrating. Yeah, I was really worried about the humidity and just kept drinking water....pretty sure I should have had some powerade/gatorade instead...live and learn!

I'm really hoping to be able to train and do the half next year. If I can't pull that off, I'm definitely doing the 10K again - it was a blast!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Looks like a blast! Can't wait to see how you feel doing the 1/2 after this race!

 

[disneyhorselover]

DSCN0021 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

This picture reminds me of one thing I don't think we mentioned....while I love all the stuff that runDisney gives you after a race (medals, food boxes, bananas, powerade, ect), it was really awkward to try and hold it all while getting through the post race area, on the bus, and back to the hotel room. Where are some of those extra gear check bags when I need them?! (Or something)

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

This picture reminds me of one thing I don't think we mentioned....while I love all the stuff that runDisney gives you after a race (medals, food boxes, bananas, powerade, ect), it was really awkward to try and hold it all while getting through the post race area, on the bus, and back to the hotel room. Where are some of those extra gear check bags when I need them?! (Or something)

Did you know that this year they gave out the bags AFTER the half, instead of at the Expo?!? I think it was genius, I heard people complaining that there were no bags this year and then there they were, right after the race and PERFECT for carrying all the stuff! I guess that doesn't help much at the 10K though?

I cannot wait to do the 10K next year! This looked great!

 

[JessM]

Great 10k recap!

I must have gotten on the bus right ahead of you guys at the Boardwalk because I only waited like 2mins, bummer but good to know for next year!

I loved corral A as well it was nice to get out there ahead of everyone, and being towards the front and seeing Jeff Galloway dressed as Mickey was awesome!

Loved Elsa, so cool!

I really liked the course too, even with the roads in the beginning, I didn't care, I loved it. The Boardwalk might have been my favorite part!

 

[annmarieda]

I loved your recap! I imagine Elsa was the coolest thing ever to see! It looks like you gals had an amazing time!

You are my new heroes! Not only did you have an amazing finish time but you stopped for characters!!!! I love the entertainment in course, but never stop for characters. If I could both finish with a decent pace and stop- I might be more inclined to do so. You gals did awesome!!!!

How many corrals were there? Being in A, did you see less congestion and do you think that helped with lines? I guess with just 6000 runners there probably wasn't too much crowding overall.

Oh! And your costumes were super cute!!! I can't do tutus (although I would love to). The two of you definitely looked like Minnie and Daisy

 

[jdd]

How many corrals were there? Being in A, did you see less congestion and do you think that helped with lines? I guess with just 6000 runners there probably wasn't too much crowding overall.

Not the OP, but I ran - there were 5 corrals (A thru E). I was in C, and can't say we had too much congestion after the first mile or so. Although in my pictures it does seem like there are a lot of people around me, I never felt "crowded". And I think there were just 6,000 that were part of the Glass Slipper Challenge. I want to say there were more like 9,000-10,000 overall runners

 

[Enchanted]

Following along and absolutely LOVING your TR, ladies. I've never kept up with a TR that shows any of the races Disney hosts, but I've always heard they're amazing. I'm a newbie to running, but I would LOVE to take part in the Princess races. Your tutus and tiaras? So cute!!!!!!

Can't wait for more!!!

 

[emilyindisney]

Yay - love the 10K updates This was the race I ran, and I agree - thought it was great This was only my second race ever (did a local 5K last September) and I was blown away with how entertained I was. Even though I didn't stop for any pictures/character meets, I still had a really slow time due to my awe over everything...

Even the beginning of the course on the highway was entertaining between the characters and music, I thought!

I absolutely loved running through World Showcase with all the countries lit up and the torches going. The music was great through there too - and I'm pretty sure I just had a goofy smile on my face that whole time. Then my parents were out at the Boardwalk (that's where they stayed) and I was just so pumped up.

Thinking back, I can't remember any music in World Showcase- what was playing?

