JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I LIked them on Facebook and got dozens of posts in my Newsfeed. I agree it was too much.
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Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon
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I LIked them on Facebook and got dozens of posts in my Newsfeed. I agree it was too much.
WDWoptmist
Well-Known Member
My girlfriend and I made this years Wine and Dine our first half marathon and first RunDisney event. Loved it! Cannot wait for next year! Running through the parks was incredible, the pre and post race parties were really fun, and even running on the highway wasn't as bad as I thought it would be because of the fun atmosphere and the runners themselves. Once you got to Hollywood Studios it was truly unbelievable. RunDisney rocks! Just curious though what is everybody else's favorite RunDisney race? Is Wine and Dine the best one? Certainly looked like the best course anyway.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
@WDWoptmist - Having run every half at WDW I personally think this is the best WDW half course (agree with @MKCP 1985 that the marathon is the best course...though I'm more partial to the older course compared to the newer one) .
But overall it's hard to compare the half marathons really...they are really different.
WDW half/Princess are morning races vs. night race for Wine & Dine
WDW half/Princess have the run down Main Street and through the castle, which is pretty incredible
WDW half/Princess half have 2 parks vs. 3 for Wine & Dine, as you pointed out
But overall it's hard to compare the half marathons really...they are really different.
WDW half/Princess are morning races vs. night race for Wine & Dine
WDW half/Princess have the run down Main Street and through the castle, which is pretty incredible
WDW half/Princess half have 2 parks vs. 3 for Wine & Dine, as you pointed out
AUPr8Hd
Active Member
Here's a quick recap of my W&D experience. I've done this race every year and still consider it to be my favorite course, even with the Osceola factor 
The course is unchanged from last year. On the stretch to and from AK, there appeared to be fewer character and entertainment along the stretch. The Country Bears were just prior to mile 1. There was a projection set up around mile 2 which was playing classic Mickey shorts, from the best I can tell. The hippo from Fantasia was around mile 3. I don't remember much about characters in AK. The hill heading towards World Drive had the Green Army man, per usual. In DHS, there were a couple of picture stops, including the Incredibles, Wreck It Ralph, Darth Vader/Boba Fett. Coming to the last turn before the finish, there was the laser and fog set up similar to Tower.
Temps hovered around 70* for the race. Finish time was 2:26:37 for a new PR (I've only run 1 half outside Disney and I ran it with the flu).
The course is unchanged from last year. On the stretch to and from AK, there appeared to be fewer character and entertainment along the stretch. The Country Bears were just prior to mile 1. There was a projection set up around mile 2 which was playing classic Mickey shorts, from the best I can tell. The hippo from Fantasia was around mile 3. I don't remember much about characters in AK. The hill heading towards World Drive had the Green Army man, per usual. In DHS, there were a couple of picture stops, including the Incredibles, Wreck It Ralph, Darth Vader/Boba Fett. Coming to the last turn before the finish, there was the laser and fog set up similar to Tower.
Temps hovered around 70* for the race. Finish time was 2:26:37 for a new PR (I've only run 1 half outside Disney and I ran it with the flu).
a2grafix
Well-Known Member
Found out I finished a little faster. Not 2:32-ish but 2:30:20, less than 7 minutes off my PR of 2:22.57 (January 2013, Louisiana Half Marathon in Baton Rouge). I also placed 114th in the men's military category. Finished in the top 33-percent of the runners, too -- 4151 out of 12,143 finishers.
Even better I finished over 5 minutes faster than my Disneyland Half time of 2:36.0.
Even better I finished over 5 minutes faster than my Disneyland Half time of 2:36.0.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
Quick recap (with a trip report to follow, natch)... ETA: Not-so-quick after all, this is more like a mini trip report - oops! Apologies for the mini-novel below:
My last long run for this race was Sunday, 11/3 - a 12-miler. I started getting some knee pain around mile 9 and changed my stride to accommodate and finish the run. Long story short, by changing my stride I managed to strain something and was hobbling around work all week. I took the rest of the week off from running and the pain was better, but still not gone, by Friday for the expo.
