Disney Princess Half-Marathon - Part 2 (The RACE!)

Yesterday I shared Part 1 (traveling to Florida and race expo fun).

Today we'll talk about the actual race.

We had to be on the bus to head to the race by 4am and we figured it would be really crowded, so we planned to get there around 3am.

Erica and I were so excited we had no trouble getting up to get ready, even though our alarms were going off at 2:20am. We even did our hair the night before so only touch ups were needed that morning.

The bus was fairly empty when we got on and as we picked up others from around our hotel, we checked out their outfits. Not to brag, but I think we were some of the best dressed runners there. While Erica and I ate our nutella sandwiches for breakfast, we discussed all the fashions. At one point she leaned over and whispered to me "We have the best oufits here." Then there was a long pause before she said "And I don't even have my gloves on yet!" God I love that girl.

After unloading from the bus.

We probably had to walk around 2-3 miles to get to the starting line, but everything was so well marked and so many friendly people were around helping us get from one place to another. It was just so exciting!

Disney people are sooooo nice!

  We were in line at 4am, but our corral didn't take off until 6:15. Needless to say we didn't have a lot to do. I didn't want to run the battery down in my phone, so we just sat and people watched. There were some awesome costumes. And some not so awesome costumes.

Resting and people watching.

Once the runners ahead of us started taking off, we moved as well. I'd read this strategy of starting at the back of the corral so you had lots of room to take your time, so we hung out at the back. We were the last ones to cross the starting line for our corral. The Fairy Godmother even started us off!

The bad thing about starting at the back of the corral was that we were slightly faster than 99% of the poeple in our group. I had given myself a modest time and we got placed in the next to last corral. Also know as the corral where most people walk. Grrr.

At mile one. We didn't take any more 'mile marker' pictures after this one.

It was still dark when we started and around mile 2 the leading runner was crossing the finish line! Really? Way to make me feel slow. :)

The entire race was so much fun. At ever mile there was a board that had characters on it along with the time since the race first started. There were also characters that you could stop and get your picture taken with, but those lines were so long that we usually just took pictures of them from the road or took turns taking pictures of each other with the characters in the background.

Snow White and some of her dwarfs.

Along the route there were also groups that were cheering for us, holding signs, passing out water. The entire race was just so empowering.

It was very hot! And humid. I was not prepared for that, especially coming from Ohio in February. I was used to bitter cold, so around mile three I was covered in sweat. Erica made sure I drank lots of water and gatorade along the route so I didn't dehydrate. At one point she asked if I had to pee, because I'd drank so much that I should have to. I didn't have to, so she made me drink more. TMI maybe, but it was hours after the race before I felt the need to pee. Not good when you have at least 2 bottles of gatorade, a bottle of water and 16+ mini cups of water and gatorade in your system. Later that day I visited every potty in Magic Kingdom. ha.

My favorite part of the race was running through Magic Kingdom. You got to see a little of the behind the scenes areas where they store floats and miscellaneous things like that. Running down Main Street USA was fun and through the castle was neat as well. It was very crowded, so instead of running it felt more like swimming in a school of fish. hehe.

Coming up on Magic Kingdom.

Main Street USA!

Castle!

Cinderellas Castle in the background.

While in Magic Kingdom we saw Mickey and Minnie, Belle, Cinderella and Prince Charming, all from a distance of course.


Shortly after leaving MK we hit the half way point. The Alicia Keyes song "This girl is on fire" was blasting and they had these flags up along the route that looked like flames. Also, a lot of villans were in this area too - Jiffar in particular. That song was a deffinate 'pick me up' and helped us pick up speed a little.

Some time around mile 8 we decided to stop for a potty break. The lines were long. We also got these energy shots. They weren't extremely tasty, but the did the job. I actually wish I knew what kind they were so I could go get some for my runs now.

The last few miles of the race were probably the longest. Most of the characters we'd already seen and we were running on the road through areas we'd already been, so it wasn't as exciting. Still exciting, but not as exciting.

Around the time we got to Epcot, the park was starting to open, so there were guests cheering us along and high fiving us as we ran by, that was really cool. Just before mile 13 we stopped so David could take our picture. It was great having a face in the crowd that we knew to take our picture and cheer us on. Erica is a lucky girl.

David got a picture of us!

Right before we finished there was a girl who was crying so hard. I thought she was crying because she was so happy for finishing the race, so I started to get a little emotional myself. I mean, I had just almost finished my first half-marathon. That is huge! But I think she was crying because she wanted to stop and her friend wouldn't let her. I mean, you've ran 13 miles girl, suck it up and finish the last .1!

I don't remember anything about crossing the finish line. They announced my name at some point as I was getting close and I was so shocked they did that and the next thing I knew we were getting medals on the other side of the parking lot.

Our official time was 3:15. That is kind of a long time, but I was so proud of it because I know I ran the entire 13.1 miles. I only stopped for water or potty breaks. Or to grab a picture of a character. I ran hard, but not to hard that my side would hurt or I would want to stop. So I think I did a good job at pacing myself. I think. ha.

Finish line with our medals! We did it!!!

I still can't believe I ran an entire half-marathon. I can't wait to do another one. If 14-year-old Emily that did everything she could to get out of running 800 meters at track practice could only see herself now. I've never been so proud of myself for doing something I never thought I would ever do. :)

I highly suggest the Disney Princess Half-Marathon to anyone who wants to do one. It's so much fun!! And magical!!