Official 2016 Princess Half Marathon Thread

[preciouspups]

Make sure you're still keeping up on your electrolytes. Water is good but if your electrolyte balance goes a bit wonky, cramps are likely. Also, keep stretching and rollering. This too shall pass.

I have been foam rolling but I forgot about the electrolytes. Duh! I'm going to grab some gatorade from the garage right now. I had a massage the other day and she said my hips were probably hurting from the weaving I did since I don't get that practice during training. And the area that my calves are hurting is from my over pronating so I'm back to ankle strengthening. I used the foam roller yesterday and I sure hope the neighbors didn't hear my screaming!

 

[VAfamily1998]

Well, we're finally home and rested enough for me to post my race recap. I figured I'd join in on the fun.

1) The Expo. Ugh. Everything that's been said here has been accurate. That being said, I'm rarely tempted to buy race merch, I haven't since my first PHM in 2012, but since we won't be coming back for PHM17, I decided to give it a go. What a nightmare. I grabbed whatever I could and got the heck out of there. The powder blue Run-Princess-Run pullover is a tad bit small, but I can deal with it. My fiancé missed out on the grey rD hoodie with orange lettering (they didn't have his size) and he was kicking himself all weekend because he really wanted it.

2) I, too, feel like PHM is becoming the forgotten child. Race communications were dreadful, even with our super-sleuthing here on the Dis. It was very frustrating to find out any information. I can only imagine what the general public (non-DIS folks) was thinking.

3) The bus driver from AKL to the Half was CLUELESS. I hopped on at Jambo House, then we picked up more runners at Kidani Village. After that, he tried to take us to Animal Kingdom, where we politely corrected him and told him we needed to go to Epcot. He had to do a five-point turnaround to get back in the right direction. Then he blew past our turn to Epcot, where we told him he missed it, and he replied "You need U-turn? Go to Hollywood Studios?". He turned around, only to ignore the merge into the right-turn only lane to get to Epcot with the other 4,000 buses and cars. So, he had to have a policeman wave him through the intersection to get to Epcot. It was a nightmare. It took 45 minutes to get from AKL to Epcot.

4) I tried the coconut puffs. They're delicious. I still stand by my opinion that the rest of the snack box was subpar, but oh well, by the end of the Half I had a well-stocked fridge full of desserts since we were on the DDP.

5) Since I ran all three races, I'm pretty impressed with my abilities as a runner (this is the most mileage I've done in one weekend). Will I do all three races again? NO. Especially not with touring the parks. It was painful. I might consider it if they taper the races to go Half > 10K > 5K, so you end with a smaller distance, but I doubt that will ever happen. We're skipping PHM17 (as mentioned above) since that's when we're doing our honeymoon, but will be back for PHM18. Not sure if I'll do GSC or just stick with the Half, though. Probably GSC, because I'm a medal hoarder. Speaking of which:

I. LOVE. BLING.

After PHM18, we may explore other races (W&D or Star Wars).

6) I didn't experience any nasty runner attitudes all weekend long. Maybe I was oblivious or in a Disney haze, but I felt like most, if not everyone, was in really good spirits. Happy, encouraging, enthusiastic. I didn't get as much of girl-power camaraderie spirit as in year's past with this race (maybe because they want to be all-inclusive or something, I dunno), but it was still a fun event nonetheless. My fiancé was one of the untrained masses, and while he had to stop for walk breaks, we never averaged more than a 12-minute mile for the 5K & 10K, and were able to finish strong. I think this kind of inspired him to work out more now that he knows what he's truly capable of.

Ugh, I'm so sorry you had issues with the bus. I've heard of similar things happening in other Disney races and I'm always nervous that I will be on THAT bus! I also stayed at Jambo, but our driver got us there with no issues. I was really glad I was at Jambo and not Kidani when we stopped at Kidani with a nearly full bus and saw the huge line of waiting runners!
I also did not see any "nasty" runners--everyone seemed kind and happy!

 

[bumbershoot]

Speaking of, those port o potties at race retreat??? They should have had flood lights for the area so in the morning we could actually SEE while back there and in the potties. It was pitch black.

Same experience January 2014 Half. They just don't put in the lights.

she said my hips were probably hurting from the weaving I did since I don't get that practice during training.