Expo was well-organized as usual. I had 4 bibs to pick up - 2 for me, one for my husband and one for a member of this board. This went pretty smoothly, and the half bibs included a $10 gift card and wristband for the after-party (and in Tim's case his C2C wristband). I also got pins for both races. Shirt pick-up was pretty smooth too, so I'm now the proud owner of yet another gigantic, unflattering tech shirt. Stopped by the KT Tape booth to see about getting my ankle taped, but the line was too long so I bought a roll to use later. I did grab a pair of the 2013 runDisney New Balance shoes (which I'll never use for running, just for walking around) and some stuff from the official merch area - the "I Did It" shirt, a W&D medal for my little Vinylmation and a Sweaty Band (LOVE Sweaty Bands!) with the W&D logo on it and got an AP discount on the official stuff (10%) AND didn't have to wait in line at all. I dropped Tim's stuff off at SoG that evening and my husband arrived on-property at about 8PM after putting in a full work day.
The 5K was the next morning! Very exciting as it was my husband's first race ever. We woke up at about 4:45 and were on the bus to the start by about 5:15. Jingle Jungle Mickey and Minnie were out meeting, so we got in their line (which was easily 200 people long) but it was cut off before we made it very far. They had the snoap machines going, so it was "snowing" at the start and lots of people were dressed up. Somehow we were in Corral A (the only time I'll ever be in the first corral at any race, I'm sure) and we had a great time! Temps in the low 60s but it was pretty humid. We got pictures with Baloo, King Louie, Chip & Dale and Donald...there may be more but I haven't uploaded all of my pictures yet. Character turnout was pretty good! Husband had a good time and wants to try a race at home to see how he can do without stopping for pictures. My foot felt totally normal for the first 2 miles of the race, and then I seemed to flip a switch at the start of the last mile and couldn't run more than 1-2 minutes without needing to walk. Overall it went better than I expected. The smart thing probably would have been to skip the 5K and rest up for the half that night, but the whole point of this trip was for us to do the 5K together, so there was no way I was missing that race.
(The big grey blur above the start line in the picture below is a snoap flake):
Please note the teddy bear's crazy eyes on the medallion:
We had a delicious post-race brunch at Kona Cafe (complete with a Kona pressed pot, yuummmmm) and frolicked around the Magic Kingdom for a bit before heading back to the hotel for a nap. We had a 4:30PM ADR for Via Napoli, and I had an individual pepperoni pizza. Delicious! The water guy commented, "You must be thirsty." Dude, I have a race tonight! He was great about refilling my water glass, which I really appreciated. We took a lap around the World Showcase to check out F&W offerings and man...the people that say F&W turns into a drunkfest on the weekend nights aren't kidding. I'm not normally a pearl clutcher when it comes to drinking, but it was a mess. Plus, it was packed to the gills with people (Saturday night + last week of F&W + Veteran's Day weekend + Wine & Dine I guess) and there was lots of smoking right out in the open.
Not fun.
Headed back to the hotel to change and tape up my knee (precautionary) and ankle, which was feeling pretty great at that point. I meant to get on one of the first buses to the starting area at 7PM but was running late and ended up on a bus at 7:30. Staging was at the WWoS and Chip & Dale, Minnie, Mickey and Goofy were meeting. I got into the Mickey line, which was INSANE. Biggest line I've ever seen for anything. Cell phone reception was terrible here - I couldn't send or receive text messages without turning my phone off, then on again and I couldn't post to Instagram
Eventually I gave up on the phone altogether because I wanted to have battery life left to contact my husband when I finished the race. The DJ they had was pretty great - dude was working his a-- off for 2 hours, getting the crowd hyped up and dancing the entire time. After waiting for 1:20 in the Mickey line (!!) Mickey was gone for good when I was about 5 people back from meeting him...of course. By then it was 9:15 or 9:20, so I had enough time for a bathroom stop before heading into the corrals (late) at 9:30. I think this worked out well because I read stories people waiting 45 minutes to use the bathroom, and since I got into the lines later when most people were already in their corrals I waited no more than 10. Really nice that the corrals are just around the corner from the staging area, compared to the morning races that have that long walk. They could have used more porta-potties at WWoS though and there were none actually IN the corrals, unlike the morning races.
