Princess Weekend 2025
This past weekend I participated in the Fairy Tale Challenge at Princess weekend. The 10k on Saturday was Jasmine themed and the half marathon on Sunday was Sleeping Beauty themed, with the Challenge theme being Snow White. Snow is my favorite princess, so when the themes were announced, I decided to go for it. This was my first challenge and my first big run after the Disney Marathon, so my ultimate goal was just to finish. But since the weather was good, I decided to push myself just a little bit.
Friday:
I went to the Expo on Friday.
@superchime was the best and picked me up the purple jacket and the runDisney joggers the previous day, so I stopped by her hotel first to pick up the stuff. At the expo, I met up with a friend and her boyfriend for the first hour and change. I picked up my bib, got a photopass picture, and then went to the vendor area to get my shirts and buy too much stuff. While there, I met up with
@azrivest for a few minutes to hand off a package, and she gave me a 19.3 friendship bracelet that my son later pronounced "so beautiful!" My friend and her boyfriend left to go to the parks, and then
@WillRunForPizza arrived so we wandered around the vendor floor for a bit, then went to the official merch area. I got the Challenge tank and took a pic in front of the big 19.3. After that we parted ways and I went back to the vendor area. I bought a few more things and said hi to Jeff Galloway. While in line I saw someone I follow on Instagram so we snapped a pic, too. Jeff was lovely as always.
After that I picked up my son from school and got all my stuff ready for the 10k. My son has thankfully reached the age where he doesn't freak out if I don't put him to bed, so I was in bed before he was. I had the normal stress dreams about oversleeping, and Garmin was mad at me when I woke up at 2:15.
Saturday:
Alarm went off at 2:15. I tried to get ready without waking up my husband, then went into the kitchen and the cat gave me a look like, "why are you awake? and where is my food?" It was cold the morning of the 10k, so I went with my alternative outfit: Padme tank from Crowned, pink arm sleeves, purple-ish Janji leggings (they're purple in person but look blue in photos), and a Spaceship Earth skirt from Sparkle. I brought a leftover mylar from the marathon and wished I had a sweater or heavier pants for the wait, but I made do. I met up with
@azrivest at the lightpole and then we wandered over to the stage and check out the characters.
A little before 4:30 I made my way toward the corrals. Hit the portas again, then settled down in F. I was a little annoyed to be in F, but tried to be grateful I wasn't in the last corral. (I was in E for the marathon and hoping I'd be in there again.)
@superchime was in D and updated me on her position throughout the race. Because it was chilly, I decided to try to catch up with her, but not push it too much so I regretted it the following day.
I liked the 10k course, but it had the usual crowding on the road back into Epcot. Running around the park and the Boardwalk didn't seem as bad. I finally caught
@superchime right past the mile 4 marker on the Boardwalk and we walked the rest of the way. It was super fun finishing with a friend! It was my slowest 10k but I felt good afterward, which was what mattered since I had a half marathon the following day! I went home, massaged my legs, refueled and hydrated, and tried to rest as much as possible, but didn't get a chance to nap.
For lunch, I met a friend at Blaze and ate the entire cheese pizza.
Then I went to the meetup and had a lovely time chatting with
@WillRunForPizza,
@superchime, and
@ZM73. Afterwards I took a Lyft BACK to Springs and met friends for dinner at Summer House. By then I was sooooooo tired. I got home around 6:45 and took care of the dog, took a shower, and got all my stuff ready for the half. My wonderful husband took my son to my in-laws vacation house for a sleepover so I wouldn't be disturbed. They had a great time and I was able to go to bed early and get ready without worrying about waking them up.
Sunday:
I did not sleep nearly as much as I wanted to, and Garmin was really mad at me for doing this two days in a row. More reasons I don't think I could ever do Dopey. I'm like Cillian Murphy and really need sleep. It was thankfully warmer for the half, so I wore my original Snow White outfit choice: blue Crowned bra, Captain Marvel shorts, yellow Sparkle skirt, red Sparkle visor, and red arm sleeves. While I hate waking up so early, there is a huge benefit to getting to Epcot by 3:15 - they're usually still loading the closer parking lots, which means less time to walk after the races. I hit the real bathroom and then
@superchime so we walked to the light pole together. We chatted with
@azrivest and
@Stitch&Co. for a bit before splitting up. I got a pic with the Evil Queen who was amazing and gave me the best dirty look as I walked up to her. By then it was time to head to the corrals, so I hit the bathroom again, filled my handheld with water and Tailwind, and got settled along the barrier in F. I ate almost all my bag of cheerios and had liquid IV in the car. My fueling strategy was the same as the marathon: applesauce before the start, Tailwind refill every other water stop, and applesauce pouches if I felt hungry.