It's funny, the things that hurt because you don't practice them. I remember getting serious about looking around me both ways before changing speed (I don't like to rely on runners knowing the hand signals that run/walkers use), and doing so in my first event. My neck and shoulders hurt more than anything else in my body after that!



*******
I keep forgetting about my 10K. Or forgetting if I've mentioned it.

Alarm for 3am, info said to be on the bus by 4. Woke up at 3:38. ACK! Now I know that they pad the times but my heart really wasn't listening to that. Panicked. Through things into the grey and orange bag I'd snagged at the sunglasses kiosk, decided to just wear it for the run. Remembered everything but my phone. There went communication and running the Charity Miles app!

Sprinted to the bus area. There was Lisa my bus lady. And a little line that grew and grew as I waited there. I was the one using body glide on feet and insides of knees while in line. Sorry. Pinned on my bib with shaking fingers. Ate my Luna bar. Forgot cash, so there went my coffee.

Bus came, got on bus. One entrance to Epcot was already blocked off. AUGH. Not sure if that was always blocked, but the driver sure didn't expect it! Came to a slow/stop on the 50mph road. Went further, did a uturn, did eventually get us there, but wasn't communicating so he was scaring us.

But we made it. Met nice people in the corrals, mainly a very kind Canadian business owner who talked about the paying-people-for-holidays side of Canada.

No fireworks for Corral C. WAAAAAH. I expect my fireworks, rundisney! Even Rudy was freaked out by it.

Decent time; better than DS and my time for the RocknRoll Vancouver 10K, and I laughed and cried at the end. Felt really good, too. Most excellent. Must have been my sparkleathletic pompoms on my shoes, or my runningskirt.com running skirt in the pretty cherry blossom print, or the runprincessrun shirt. Or the adrenaline from waking up nearly 40 minutes late.

Only at a disney event can arriving an HOUR before the start make you feel like you're late!

**************

I'm approaching time for my ballet class so I can't go back and quote, but regarding what I said about Rock and Roll. This is from both the Seattle and the Vancouver guide:

To ensure that roads reopen to vehicular traffic at the scheduled times, the course time limits will be STRICTLY ENFORCED. Participants must maintain a pace faster than the course time limits in order to complete the race on closed city streets. A cut-off location will be enforced on the course; runners or walkers who do not reach the cut-off location by this time will be stopped and shuttled to the finish line area. Please note – this is timing tag time, not gun time. Course time limits begin when the last participant and Tail Vehicle cross the start line.

If a participant’s pace falls below the course time limit, they have a few options:

• Increase their pace to stay within the event minimum pace;
• Board a “sag wagon” shuttle to move forward on the course, where they may continue to participate in the event, maintaining the minimum pace required; or
• If the participant cannot continue, they may board a sag wagon to be dropped off at the next shuttle location, at a nearby medical station. The participant will be seen by a Medical Team captain to be cleared for the medical shuttle to transport the participant to the finish line.

The blue is what I'm talking about.

And other than that, why can't rundisney have such detailed info about things? Why is everything such a mystery?


Now, I don't know if there's something recorded in the chip that shows that the time is all wrong for someone who boards the wagon to move forward. I hope so. I'm softhearted but not THAT softhearted.

Maybe I'll ask at the expo in June for Seattle.

 

[princessluna14]

From what I'm reading, I feel like some of the people who are feeling disappointed with the DPHM are people who do a lot of runDisney races. Like, maybe all of them. At least one per year for several years.
And I can understand that if you frequently run races that send off runners with fireworks and feature marching bands and drum lines and Disney characters along the route- then variations in the number or frequency of those things are going to matter more to you than they will to someone who is not accustomed to those things. Or if you have run the course with fewer participants, you will be more sensitive to the impact of changes in runner density.
This was my second trip to Disney World, and I went with a family, half of whom go to Disney at least once a year, a few people more frequently (they are Disney travel agents) and the other half for whom Disney is not a regular vacation. And I could see there were marked differences in the expectations and excitement over a lot of things throughout the weekend. And it seems similar to the experiences I read about here with regards to the PHM experience.

Eventually, someone in our party pointed out to the veteran "Look, we don't get to come here every year. We're going to want to do different things. This is what is important for us and it is just as valid as what is important for you." And I felt a lot better. It was my vacation just as much as it was theirs, and I was happy someone else was gently reminding our more seasoned friends that we were really excited to be there and do things that maybe were not considered special anymore by the frequent fliers.