The corrals went all the way up to (I think) L this year and I was in E. I definitely felt like there was more room in the corral compared to the corrals in January. The race started right on time and corrals were not spaced apart as far as they were in the past, so I was running by 10:09PM. I'm definitely a fan of the new corralling system.
First 3 miles on our way to Animal Kingdom weren't terrible - there was decent entertainment on the course. For the first two I felt fantastic - runner's high maybe? - but the foot pain came back by mile 3. At this point I remember starting to set small goals for myself - "Just make it to the 5K flag...just make it to Animal Kingdom...just make it to the 10K flag," etc. Despite promising my husband that I'd drop out of the race if the pain was too much, I knew all along if I started the race it was very unlikely I'd actually stop (he told me later he knew that as well). But it became a mental battle quickly.
I remember seeing the lead runner pass by right after mile marker 2 - so he was already 6-7 miles in. LOVED running through Animal Kingdom - it was a little dark at some parts but I loved seeing Everest lit up. I think that park is fun to run through and there were characters out, of course, so I was happy. Didn't like the long trek through the parking lot afterward so much though. Four miles later we got to the Studios, and by then I was doing walk 1 minute/run 2 minute intervals (whereas I normally walk a minute at each mile marker)...the pain was mostly bearable but got pretty bad at times and it felt like there was some grinding/popping going on every once in awhile. Mostly the outside of my foot alternated between feeling incredibly tight and incredibly sore. I got a second wind approaching (I think) mile 8 while waiting to meet Sarge because I could see the Osborne lights through the trees. That was the part of the course I'd been looking forward to the most.
Finally I made it to the Studios! This was my favorite part of the course.
(In line to meet Woody and Buzz):
I walked most of the Studios portion - the pain was pretty bad by now and there was lots to look at so I was more than happy to take it slow. I LOVED running through the lights. This was by far my favorite part of the race, and if they take the lights out of the Studios I'd be mostly happy because it would mean new attractions for a park that desperately needs them, but I'd definitely be sad that the course would be losing this experience.
I got my picture with Darth Vader and Boba Fett, so that was pretty cool despite my weird face:
From the Studios we headed to the Epcot Resort area, which was good and bad - bad because the path is SO narrow here and people were walking 4-5 across, good because the spectator support from here on out was amazing. By now it was approaching 1:00AM and it was so great to see how many people were out so late cheering us on. This is what saved the Epcot portion of the race for me - we were in and out of Epcot in what felt like seconds (not impressed, but I guess it's necessary to have a place to hold the finish line party) but the course was lined with spectators on both sides. I saw my husband by the Land tip board so that was exciting! By mile 13 the pain in my foot was totally gone for whatever reason, so I was able to finish the race at a run...or I would have if I hadn't stopped at the finish for a picture with Chef Mickey. Interesting change during this race - the character attendant would not take the picture for me. She said they're not allowed anymore - maybe to discourage people from stopping close to the finish? (For the record, I was way off to the side of the course and was not blocking the finish.) At any rate, I got my picture from another runner (and then took hers as a thank you) and hobbled across the mat. Official finish time: 3:14:09, 14:49/mile pace - a PW (personal worst) for the half marathon for me. But considering I probably had no business starting the race with an injury I'm just glad I finished without hurting myself even worse.
After hobbling through the finish area I hobbled into Epcot and to my and my husband's designated meeting spot - the bathrooms in the Land by Soarin'. The plan was for me to get cleaned up and changed so that we could hit the after party, but it was clear that we were in no shape for that - I was tired and my foot was killing me again, and when I found my husband he was sleeping on a bench across from the bathrooms (understandable after working all day Friday, flying to Disney right after work, and then getting up at 4:45 that morning for the 5K). We were spent. We grabbed some mac and cheese (meh) and a whoppie pie (yum!) from Sunshine Seasons and sloooowly made our way back to the hotel. I took a shower and was in bed by 3:30AM. So we never actually set foot in the after-party. I hobbled around some more the next day (F&W was much more pleasant on a Sunday afternoon - I even met a board member, though I was so surprised to be recognized that I never got his name! D'oh) and was almost in tears by Sunday night because of my friggin' foot. It's still sore now, but I'm just glad that I didn't rupture or tear anything during the race...because that was my worst fear. I fully realize that running the races while injured was pretty stupid, yet I can't really say I regret it.