I saw the character list beforehand and none of them really appealed to me, so I decided to try to catch
@superchime before getting into Magic Kingdom so we could get photopass pics together since she was dressed as the Evil Queen. The first part of the race was SO crowded. John and Carissa mentioned that they were lengthening the time in between waves, so I think they released the first few corrals way too fast. I felt like I was constantly passing people, and I am NOT fast! The first stretch was so narrow and I tried to weave as little as possible, but I did want to catch up to
@superchime, so it was kind of annoying. Thankfully, once on the main road we were able to stretch out and I picked up the pace until we got to the Poly. God, that area is horrible. I really hope the construction is done before January! It was even worse that I caught up with the 3 hour pace group, but I passed them so I didn't have to deal with them through the walkway. The water pageant lights were still on but hard to see. One day I'll get there while it's still dark! It was funny, every time there was an announcement that "course narrows ahead", someone yelled, "How much more narrow can it get???"
Thanks to a bathroom stop,
@superchime entered MK literally right before me and waited at the theatre. Perfect timing! We ran down Main Street, got selfies with Mickey and Minnie, and then alternated walking/jogging for photopass. We got some good shots of her menacing me with her poison apple bag.
However, we skipped the castle pic since the line was literally over the bridge into Tomorrowland! It was crazy. So we took a selfie on the bridge.
After MK, we split up because my feet were starting to bother me and running faster felt better. I did veer off for a very short porta wait since I needed to pee and missed the bathroom opportunities in MK. While in the bathroom,
@superchime must have passed me because I spotted ahead of me when I started running again.
Afterward she texted me that she was very glad NOT to be running to AK, and I couldn't help but agree!
I sped up on the way back to MK and tried to enjoy the wider road even though the sun was starting to heat me up. (And of course I had forgotten sunscreen.) I think I only filled Tailwind three times during the race instead of four, but I felt good overall. I love applesauce pouches during a run, they are the perfect amount of real food and a big pick-me-up! I just wish the pouches were smaller/had more carbs. I put on Happily Ever After and made myself cry. On the stretch leading back into Epcot, I think I had my first real case of runner's high. I don't know if it was the combination of music (the theme from How to Train Your Dragon hit particularly hard), how good I felt with two miles left in a half marathon, or just being grateful that I'm able to run - but I couldn't stop smiling. Back in Epcot, I tried to get in place for some more photo pass pics, and decided to stop for Mrs. Incredible so I got at least one good posed photo. The choir was singing "Try Again" as I went under Guardians, and I took a video of me lip syncing along. I got SO emotional and started crying, so I had to stop the video! I don't even like the song that much, but the emotions of finishing two races with minimal training after the marathon really hit hard. In two years I went from worried I wouldn't finish a 10k to being able to do a 10k and a half with just my normal fitness levels. Sometimes I worry I haven't improved much because I haven't gotten much faster, but this reminded me that yes, you are fitter, you are healthier, and you CAN do this! Needless to say, I was in a very good mood coming down the finish stretch. I ran to the side for a picture with Jeff, and got a great finish line pic. I had completed my first challenge! This was my second-fastest half marathon (of three, haha), and if you don't count me stopping for the bathroom/character stop, I was only 4:30 off my half marathon PR. So I definitely think I can PR next time around!
After the race, I got a paddle pic and said good-bye to
@superchime after she finished. Then I started the trek back to the car. All I wanted was a coke, and thankfully the grilled cheese truck had cans. That was the best $3 I've spent in awhile.
Once home my son ran out to the car to greet me and he admired my medals.
The rest of the day was spent massaging my legs, taking a bath, doing short recovery walks with my dog, sitting on the couch, playing video games, and eating all the leftovers.
All in all, it was a great weekend and I can't wait to do it again! Unfortunately, I'm not doing Springtime or Wine and Dine, but I will probably pop in for those meet ups or to hit the expo.
I have no races on my calendar until the 2026 marathon, but I REALLY want to try for a POT for next Princess weekend. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to train before the weather gets too hot here to race, and I haven't found any feasible 10k races in the fall yet. I also don't want to travel for a race unless I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a POT. I'll have to keep looking for fall races within driving distance, or consider attempting a HM POT at Space Coast or the Orlando half. I'm going to focus on speed and strength the entire summer because it's too freaking hot to run anything longer than five miles, and I have a treadmill, so I guess I'll see what happens!
), this might not be the time. But a great goal for the future! 
I laughed when someone said that.
No idea whether I’ll be close enough by then or if the weather will cooperate, but I’ll be there anyway, so I might as well try!