This was my first half marathon. I did not run at all before we decided to do the PHM, it was the reason I started to run. I trained diligently, I got a POT that put me in corral F. My friends and I were really excited to be running, we were in F, G, and J corrals and we all had a great time on Sunday. We expected it to be crowded- especially the girl in J- circumstances had prevented her from making the race she had planned to run for POT so she didn't submit one, and she was sort of expecting to walk through the castle in a horde- but we all were able to run freely the whole time. I ended up running nearly every split much faster than my training pace (I had negative splits all the way to mile 7)- although I didn't even think about the fact that moving around runners added distance, I think I added a 0.6 of a mile total- and my GPS would announce miles well before I could see the markers. There were times when there was absolutely no one to my right or left, and I never had to walk. So I had a lot more room than I was expecting. My finish time was a PR. I didn't stop for characters, but I hadn't planned to. For the three of us, this race at least, we really wanted to just run around Disney World. And I got exactly what I wanted. The moon was HUGE and just setting above the trees as we ran down the highway in the first 2 miles. Through the Magic Kingdom sign- I passed a man there running in jeans and a t-**** trying to turn his jeans into cutoffs- not sure what he was thinking. Our friends found the perfect spot at Ticket and Transportation Center to wait for us (much better than trying to get a spectator spot at Magic Kingdom- especially since the 3 of us were so spread out in pace- she waited for all of us to pass, then hopped back on the monorail to Epcot to get a great spot at the finish line) I was so excited to see them I feel like I blinked and all of sudden it was mile 5 - somewhere in there I ran under an overpass that had Kristoff, Anna and Elsa above it making it snow- and I was running through the Magic Kingdom. It had just become light outside and I ran through the castle without having to slow down, got a jump shot in front, back through Frontierland. The only other princess I saw besides Anna and Elsa on the route was Belle with Beast on the way out. (Alice in Wonderland was in the MK too, but not technically a princess) But I was actually more excited to see the family from the news- the father who was pushing his daughter in the wheelchair the whole race- just getting their picture. Down the back stretch the sun was rising behind the palm trees at the Polynesian, which was so pretty. Lots of funny spectator signs from guests at the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Shades of Green. When we came back to the hairpin where you could see the beginning part of the course on the left ~mile 10- we passed the balloon ladies and waved. They were followed by like 10 black vans, which kind of looked like a funeral procession. Then we got to the hills- I thought there was only 1- there were 3! But the Army guys were great- one was running backwards saying "You've got to work for this picture, come on!" Then after the photo was snapped he yelled "Now, go get those five seconds back!". Passed another marching band and some kids handing out twizzlers on the way into Epcot, got a picture in front of Spaceship Earth. Waved to my family at the finish line and doing so made my headphones fly out of my hand, so I had to run back and get them and Goofy was helping me along. Not a graceful finish but a memorable one.

And maybe if I'd done a dozen runDisney races this wouldn't seem so cool. But I haven't and it was awesome. And we met a lot of great people walking around the parks afterwards- they'd see the medal and say "Congratulations". Best reaction was on Monday- I hadn't worn my medal that day but my friend had, to Hollywood Studios, and she showed it to the Green Army men- who went nuts over it- "called" over other Green Army men to look at it- pantomimed that if he'd tried to run that distance he'd puke. She got a great picture. I was jealous. Definitely take your medal to Studies in future. Plus the Stars Wars fireworks- oh my God, they are awesome!

So, as someone who experienced the race in it's current incarnation for the first time, for whom this is my only runDisney experience, it was totally worth my time and money. We had a fantastic weekend (1 kids race, 2 people in 10K, 4 in the Half (one was a GSC)). If you are contemplating running it for the first time, I would bear in mind while reading about other's reactions that expectations and opinions about the same experience can vary widely depending on what you have to compare it to.

PS:
Also, for me, shopping at the Expo was not really on the agenda (the t-shirt I got with registration and my medal were plenty of souvenirs for me)- I would have happily grabbed my bib and left. But it was of interest for some of my companions. Due to flight times, we didn't arrive at the Expo until 1:30 on Thursday. I was expecting bedlam, from what I'd read here. Nope. There was NO ONE in the bib pickup, we walked right up to the desks. Same with picking up shirts and bags. The Official Merch had all the "I Did It" shirts- with the map on the back. Magnets. Long sleeved shirts. Only thing we couldn't find were 1XL and 2XL sizes. If you wear a small or medium, they had everything. We didn't even have to wait in line to try on the shoes. All the Raw Threads merch was there- it had a long line at first, but that disappeared when we made a second lap and my friend bought the Mama Bear shirt. I would have had a far less pleasant experience if I'd tried to get there early.

