I am recovered from my Hershey Half so here it is! My mini-race report!
We orginally intended to be at the expo by about noon but due to a slightly late start and major traffic in Philly (no surprise there) we were really late. We didn't get to Hershey till almost 2 pm. I texted Coryna (fmingo) shortly before we got there and were able to meet up with her and Christopher in the parking lot. It was so great to meet someone from here and it was my first wdwmagic meet up! She warned us that the expo was really pitiful and it was. There were hardly any vendors so we didn't even really look around. Rock-n-Roll expo was SOOOOO much better.
We checked in at our hotel which was a little family-owned older style motel. It was nice and clean and the family was so nice. It is run by an older couple and their daughter. Highly recommend the Whiterose Motel in Hershey if you ever go. We got a king-size bed and rooms had flat screen tvs, fridges (good-size ones), microwave and coffee-makers.
After checking in, we went back to the park. With the race registration, we each got 2 free tix to Hersheypark in the Dark, their Halloween event. First we made the requisite stop to Chocolate World for their Disney-esque dark ride into they way Hershey's chocolate is made. Even drops you off in a huge gift shop.
The characters were out in their Halloween costumes.
We had a good time at the parks, but I am glad we didn't pay for the tickets. It was more crowded than it is during a weekend day in the summer. The ride lines were crazy busy until just before closing and we only went on a few. It was neat walking around the zoo at night and seeing some of the nocturnal animals actually doing something other than sleeping! We left just before 10 pm (the park was open 2 pm till 10 pm) and went straight to bed.
On race morning, we got up at 5:45. The race started at 7:30 and our hotel was only a few miles away. We had put out all our gear the night before. Next time we will leave earlier. The traffic getting into the park was rough. It isn't a huge race (5,000 runners) so I didn't expect the huge backups. There were plenty of porto-pots and regular bathrooms at the stadium but the lines were still crazy. By the time we finished the race had just started. I had wanted to meet up with Coryna before the race for a pic but my timing didn't work out! They didn't have corrals, just signs that you were supposed to stand by that had min/mile paces. We waited for people to pass and kind of hopped into the moving mass when we thought our pace might be coming up. Very strange way to start!
We orginally intended to be at the expo by about noon but due to a slightly late start and major traffic in Philly (no surprise there) we were really late. We didn't get to Hershey till almost 2 pm. I texted Coryna (fmingo) shortly before we got there and were able to meet up with her and Christopher in the parking lot. It was so great to meet someone from here and it was my first wdwmagic meet up! She warned us that the expo was really pitiful and it was. There were hardly any vendors so we didn't even really look around. Rock-n-Roll expo was SOOOOO much better.
We checked in at our hotel which was a little family-owned older style motel. It was nice and clean and the family was so nice. It is run by an older couple and their daughter. Highly recommend the Whiterose Motel in Hershey if you ever go. We got a king-size bed and rooms had flat screen tvs, fridges (good-size ones), microwave and coffee-makers.
After checking in, we went back to the park. With the race registration, we each got 2 free tix to Hersheypark in the Dark, their Halloween event. First we made the requisite stop to Chocolate World for their Disney-esque dark ride into they way Hershey's chocolate is made. Even drops you off in a huge gift shop.
The characters were out in their Halloween costumes.
We had a good time at the parks, but I am glad we didn't pay for the tickets. It was more crowded than it is during a weekend day in the summer. The ride lines were crazy busy until just before closing and we only went on a few. It was neat walking around the zoo at night and seeing some of the nocturnal animals actually doing something other than sleeping! We left just before 10 pm (the park was open 2 pm till 10 pm) and went straight to bed.
On race morning, we got up at 5:45. The race started at 7:30 and our hotel was only a few miles away. We had put out all our gear the night before. Next time we will leave earlier. The traffic getting into the park was rough. It isn't a huge race (5,000 runners) so I didn't expect the huge backups. There were plenty of porto-pots and regular bathrooms at the stadium but the lines were still crazy. By the time we finished the race had just started. I had wanted to meet up with Coryna before the race for a pic but my timing didn't work out! They didn't have corrals, just signs that you were supposed to stand by that had min/mile paces. We waited for people to pass and kind of hopped into the moving mass when we thought our pace might be coming up. Very strange way to start!
