Hello everyone, this is Ed (Amandas DH). I wanted to write a short Race Report for the Tower of Terror 10 Miler to help give a complete feel to the Well this trip was
..different trip report. With that, here goes my Race Report. At the outset I do have to issue an apology. Amanda is the photographer for the family, so no pictures. Sorry!!
After primarily relaxing Saturday, I got into my favorite running clothes and headed to the bus stop around 7:30 pm to catch a runDisney bus to Hollywood Studios. The almost-packed bus arrived at Hollywood Studios a few minutes later and the wait game started. This is one of the most frustrating things from local races of 50 runners to huge races with 16,000. We were supposed to be at Hollywood Studios no later than 8 and the race was to start promptly at 10. So, for 2 flippin hours you simply have to wait.
Now to runDisney's credit, there were food trucks and a DJ playing (I guess Im getting old) way-too-loud music, as well as some ToT displays for photos. For the 1st hour of my wait, I just wandered around the parking lot where everything was staged and then started talking to a husband and wife from Kissimmee that run every runDisney race. After a while, we all said our Good Lucks and departed for our individual start corals.
By the time I got into Coral B there were probably 500 or so folks and I think all 500 (plus the 1500 or so that came in after I) of were waiting in line for a Port-O-Potty. The whole coral setup was done really well. They were lots of restroom facilities and water available inside the coral. The corals were also large enough to stage all the runners without making me feel like a sardine. So, anyhow, I waited about a half hour in the coral until we started the walk-up toward the starting the line.
The walk-up was about a half-mile or so and took us to the Start Area. By the time my coral got to the start area, they had started all the introductions and such on the stage. I read on someones race report that the stage was set up like a hotel front desk or something, but there were too many people in front of me and I didnt notice it. After the intros and announcements were over, fireworks went off a few minutes before 10 starting the wheel chair racers. Promptly at 10, fireworks again for Coral A (the ridiculously fast runners) to start. About 5 minutes later, Eds big moment was about to begin! The Coral B fireworks display seemed to pale in comparison to the Coral A display, but it was still pretty cool to start a race like that (I digress here, but the all-time best start for me came at the Crescent City Classic a Cannon Blast by the Marine Corps on the banks of the Mississippi River outside of Jackson Square New Orleans Super Cool!!).
After our "subdued" fireworks, I started my Garmin and the Nike App on my iPhone and crossed the Start Line for the Tower of Terror 10 Miler! I read a few other peoples Race Reports and there seems to be a common theme of too hot and too humid. Well, we live in South Louisiana, so I really cant use that excuse as it is too hot and too humid during the vast majority of my training runs. You never get totally accustomed to running in high heat / high humidity, but it is just a fact of life in South Louisiana. The one thing I didnt account for was the hills. Everything around us is flat as a pancake, and I cant stand inclined treadmill running. Dont get me wrong, the hills on the course were not like San Francisco hills, but they were more akin to long inclines. Needless to say, fat-boy Ed struggled with the elevation changes.
Back to the Race. I finished Mile One in around 10 and half minutes, a little faster than I wanted to be, but not by much. Mile Two and Three took us to around the entrance to Animal Kingdom. Miles 2 through about 6 were the most boring parts of the entire race. We were just running up and down Osceola Parkway. There was some entertainment on the course, but I dont really remember too much of it. At the 5 Mile point I was at 58 minutes, feeling good and on my way to my goal of a 2 hour finish.
Mile 6 came and right around this point we entered the off-road portion of the course. This was the Haunted Trail leading us into Wide World of Sports. The Trail was a little tight and the gravel didnt feel too good on my worn out feet, but the Pirate Ship was kinda cool. After the Trail, we ran through some of the fields at WWoS and then onto the Track for one lap. The Track did have one of the cooler entertainment offerings, the shovel dudes from the MNSSH party parade!! After leaving the Track we made our way to do a lap around Champions Stadium. This was one of the other things I really enjoyed with the Race course. See, Im a huuuuuuge Atlanta Braves fan, and the Braves play their spring training games at WWoS. So that was a ton of fun running around the Stadium.
It was at this point though that the ol Edmeister started to really struggle. I dont know if it was the hills, the long drive in the days before, the pool time the night before, the ham sandwich for dinner, or my rotund midsection, but I was starting to run on fumes. And its not good when you are running on fumes and you're only 7.5 miles into a 10-mile Run. So I did what I generally do when I hit this wall, I start walking. After about a 5 minute walk, I begin running again and made it to about the 8.5 mile mark before having to start walking again.
This time I walked for about 6 minutes, and the end of my walk was near the spot where we got into Hollywood Studios. We entered at the Lights, Motors, Action arena and I have to say I was a little disappointed. I thought that at least they would have a couple of cars out there, but alas there was nothing I remember. On the flip side, I certainly was not disappointed in getting to run through Hollywood Studios and seeing Amanda and Reid cheering me on! In fact, all the family members and friends cheering us runners along did an excellent job and they gave me the inspiration to finish. I can definitely say that was by far my favorite memory for the race.
Alas, we ran in front of TSM and then at some point made a sharp turn onto one of the back alleys/roads. It was kind of an anti-climactic finish, in what felt like the underbelly of Hollywood Studios. My official time was 2:04:59 for a 3665th place out of 8921 finishers. I was shooting for 2 hours, but Im certainly not disappointed in my time.
After the race, a nice volunteer placed my medal around my neck. And then I had to juggle the race pack, a bottle of water, two bottles of Powerade, and a banana (with no pockets or any type of bag) back to where Amanda and Reid were waiting on me by Echo Lake. After sitting on a bench with my family for a few minutes and eating the super ripe banana, I went over to Indiana Jones to retrieve my checked bag with my change of clothes.
It was moderately ridiculous that we had to walk down the steps to get our back and then back up the steps to get out. Youd think that maybe, checked bag pickup could have been closer to the Finish Line or at least in an area that did not require going up and down steps after running 10 miles. Even though I didn't agree with all the steps, the actual bag pickup was run rather efficiently (given the sea of clear runDisney bags on the tables) and only took a couple of minutes.
The Race was fun and there certainly were not enough negative points for me to never want to participate in another runDisney event. It is really cool getting to run through the parks and WWoS with everyone cheering you along. Im certain that runDisney will make the Tower of Terror 10 Miler an even better experience in the next few years. One definite word of caution though
Do Not Run 10 miles, then drink half a bottle of Powerade, eat a super ripe banana, and finally ride Star Tours. Trust me not a good combination.
I do, however, love that there were characters in the woods - that is just so weird to me! 
Please, you were sick the days before, it was HOT muddy....you traveled and didn't have a straight night's sleep. You ROCKED the 5K as far as I am concered 