Phew!! I finally just got done reading through this whole thread, but I wanted to say that I agree with your post 100%. This was my 8th half marathon, but first runDisney race and I couldn't have had a better time.

 

[princessluna14]

I am finally home! We did a royal caribbean cruise after the half and I'm so thankful to be back on dry land. I do NOT think cruising is for me... although I could probably be convinced by the Castaway Cay Challenge to give it another shot. Anywayyyyy... For my own enjoyment (and hopefully yours... if not, bear with me) I wanted to do a little recap of my experience!

The expo was not nearly as bad as I expected. We landed in MCO around 1:30 and it was probably 3:30 by the time we got to the expo. Picked up our bibs first and then headed into the merch area. I wasn't planning on getting the NB shoes, so we went straight for the official merchandise. It was a little crowded in there and I didn't see any PHM-specific wine glass or Tervis tumblers, which I would have liked to have. I did buy an "I did it!" shirt and a car magnet and then we went and looked around at the rest of the stuff. Hubby ended up buying a cool mini foam roller for your feet, which we were thankful for after all the walking we did over the weekend.

We had dinner reservations at Kona Cafe for that night, so we took a bus straight to the Poly from the expo and got drinks out on the deck outside of Trader Sam's. After $50 and two drinks, we headed up for our dinner reservation. Seriously, who can resist those awesome souvenir glasses?? My husband got the zombie one and I had the hippopata-mai tai. I originally wanted to get a lapu lapu as well, but there was no way I could drink that too and still function as an adult. So we had some sushi (INSANE!) and pot stickers for dinner and decided to head back to ASSports and get some rest. We monorailed over to MK and caught a bus from there. I feel like I NEED to stay at the Poly the next time we go, but I might have to sell a kidney to be able to afford it. In all seriousness though, are there super good deals there sometimes or is everyone who stays there just loaded?!

We did Universal on Friday, which was fun since neither of us had seen the new Harry Potter expansion, but nothing other than HP appeals to me there, so it was kind of an uneventful day. We took an Uber from Universal to Disney Springs and did some shopping there in the evening before heading back to the resort.

Saturday was our planned Magic Kingdom day, but we ended up going back to the expo right when it opened because my sister-in-law texted me saying that if I went back to get her a pair of the Ariel NB sneakers, she would buy me a pair as my birthday/Christmas present this year! So heck yeah we were going back! There were probably a dozen people ahead of us in line by the time we got there, but it went quickly and we were on our way to MK by 10AM. We did BOG for lunch and the Plaza for dinner and both were fantastic. I wanted to stay for Wishes, but decided around 7pm that I just wasn't going to make it and that I would thank myself in the morning for the extra sleep. So we began the trek back to the All Stars.

Sunday morning came bright and early at 2:30 and the whole morning was just such a blur. I was so excited that the day I had dreamed about for the past three years was finally here, and it seems like it was over in an instant! I was thrilled that my legs functioned even after two heavy park days and we were able to run the entire 13.1 (with the exception of water stations) which I wasn't expecting. We got to corral D right when they were starting to release the first corrals and were off and running before we knew it. Running through MK was of course absolutely amazing and we had a ton of fun obnoxiously singing Aladdin songs and weaving around people through miles 7-8. (Side note: SERIOUSLY WHY IS THIS AREA SO NARROW?!?) We finished at 2:24:01, got pixie-dusted, showered, and headed out to Epcot to put a total of 28 miles on our legs in one day. Needless to say, we were wiped out and totally passed out early that night. As far as meals, we had lunch at Via Napoli (delicious), I had a grapefruit beer in Germany (which I'm still dreaming about, can I buy this in the real world??), and had the most incredible dinner at La Hacienda de San Angel, complete with insanely good margaritas.

Like I said above, this was my 8th half marathon, but first runDisney race and it was everything I had hoped it would be. Completely and totally worth the money we spent on this trip. There are only two things I would have done differently... 1) Stayed at a moderate resort to be closer to everything and to have access to a hot tub and 2) spend the rest of the week in WDW instead of going on the cruise. I felt dizzy any time the ship was moving and it was so not as magical as a few more days in WDW would have been.