(Next day at Food & Wine)
I'd like to give this race another shot - I may be in the minority but I LOVED this course and actually like it better than the AM half marathons at Disney, and running at night seemed to really agree with me. The weather felt great to me, I think maybe because I do 30-40% of my weekly mileage on a treadmill, so the humidity didn't bother me. Despite the foot injury I had a good time during the race, but I'd like to try again when I'm not constantly worrying about whether I need to be taken off the course in a wheelchair. That would be nice.
As usual, wonderful volunteers on the course and the water stops were well-stocked. Luckily I didn't need to visit the medical tents at all, but the med volunteers were definitely ready for us both on and off the course (there were medical stations outside of Epcot at the finish area and inside Epcot in Future World...unfortunately I saw 4-5 people in wheelchairs after the race and the next day). I'll be curious to see what happens to this course if the Osborne Lights go away and if there's significant construction in the Studios in the future.
Also, in case anyone else didn't see, there's a flash sale on the Disney Store website...they have some "I Did It" and Coast-to-Coast shirts:
Wine & Dine flash sale
My last long run for this race was Sunday, 11/3 - a 12-miler. I started getting some knee pain around mile 9 and changed my stride to accommodate and finish the run. Long story short, by changing my stride I managed to strain something and was hobbling around work all week.
I took the rest of the week off from running and the pain was better, but still not gone, by Friday for the expo.Expo was well-organized as usual. I had 4 bibs to pick up - 2 for me, one for my husband and one for a member of this board.
This went pretty smoothly, and the half bibs included a $10 gift card and wristband for the after-party (and in Tim's case his C2C wristband). I also got pins for both races. Shirt pick-up was pretty smooth too, so I'm now the proud owner of yet another gigantic, unflattering tech shirt. Stopped by the KT Tape booth to see about getting my ankle taped, but the line was too long so I bought a roll to use later. I did grab a pair of the 2013 runDisney New Balance shoes (which I'll never use for running, just for walking around) and some stuff from the official merch area - the "I Did It" shirt, a W&D medal for my little Vinylmation and a Sweaty Band (LOVE Sweaty Bands!) with the W&D logo on it and got an AP discount on the official stuff (10%) AND didn't have to wait in line at all. I dropped Tim's stuff off at SoG that evening and my husband arrived on-property at about 8PM after putting in a full work day.
The 5K was the next morning! Very exciting as it was my husband's first race ever. We woke up at about 4:45 and were on the bus to the start by about 5:15. Jingle Jungle Mickey and Minnie were out meeting, so we got in their line (which was easily 200 people long) but it was cut off before we made it very far. They had the snoap machines going, so it was "snowing" at the start and lots of people were dressed up. Somehow we were in Corral A (the only time I'll ever be in the first corral at any race, I'm sure) and we had a great time! Temps in the low 60s but it was pretty humid. We got pictures with Baloo, King Louie, Chip & Dale and Donald...there may be more but I haven't uploaded all of my pictures yet. Character turnout was pretty good! Husband had a good time and wants to try a race at home to see how he can do without stopping for pictures.