Somehow I completely missed mile marker 4 - and Tangled is my favorite too, so how did I miss that

Unfortunately, around mile 5 my calves just seized up and I had to walk a good bit of that last mile. I think it was a combination of walking too much the day before (between the airport, the expo and hitting both Epcot and MK, I think it was just too much) and over-hydrating. Yeah, I was really worried about the humidity and just kept drinking water....pretty sure I should have had some powerade/gatorade instead...live and learn!

I'm really hoping to be able to train and do the half next year. If I can't pull that off, I'm definitely doing the 10K again - it was a blast!

Glad to hear you had a good time, too!

Looks like a blast! Can't wait to see how you feel doing the 1/2 after this race!

This race was great!! My favorite of the weekend!

Did you know that this year they gave out the bags AFTER the half, instead of at the Expo?!? I think it was genius, I heard people complaining that there were no bags this year and then there they were, right after the race and PERFECT for carrying all the stuff! I guess that doesn't help much at the 10K though?

I cannot wait to do the 10K next year! This looked great!

I didn't realize that until after the 10k when I was poking around on the DIS princess half thread and other people were wondering where the bags were. By the half I was sick having all that stuff dumped on me so having the bag then was PERFECT!

 

[emilyindisney]

Great 10k recap!

I must have gotten on the bus right ahead of you guys at the Boardwalk because I only waited like 2mins, bummer but good to know for next year!

I loved corral A as well it was nice to get out there ahead of everyone, and being towards the front and seeing Jeff Galloway dressed as Mickey was awesome!

Gosh- we were practically bumping elbows that morning, haha!

Loved Elsa, so cool!

Me too! I thought that was a really good way to give us a glimpse of her without making a crazy, crowded, picture stop!

I really liked the course too, even with the roads in the beginning, I didn't care, I loved it. The Boardwalk might have been my favorite part!

Ditto!

I loved your recap! I imagine Elsa was the coolest thing ever to see! It looks like you gals had an amazing time!

You are my new heroes! Not only did you have an amazing finish time but you stopped for characters!!!! I love the entertainment in course, but never stop for characters. If I could both finish with a decent pace and stop- I might be more inclined to do so. You gals did awesome!!!!

Thanks!!

How many corrals were there? Being in A, did you see less congestion and do you think that helped with lines? I guess with just 6000 runners there probably wasn't too much crowding overall.

As someone else chimed in there were 5 corrals and 10,000 runners. We saw very minimal congestion in A...I actually can't think of seeing any (aside from the short rush at the very beginning which I think is pretty race standard.)

Oh! And your costumes were super cute!!! I can't do tutus (although I would love to). The two of you definitely looked like Minnie and Daisy

Thanks! I loved running in the tutu- watching it bouncing on my shadow was funny, and I even busted out a few ballet-esque moves, haha!

Following along and absolutely LOVING your TR, ladies. I've never kept up with a TR that shows any of the races Disney hosts, but I've always heard they're amazing. I'm a newbie to running, but I would LOVE to take part in the Princess races. Your tutus and tiaras? So cute!!!!!!

Can't wait for more!!!

Welcome!! Thanks- the tutus were homemade and super easy!

 

[emilyindisney]

Not the OP, but I ran - there were 5 corrals (A thru E). I was in C, and can't say we had too much congestion after the first mile or so. Although in my pictures it does seem like there are a lot of people around me, I never felt "crowded". And I think there were just 6,000 that were part of the Glass Slipper Challenge. I want to say there were more like 9,000-10,000 overall runners

I'm glad to hear you had a good race congestion-wise too! I was worried about that going into the weekend because the races were so popular so it was a pleasant surprise for sure!

 

[emilyindisney]

The resort touring saga continues

When we got back to the Boardwalk, MJ greeted us at the bus stop with muffins and OJ! We cleaned up, snacked on these and got dressed all to leave the room by a little after 9. Our ultimate destination was brunch at Cape May Cafe but we were planning on stops at the Yacht Club and the Beach Club on the way.

We walked out to the Yacht Club light house first to get a good look at the Boardwalk from the other side and stop for some nice mother/daughter pictures.