 

[DIS-OH]

Added my newest medals from PHM weekend!

 

[bumbershoot]

Phew!! I finally just got done reading through this whole thread, but I wanted to say that I agree with your post 100%. This was my 8th half marathon, but first runDisney race and I couldn't have had a better time.

It was my cousin's very first running event EVER (the 5K), and she loved the race. The expo wasn't her cup of tea (we were both in desperate NEED to leave by the time we were all done with our shopping) and getting to the corrals SO early wasn't something she understood (who really does, after all? except for the fear of being late of course), but she enjoyed the course even though she didn't end up stopping for any pictures.

 

[sidrich]

It was my cousin's very first running event EVER (the 5K), and she loved the race. The expo wasn't her cup of tea (we were both in desperate NEED to leave by the time we were all done with our shopping) and getting to the corrals SO early wasn't something she understood (who really does, after all? except for the fear of being late of course), but she enjoyed the course even though she didn't end up stopping for any pictures.

So among the 4 of us at the half, only 1 had done it before- my best friend's mother. She's also a walker, so she was all "Don't worry about submitting a time, no one gets swept, there is no reason to get there early."

We are all somewhat anxious, over-preparer types anyway. So we completely ignored all of that. (I kept telling her about stories I had read about people getting swept, she insisted all weekend it doesn't happen. And this woman did the Glass Slipper Challenge with a permanently stress fractured toe- she assumed if people were going to be swept, she'd have seen them. But she also started in L, so she had a bit of a head start.)

The three of us 'youngin's' were super- nervous and we decided we were going to just embrace that. We let her mom take the later bus that she wanted, we decided that we were nervous enough as it was, fretting about being late was just going to make things worse. We got on a bus around 3:40 from Old Key West. We picked our resort so that we would be close to Epcot so we'd have a short bus ride. I hadn't even considered that drivers might not know how to get there! You could actually see the corral balloons from the entrance to Old Key West, we had to drive away to get back. Our bus had no traffic, got right in, barely any time to go through the bag line and we all got to our corrals on time. Our veteran- who had not enjoyed sitting around in the cold at the 10K the day before- left around 4:15, spent forever in traffic (she took a nap), and ended up nearly missing the start and being sent into a different corral (an earlier one). She was a ways back, but I saw quite a few people headed for faster corrals than mine (F) being diverted into our corral because they did not get into place on time and the gate was shut. So we all were pretty happy with what had been called a "ridiculous" desire to be on the early bus. It gave us time to chill out, use the bathrooms with pretty reasonable lines, and calm down.

 

[keahgirl8]

So among the 4 of us at the half, only 1 had done it before- my best friend's mother. She's also a walker, so she was all "Don't worry about submitting a time, no one gets swept, there is no reason to get there early."

We are all somewhat anxious, over-preparer types anyway. So we completely ignored all of that. (I kept telling her about stories I had read about people getting swept, she insisted all weekend it doesn't happen. And this woman did the Glass Slipper Challenge with a permanently stress fractured toe- she assumed if people were going to be swept, she'd have seen them. But she also started in L, so she had a bit of a head start.)

The three of us 'youngin's' were super- nervous and we decided we were going to just embrace that. We let her mom take the later bus that she wanted, we decided that we were nervous enough as it was, fretting about being late was just going to make things worse. We got on a bus around 3:40 from Old Key West. We picked our resort so that we would be close to Epcot so we'd have a short bus ride. I hadn't even considered that drivers might not know how to get there! You could actually see the corral balloons from the entrance to Old Key West, we had to drive away to get back. Our bus had no traffic, got right in, barely any time to go through the bag line and we all got to our corrals on time. Our veteran- who had not enjoyed sitting around in the cold at the 10K the day before- left around 4:15, spent forever in traffic (she took a nap), and ended up nearly missing the start and being sent into a different corral (an earlier one). She was a ways back, but I saw quite a few people headed for faster corrals than mine (F) being diverted into our corral because they did not get into place on time and the gate was shut. So we all were pretty happy with what had been called a "ridiculous" desire to be on the early bus. It gave us time to chill out, use the bathrooms with pretty reasonable lines, and calm down.

I suppose I am what you would call a "veteran," but I am a first bus kind of girl! The 30 minutes of extra sleep just isn't worth it, and I'm probably not going to be sleeping anyway! Good for you for doing what you needed to do.