My foot felt totally normal for the first 2 miles of the race, and then I seemed to flip a switch at the start of the last mile and couldn't run more than 1-2 minutes without needing to walk. Overall it went better than I expected. The smart thing probably would have been to skip the 5K and rest up for the half that night, but the whole point of this trip was for us to do the 5K together, so there was no way I was missing that race.(The big grey blur above the start line in the picture below is a snoap flake):
Please note the teddy bear's crazy eyes on the medallion:
We had a delicious post-race brunch at Kona Cafe (complete with a Kona pressed pot, yuummmmm) and frolicked around the Magic Kingdom for a bit before heading back to the hotel for a nap. We had a 4:30PM ADR for Via Napoli, and I had an individual pepperoni pizza. Delicious! The water guy commented, "You must be thirsty." Dude, I have a race tonight! He was great about refilling my water glass, which I really appreciated. We took a lap around the World Showcase to check out F&W offerings and man...the people that say F&W turns into a drunkfest on the weekend nights aren't kidding. I'm not normally a pearl clutcher when it comes to drinking, but it was a mess. Plus, it was packed to the gills with people (Saturday night + last week of F&W + Veteran's Day weekend + Wine & Dine I guess) and there was lots of smoking right out in the open.
Not fun.Headed back to the hotel to change and tape up my knee (precautionary) and ankle, which was feeling pretty great at that point. I meant to get on one of the first buses to the starting area at 7PM but was running late and ended up on a bus at 7:30. Staging was at the WWoS and Chip & Dale, Minnie, Mickey and Goofy were meeting. I got into the Mickey line, which was INSANE. Biggest line I've ever seen for anything. Cell phone reception was terrible here - I couldn't send or receive text messages without turning my phone off, then on again and I couldn't post to Instagram
Eventually I gave up on the phone altogether because I wanted to have battery life left to contact my husband when I finished the race. The DJ they had was pretty great - dude was working his a-- off for 2 hours, getting the crowd hyped up and dancing the entire time. After waiting for 1:20 in the Mickey line (!!) Mickey was gone for good when I was about 5 people back from meeting him...of course. By then it was 9:15 or 9:20, so I had enough time for a bathroom stop before heading into the corrals (late) at 9:30. I think this worked out well because I read stories people waiting 45 minutes to use the bathroom, and since I got into the lines later when most people were already in their corrals I waited no more than 10. Really nice that the corrals are just around the corner from the staging area, compared to the morning races that have that long walk. They could have used more porta-potties at WWoS though and there were none actually IN the corrals, unlike the morning races.The corrals went all the way up to (I think) L this year and I was in E. I definitely felt like there was more room in the corral compared to the corrals in January. The race started right on time and corrals were not spaced apart as far as they were in the past, so I was running by 10:09PM. I'm definitely a fan of the new corralling system.
First 3 miles on our way to Animal Kingdom weren't terrible - there was decent entertainment on the course. For the first two I felt fantastic - runner's high maybe? - but the foot pain came back by mile 3. At this point I remember starting to set small goals for myself - "Just make it to the 5K flag...just make it to Animal Kingdom...just make it to the 10K flag," etc. Despite promising my husband that I'd drop out of the race if the pain was too much, I knew all along if I started the race it was very unlikely I'd actually stop (he told me later he knew that as well). But it became a mental battle quickly.
I remember seeing the lead runner pass by right after mile marker 2 - so he was already 6-7 miles in.
LOVED running through Animal Kingdom - it was a little dark at some parts but I loved seeing Everest lit up. I think that park is fun to run through and there were characters out, of course, so I was happy. Didn't like the long trek through the parking lot afterward so much though. Four miles later we got to the Studios, and by then I was doing walk 1 minute/run 2 minute intervals (whereas I normally walk a minute at each mile marker)...the pain was mostly bearable but got pretty bad at times and it felt like there was some grinding/popping going on every once in awhile. Mostly the outside of my foot alternated between feeling incredibly tight and incredibly sore. I got a second wind approaching (I think) mile 8 while waiting to meet Sarge because I could see the Osborne lights through the trees. That was the part of the course I'd been looking forward to the most.Finally I made it to the Studios! This was my favorite part of the course.
(In line to meet Woody and Buzz):
I walked most of the Studios portion - the pain was pretty bad by now and there was lots to look at so I was more than happy to take it slow. I LOVED running through the lights. This was by far my favorite part of the race, and if they take the lights out of the Studios I'd be mostly happy because it would mean new attractions for a park that desperately needs them, but I'd definitely be sad that the course would be losing this experience.
