Hunny even my socks smell like Disney! ~ "relaxing" Sept 2010 trip!1/24/11 RACE TIME!

[Nermel9]

OMG I love the DHS part of the race! I want to do this race just to run through DHS at night, it looks so awesome! I loved the Osborne Lights video, that's so cool that they kept them on for you guys!

Can't wait to read about the finish line!

 

[taymacsmom]

p.s. I see youre from CT!! I grew up in Western Mass. - Springfield area...miss it up there!!

My best friend grew up in Springfield and now lives in Holyoke. you wouldn't want to be here now. We are expecting 1 to 2 feet of snow overnight tonight!

 

[Shannon84]

Wow, this race sounds brutal. I like Lee's psychological ploy to keep you going!

I'm proud of you for keeping it going! I would have given up much sooner to wander as much of the backstage areas as I could.

He had a ticket to the finish line party, which meant World Showcase was open...and he kept waiting at the runners entrance area for me, how sweet. If I were him I would have been having a margarita and exploring

I wish I could see backstage at MK....but I have worked at DHS and EPCOT so Ive already seen those (and been lost backstage too) ...they are creepy at night

I'm loving your race update so far! It seems like a really fun/cool run (except that stretch between AK and DHS. I definitely want to try this race now! I LOVED the half during Marathon weekend that I just ran and i think I'm addicted now...

Your shirt is so cute! Oh, and i can't believe your DBF told you the sweepers were behind you

It was a lot of fun running at night...I think a large number of people over did it by trying to fit stuff in during the day and ended up getting sick or fatigued...my day being lazy around POP! worked out perfect

I am loving reading your report too...everyone has a different experience with races so its fun to hear

OMG I love the DHS part of the race! I want to do this race just to run through DHS at night, it looks so awesome! I loved the Osborne Lights video, that's so cool that they kept them on for you guys!

Can't wait to read about the finish line!

I LOVED running through the lights, it was empty and magical!! Also seeing yourself run by on the large LMA stunt show screen was pretty cool too!!

My best friend grew up in Springfield and now lives in Holyoke. you wouldn't want to be here now. We are expecting 1 to 2 feet of snow overnight tonight!

I saw that on the news I don't miss that part of living up there, I usually visit during summer!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

Woohooo for the awesome updates! This sounds like such a cool race! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who has a fear of using porta-potties in the dark!
I can't believe Lee tricked you like that and said that the sweepers were right behind! But, at least you were able to up your pace a little!
Oh, I am so anxious to read the rest!!!

 

[Shannon84]

Woohooo for the awesome updates! This sounds like such a cool race! I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who has a fear of using porta-potties in the dark!
I can't believe Lee tricked you like that and said that the sweepers were right behind! But, at least you were able to up your pace a little!
Oh, I am so anxious to read the rest!!!

Thanks!! I love reliving it through my TR...just wish I could return this year :

Oh my gosh the portapotties at night - bad idea

Yeah I think he was 1. a little confused because no CMs seemed to understand what was happening and 2. he wanted me to hurry the heck up

 

[Shannon84]

When I left off, I was making my way out of DHS and Lee had just fibbed, causing me to pick up the pace! At this point we rounded the Boardwalk resort and I started to see people having medical issues. I saw a lady fall and I made sure I flagged a medic over to her, but I think she had rolled her ankle. She ended up getting back up and walking the rest, but it scared me at first!!

There was only a mile left and I was exhausted!! I just kept pushing myself and I ran into one more lady from the DISboards...she told me that this is the "bite me" stage of a half marathon...where you just want to tell the next mile to bite you since you are sooo tired

As we rounded the bend passing Yacht & Beach Club Resort there were tons of people out cheering for their friends and family. There were also little signs along the path

The slide and pool area of the resort was lit up with colorful flashing lights and I knew the end was near!! I sprinted the last little part of the race and over the finish line!! I thought my heart was going to explode in my chest, but when I rounded the corner and saw Mickey waiting to give us all high fives, I was pretty excited!! The finish line was right before the International Gateway entrance into EPCOT

It felt amazing to finish something like a half marathon when I am usually too scared to commit to activities such as running

Here I am running in the race and my finish picture with the medal (these are taken of photos my mom ordered for me - hence the glare and quality)

Here is a picture of the awesome medal up close

Here is an amazing video someone posted for the public on youtube, it takes you quickly through the entire course and shows you the after party as well!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htm6cDjxJEo

Once you picked up your medal you were shuttled through a very small and HOT building (a big race planning no –no to put people in this environment after a race, lots of people seeking medical attention) this was the area to pick up any bags you checked at the beginning. I didn't have one, so I just made my way out to WS in EPCOT

I called Lee up and found him pretty quickly even though the after party was CROWDED. I mean summer or Christmas time crowded. I was so disappointed that there were so many people. There were all 10,000+ runners plus they sold spectator tickets to others (that’s how Lee was there), I mean there should have been a lower cap or they should have had Future World open maybe. My race entry and Lee’s ticket included one sip and one taste each for free (one drink and one food item). Well we each grabbed a beer – something boring, because the kiosk lines were around 20 people deep each. We ended up giving our food tickets away, because we didn’t even have enough time to wait in line. This was by far my biggest complaint from the race.