 

[Anisum]

Oh wow. I would have been livid. How does that even happen? Not one, but TWO drivers who had no idea how to get around?! Oy.

We were livid but then it was the first bus from the resort so we got there with enough time to meet up with our CM friend, take a few pictures, and get to the start on time. So by the time the race started I had given up caring about it and was ready to run.

 

[IrishMel21]

After getting caught up again, I brought back from Disney with me a very 'lovely' souvenir called the Head Cold/Flu type present. It's been lovely. Really. (Please insert your own sarcastic tone here). I even had to take a sick day last week - I NEVER take a sick day.

It sounds like everyone, as expected, had their own experiences making it either great, good or bad for them.

Other than the craziness of the Expo first thing Thursday morning, which my BF was smart enough to say "let's leave and come back later", the rest of the weekend was great for us. This was my BF's first runDisney event (he was a spectator for my first last year), and he thought Disney did everything amazingly well. We had a few etiquette issues during the 5k & 10k (one girl spit right at my shoe during the 10k rather than running over to the grass area with no one near her. I did call her out but she ignored me), but nothing too crazy. There was some crowding and bumping during the 10k around the 2-3 mile mark which was making me cranky, but I overcame that once I got into Epcot. As for the Half, I thought etiquette was better of the three races, that I saw. I know other people had different experiences.

During the half, runners were raising hands when they were going to stop and I saw a lot of them pull to the right which was appreciated. And during Cone alley (oh my god, that part was so congested and really got into my mental state), people were on top of one another. The only poor etiquette I saw during the half came from men, mostly younger, who were flying through people on the left and right without saying anything (no excuse me, no coming thru, no 'on the left'). And that annoyed me because it was as if they were trying to pass as many females as they could without caring how poorly they did it.

I still plan to a recap of all 3 races and hopefully today I'll finally have enough energy to do so! But overall, I'm so excited & proud that I ran my first half-marathon and can't wait to figure out when my next one will be.

 

[IrishMel21]

Question for previous GSC experts...have you purchased all your photos from marathonfoto.com before? When it says "Glass Slipper Challenge photos", do you truly get all of your 10k pics and all of your half pics together for that one price? That price seems too good to be true considering it's two races. I wanted to confirm before I decided to purchase that option.

TIA!

ETA: I saw someone ask about character photos on the course. I noticed that my photo with Mary Poppins was not in my photos nor was any photos with Mary Poppins in the unidentified photos. Is that because the character has that weird photography rule (I forget exactly the details but character ownership is that there are no official pictures taken with her)

 

[sidrich]

So, I didn't stop for character pictures. But here's a tip for future racers: If, in the process of flinging up your arms in triumph while approaching the finish line, you accidentally send your headphones flying out of your sweaty grip and are forced to abruptly stop, turn around, and retrieve them, you may end up with a character photo or two anyway.
It's not the most graceful way to get a picture, or finish a race, but it's the Goofiest.

 

[bevcgg]

ETA: I saw someone ask about character photos on the course. I noticed that my photo with Mary Poppins was not in my photos nor was any photos with Mary Poppins in the unidentified photos. Is that because the character has that weird photography rule (I forget exactly the details but character ownership is that there are no official pictures taken with her)[/QUOTE]

I know when we stopped for Mary Poppins (loved the penguins!) there was NOT a Marathon Foto photographer with her. They seemed to be hit or miss with the characters. And my pre race character photo has not shown up in my account but in my friend's account who was also in the photo. Both our bib numbers are easily seen. Who knows?? Their sorting process seems a bit random at times!

 

[pclvnmcky88]

So it sounds like a lot of us came back with something from Florida I know I certainly did! I thought it was over with when my voice was finally coming back Tuesday but then on Thursday the nose started...then the cough and aches... ugh. Hopefully I'll be over it by tomorrow!

 

[keahgirl8]

So, I didn't stop for character pictures. But here's a tip for future racers: If, in the process of flinging up your arms in triumph while approaching the finish line, you accidentally send your headphones flying out of your sweaty grip and are forced to abruptly stop, turn around, and retrieve them, you may end up with a character photo or two anyway.View attachment 153999 View attachment 154000
It's not the most graceful way to get a picture, or finish a race, but it's the Goofiest.

Those are amazing pictures. You couldn't have staged them better.