100_7175 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr


100_7177 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr


100_7178 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr


100_7179 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

We bounced into the YC lobby to look in the pin book and found we were not fans (of the resort, I mean. ) It was definitely upscale, but kind of dark and stuffy for our tastes. We ventured on, eager to show MJ Stormalong Bay and get a better look ourselves.

We were wandering around from the outside when the lifeguard by the gate offered to let us walk around inside. I suppose because we were fully clothed (and didn’t look like we were wearing bathing suits underneath) they didn’t care we weren’t resort guests.

So here, my friends, is the famed SAB-


100_7180 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Here you can sort of see the sand bottom:


100_7181 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

A volleyball play area!


100_7182 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

The boy in the bottom corner is in the whirlpool/spinning area.


100_7183 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

I don’t know what you guys think but I was a little underwhelmed. First off, it was very spread off and had a segmented off feel. I could see where parents might worry about keeping an eye on their kids in here. Plus, it was sort of a grey day which didn’t put me in a swimming/pool mood at all.

Next we visited the BC lobby and checked out their pin book. Still no trades, but we like looking! The CM was really knowledge about the pins and what came from what sets so that made it interesting.

It was about 10:30 so we decided to check in early for our brunch at Cape May!

While we waited, we hung around the lobby and took some pictures.


DSCN0027 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

The queen in her throne!


DSCN0029 by secondaryhoney, on Flickr

Finally, by 11:00 our buzzer went off which was a welcome sight seeing as we were starving!​

 

[annmarieda]

Not the OP, but I ran - there were 5 corrals (A thru E). I was in C, and can't say we had too much congestion after the first mile or so. Although in my pictures it does seem like there are a lot of people around me, I never felt "crowded". And I think there were just 6,000 that were part of the Glass Slipper Challenge. I want to say there were more like 9,000-10,000 overall runners

Got ya. That is a lot of runners. I wonder if there were not a lot of people in those first few corrals. Like at the donald... the corral I was in up to the front wasn't even as many people as were in my dh's corral alone.

As someone else chimed in there were 5 corrals and 10,000 runners. We saw very minimal congestion in A...I actually can't think of seeing any (aside from the short rush at the very beginning which I think is pretty race standard.)

I think no matter what the race...there is often crowding at the very start. I think it is unavoidable.

Thanks! I loved running in the tutu- watching it bouncing on my shadow was funny, and I even busted out a few ballet-esque moves, haha!

You are so lean... I think a tutu fits your body style. You make them look good. Me... not so much.


You got some great shots of you ladies! I am actually a fan of YC and the pool, but you are right...it is a large pool area that seems so segmented. Maybe because it is also for BC?

I can't wait to hear about brunch. With Kouzzina closing, I am on the hunt for a new post race breakfast/brunch!

 

[jdd]

Thinking back, I can't remember any music in World Showcase- what was playing?

I know there was music blasting the whole time, but the one I remember was "Someday my Prince will come!" I thought that was so appropriate for a princess race

 

[courtneybelle]

The 10K looks awesome! I love the mile signs with Disney characters.

AHH JIMINY CRICKET! So jealous, that's an awesome character meet.

That medal is absolutely stunning!

I haven't really explored Yacht Club, but the rooms are gorgeous from pictures I've seen. I do think Beach Club has a more fun feel, though, and that's my mom's dream resort so I hope to stay there one day.

 

[emilyindisney]

I know there was music blasting the whole time, but the one I remember was "Someday my Prince will come!" I thought that was so appropriate for a princess race

Hmmm...now that you say that it sounds sort of familiar!

The 10K looks awesome! I love the mile signs with Disney characters.

AHH JIMINY CRICKET! So jealous, that's an awesome character meet.

That medal is absolutely stunning!

I haven't really explored Yacht Club, but the rooms are gorgeous from pictures I've seen. I do think Beach Club has a more fun feel, though, and that's my mom's dream resort so I hope to stay there one day.

I agree- the picturs of the YC rooms do seem gorgeous. I think that's why I was surprised to see the lobby looked so different (and darker) than the rooms do!