I changed into flip flops so that we could at least walk around and enjoy the entertainment

We had a fun time just listening to the music and people watching. I also had time to tell Lee all about the race. He was very confused and had waited by the area where people who were swept (did not finish the race fast enough or became injured or had to give up) were coming in…he was very concerned he didn’t see me coming in at my usual time. He ended up finding the correct area right before I did finish, poor guy!!

Lee pointed out some very special guests and I was able to get one of my favorite pictures

Princess Tiana was showing us how to pose with a Prince properly


Lee walked and I waddled over to the Beach Club and we waited and waited to catch a cab back to POP! I was exhausted and wound up all at once!! We went right to bed…we had to be up early to check out and get our last WDW park moments in before our flight home



Up Next: So sad...our last day

 

[oOJulieOo]

Congratulations on finishing the race!

That is a great photo of you and Lee with Tiana and Naveen.

It stinks that it was so crowded at the after party. I'm sure crowds were the LAST thing you wanted to deal with at that point!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Congratulations on finishing the race! I could imagine that the last mile is just brutal. Did you find that you hit a wall at any time during your run?

 

[Nermel9]

Congrats on finishing the marathon, that's amazing! That must have been so cool to see Mickey at the finish line!

Ugh that's too bad the after party was so crowded...it was just in World Showcase? Did they have attractions open or was it just to drink and eat? What time was it when you finished?! (Sorry for all the questions, I'm just curious since I will never be running this! )

Love the Tiana and Naveen picture!

 

[20thingamabobs]

That race looks really cool and it was neat getting to see the video recap. But, HOLY COW the CROWDS!! I agree that cramming 10,000+ runners plus guests is pushing the limits a little bit. There really should have been a way for everyone to spread out more. But overall, it looks awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it! You should try marathon weekend next time and I think I'll try this one lol!

 

[KatMark]

Shannon, congratulations on finishing the Marathon! Good for you. Too bad it was so crowded at the after-party.

I love the photo of you and Lee with Tiana and her Prince.

 

[Shannon84]

Congratulations on finishing the race!

That is a great photo of you and Lee with Tiana and Naveen.

It stinks that it was so crowded at the after party. I'm sure crowds were the LAST thing you wanted to deal with at that point!

Thanks you I love that photo and it was so cute that she had Lee pose like a Prince

Yeah I was pretty disappointed in the large crowds, mainly because I thouht it was going to give Lee a second chance to tour WS

Congratulations on finishing the race! I could imagine that the last mile is just brutal. Did you find that you hit a wall at any time during your run?

Thank you!! The last mile of any race is tough, but also you sort of develop some second wind knowing its almost over I think this race my wall was mile 11 inside of DHS...I wasn't tired..but my feet - mainly my toes were hurting so bad

Congrats on finishing the marathon, that's amazing! That must have been so cool to see Mickey at the finish line!

Ugh that's too bad the after party was so crowded...it was just in World Showcase? Did they have attractions open or was it just to drink and eat? What time was it when you finished?! (Sorry for all the questions, I'm just curious since I will never be running this! )

Love the Tiana and Naveen picture!

Thank you It was great seeing Mickey at the finish line waving everyone in!!

I think for the fast runners who finished a lot earlier than me, they were able to enjoy the party with lower crowds and they had longer to hang out. When I finished it was probably a little after 1 am I think and I want to say the party went until 3 am.

I wasn't able to see any attractions open, but I heard from a fast runner that he was able to ride Maelstrom...but only the World Showcase was "open". I think you might have been able to exit EPCOT from the front entrance still

That race looks really cool and it was neat getting to see the video recap. But, HOLY COW the CROWDS!! I agree that cramming 10,000+ runners plus guests is pushing the limits a little bit. There really should have been a way for everyone to spread out more. But overall, it looks awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it! You should try marathon weekend next time and I think I'll try this one lol!

I wish I had taken more video, like you guys did during your race...but I am glad I found that one on youtube to share...that shows the entire race. I am really excited to see what changes they make to the race to make it better, I am sure if you do that half marathon you will love it I am going to make sure I get to at least one marathon weekend too!! Maybe we will cross paths at a disney race in the future

Shannon, congratulations on finishing the Marathon! Good for you. Too bad it was so crowded at the after-party.

I love the photo of you and Lee with Tiana and her Prince.

Thank you!! I am so sad that its over, but its great to have the memories in my TR and through the pictures. The crowds stunk, but that picture is a highlight from the whole trip at least

 

[PirateKate]

Racing through AK and DHS looks so cool! It's really nice that they had so many characters and entertainment along the route. Too bad the party was so crowded afterward.