ETA: I saw someone ask about character photos on the course. I noticed that my photo with Mary Poppins was not in my photos nor was any photos with Mary Poppins in the unidentified photos. Is that because the character has that weird photography rule (I forget exactly the details but character ownership is that there are no official pictures taken with her)

I know when we stopped for Mary Poppins (loved the penguins!) there was NOT a Marathon Foto photographer with her. They seemed to be hit or miss with the characters. And my pre race character photo has not shown up in my account but in my friend's account who was also in the photo. Both our bib numbers are easily seen. Who knows?? Their sorting process seems a bit random at times![/QUOTE]

I stopped for a picture with the Genie at the 5K, and there was just a CM who took a picture with my camera.

So it sounds like a lot of us came back with something from Florida I know I certainly did! I thought it was over with when my voice was finally coming back Tuesday but then on Thursday the nose started...then the cough and aches... ugh. Hopefully I'll be over it by tomorrow!

Yup. Missing work for being sick isn't as much fun as missing work for Disney.

 

[disneydaydreamer33]

Well, I just got back late last night from our PHM/Disney/Universal vacation (and I'm already deep in Disney withdrawals!). I would say for my first runDisney event ever, I had a fantastic time!
1) I got in late Wednesday night and stayed at Pop (which I was not that impressed with, but it was fine and got the job done.)
2) Had a whole day at MK to myself while I waited for my friend to drive down from NC If you haven't ever done a solo day at MK and get the chance, DO IT! It was so magical
3) Stayed off-site with my friend and we spent the whole day Friday at Harry Potter. That was so awesome to experience for the first time (we are huge HP nerds)!
4) Waited to go to the Expo until Saturday since we just needed to pick up our bibs for the half. It was very chill and fun to walk around. We then hung at Disney Springs which was nice.
5) The morning of half started kind of dicey. I didn't get one wink of sleep on Saturday night! I guess it was excitement and just dreading the 3AM wake up call. And my friend got sick!! We put our costumes on and drove to the race (which was totally fine to drive from off site btw), but as we were waiting by the port-a-potties, my friend got very ill and couldn't really move without wanting to throw up. It was such a sad decision, but she realized she could not run a half marathon. I found a medical tent and they came and picked her up with a wheel chair. She spent the firsts hour of the race in the medical tent throwing up! This girl was SO TRAINED. She had just run 20 miles two weeks before with no problem (she is doing a full next month). I think it was dehydration from our HP day, because I drink water like nothing else (I think I bought myself 6 water bottles that day) and she didn't drink that much. It was very heartbreaking to start the race without her.

But the the race was so magical and honestly the people I encountered were great. I was in corral C and my plan all along was to just enjoy the race and not try and PR, so I stopped for all character stops but two and just had the time of my life. I didn't even have ear buds with me, since I was running with a partner, but I definitely did not need them for this race!

I was very impressed with the snack box afterwards! Later that afternoon I was joined by my family who had just flown in and we spent the rest of the day at Epcot and had dinner at Akershus. That was fun to wear my medal to

The rest of the week was our family vacation at Disney World and two days at Universal.

I really wish I could immediately plan my next runDisney race, but I'm pretty sure doing one every two years will be all I can get DH to agree to.

Anyway, it has been such a treat reading all of these posts and getting ready for the race with all of you wonderful people! Thanks for the help and tips you gave me!!

 

[IrishMel21]

Yay, the certificates have been fixed with the correct dates!

 

[pigletliz]

So it sounds like a lot of us came back with something from Florida I know I certainly did! I thought it was over with when my voice was finally coming back Tuesday but then on Thursday the nose started...then the cough and aches... ugh. Hopefully I'll be over it by tomorrow!

Feel better soon! Everyone I know left sick. I am blaming mine on the lady who coughed on me for 3,000 miles (BOO!/eeww!) and the number of people coughing without covering their mouths. Felt like I was living in the movie Outbreak.

 

[pclvnmcky88]

Feel better soon! Everyone I know left sick. I am blaming mine on the lady who coughed on me for 3,000 miles (BOO!/eeww!) and the number of people coughing without covering their mouths. Felt like I was living in the movie Outbreak.

Yeah, there was something in the air. I could barely cough let alone get out any sound! There were a lot of kids on my plane home. I always get sick around this time of year, but I haven't been able to run since I got home from PHM due to being sick.