 

[UGAFan0829]

Woohooo! You did it!! Awesome job!!!! Now you need to plan to run the Princess 1/2 in the next couple of years--that is such a fun race, I think you would love it!
I'm sad that the trip is almost over, but I have really enjoyed reading about it all!

 

[Shannon84]

Racing through AK and DHS looks so cool! It's really nice that they had so many characters and entertainment along the route. Too bad the party was so crowded afterward.

It was a great time, I really wish I could afford to get down there again this year for it!!

Woohooo! You did it!! Awesome job!!!! Now you need to plan to run the Princess 1/2 in the next couple of years--that is such a fun race, I think you would love it!
I'm sad that the trip is almost over, but I have really enjoyed reading about it all!

Thank you I really would love do the Princess 1/2 or even the one in January during marathon weekend, I really would love to run in MK the most!!

Thank you for reading along, writing the TR and being on the boards has helped get through the back from Disney blues

 

[dismagiclover]

I followed you over from my trip report. I haven't read the whole thing, but I read the race report. Great job! I don't know if I'd like the evening race thing. I can't ever motivate myself to go run in the evening so I can't imagine doing a race. I heard lots of reports about the after party being too crowded. I wonder if they will limit the ticket sales more next year. Let's hope so.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Shannon,
I just read your whole TR! What an inspiration you are! I loved reading it, I'm working on a 5K and then hopefully the princess 1/2 in 2012!!

 

[Shannon84]

I followed you over from my trip report. I haven't read the whole thing, but I read the race report. Great job! I don't know if I'd like the evening race thing. I can't ever motivate myself to go run in the evening so I can't imagine doing a race. I heard lots of reports about the after party being too crowded. I wonder if they will limit the ticket sales more next year. Let's hope so.

Thank you for coming over to read I am enjoying your TR!! I really enjoyed running at night, but I was one of the lucky few that had no issues with getting sick or needing medical assistance

Shannon,
I just read your whole TR! What an inspiration you are! I loved reading it, I'm working on a 5K and then hopefully the princess 1/2 in 2012!!

Thank you so much, that means a lot I started with a 5k and I have been hooked ever since The princess 1/2 looks like sooo much fun, I have been thinking about doing that one in 2012 too!

 

[Shannon84]

We woke up the next morning around 10 am (which I must say feels VERY early after falling asleep at 3 am)

We had been pretty good about keeping our things semi packed throughout the end of the trip, so we showered quickly and cleaned up the room and headed down to the lobby of POP! I know we had recieved our ME information, but I think we still needed to check out or at least I wanted to double check everything was all set.

I was not so happy to wait in a LONG line to check out ...Lee took a picture of his favorite Power Rangers sometime during the trip...not sure if I shared this before

And he snapped a picture of me pouting in line

I was honestly feeling SOOOO sad...this trip ending really hit me hard

We checked our bags at POP! and that was actually a breeze...first time I have done that. We left our carry ons there and picked a park to spend our last few hours in.....and we picked......

Magic Kingdom!! We spent the most time here during the week and Lee requested we return to ride Big Thunder Mountain and I was ok with that!!

This is one of my fave pictures from the trip and we used it as part of our Christmas card this year

I asked the photopass photographer if we could turn around and have a different background...

I snapped a few more pictures as we made our way back towards Big Thunder Mountain...

Lee's buddy!!

We had a little line to wait in, but Lee just LOVES this ride now...its all he talks about now when I mention WDW (I prefer a coaster with some big drops but I still enjoy it)

We just walked around a little more and enjoyed our time in MK...I wanted to ride HM, but we really didnt have a ton of time left...and I think we both just wanted to let it all sink in.

I am so sad, because I realized later that I actually never took Lee on Peter Pan... whoops

I spotted our favorite duck in some pretty awesome clothes

We had lunch at Casey's...this was my first time ever in there!!! I cannot believe that I have never been in there during all of my trips...I mean corn dog nuggets and cotton candy as dessert...thats heaven

I had Lee snap a picture of me sporting my medal (yes I was showing it off )..seemed an appropriate location

Before we left, I decided I need a picture with the castle and partners statue...and it came out nicely without people crowding the background

After that we took our last WDW bus back to POP! and we picked up our carry ons. Our wait for ME wasn't too bad and the bus filled up quickly. We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to get through security and have a light dinner.

I even ran into 2 ladies who were on the POP! bus over to the half marathon with me...so I asked them how the race went for them. Lee was highly embarassed because I was walking around with my new Mr Prickle Pants stuffed animal out

I did cry a tiny bit when we boarded the plane back to Richmond and cried a tiny bit more when we got off the plane and it was only 60 degrees versus the warm 80 something we left back in Florida...though right now I would love 60!!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Man, departure day is always the worst! It makes me so sad.

If I would have made it through the 1/2 marathon, I would have worn my medal around everywhere!