I got my picture with Darth Vader and Boba Fett, so that was pretty cool despite my weird face:
From the Studios we headed to the Epcot Resort area, which was good and bad - bad because the path is SO narrow here and people were walking 4-5 across
, good because the spectator support from here on out was amazing. By now it was approaching 1:00AM and it was so great to see how many people were out so late cheering us on. This is what saved the Epcot portion of the race for me - we were in and out of Epcot in what felt like seconds (not impressed, but I guess it's necessary to have a place to hold the finish line party) but the course was lined with spectators on both sides. I saw my husband by the Land tip board so that was exciting! By mile 13 the pain in my foot was totally gone for whatever reason, so I was able to finish the race at a run...or I would have if I hadn't stopped at the finish for a picture with Chef Mickey. Interesting change during this race - the character attendant would not take the picture for me. She said they're not allowed anymore - maybe to discourage people from stopping close to the finish? (For the record, I was way off to the side of the course and was not blocking the finish.) At any rate, I got my picture from another runner (and then took hers as a thank you) and hobbled across the mat. Official finish time: 3:14:09, 14:49/mile pace - a PW (personal worst) for the half marathon for me. But considering I probably had no business starting the race with an injury I'm just glad I finished without hurting myself even worse.After hobbling through the finish area I hobbled into Epcot and to my and my husband's designated meeting spot - the bathrooms in the Land by Soarin'. The plan was for me to get cleaned up and changed so that we could hit the after party, but it was clear that we were in no shape for that - I was tired and my foot was killing me again, and when I found my husband he was sleeping on a bench across from the bathrooms (understandable after working all day Friday, flying to Disney right after work, and then getting up at 4:45 that morning for the 5K). We were spent. We grabbed some mac and cheese (meh) and a whoppie pie (yum!) from Sunshine Seasons and sloooowly made our way back to the hotel. I took a shower and was in bed by 3:30AM. So we never actually set foot in the after-party. I hobbled around some more the next day (F&W was much more pleasant on a Sunday afternoon - I even met a board member, though I was so surprised to be recognized that I never got his name! D'oh
) and was almost in tears by Sunday night because of my friggin' foot. It's still sore now, but I'm just glad that I didn't rupture or tear anything during the race...because that was my worst fear. I fully realize that running the races while injured was pretty stupid, yet I can't really say I regret it.(Next day at Food & Wine)
I'd like to give this race another shot - I may be in the minority but I LOVED this course and actually like it better than the AM half marathons at Disney, and running at night seemed to really agree with me. The weather felt great to me, I think maybe because I do 30-40% of my weekly mileage on a treadmill, so the humidity didn't bother me. Despite the foot injury I had a good time during the race, but I'd like to try again when I'm not constantly worrying about whether I need to be taken off the course in a wheelchair. That would be nice.
As usual, wonderful volunteers on the course and the water stops were well-stocked. Luckily I didn't need to visit the medical tents at all, but the med volunteers were definitely ready for us both on and off the course (there were medical stations outside of Epcot at the finish area and inside Epcot in Future World...unfortunately I saw 4-5 people in wheelchairs after the race and the next day
). I'll be curious to see what happens to this course if the Osborne Lights go away and if there's significant construction in the Studios in the future.Also, in case anyone else didn't see, there's a flash sale on the Disney Store website...they have some "I Did It" and Coast-to-Coast shirts:
Wine & Dine flash sale
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LindsayLoves
Well-Known Member
Shannon! Great (mini) race report. It was so great of you to pick up and drop off Tim's race stuff for him, you should get WDW Magic member of the year for that. Running though the Osborne lights looks amazing, definitely on my race bucket list. Hope your foot is feeing better now.
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
I did grab a pair of the 2013 runDisney New Balance shoes (which I'll never use for running, just for walking around)
Great report Shannon. When I saw the pic of the shoes, I wondered if anyone would actually want to wear them out running, and then I read your comment about only using them for walking. That makes sense. They sure are purty. Glad there was no serious damage to your foot. And I agree that it was really nice of you to pick up Tim's race packet.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
Lindsay! Thanks.
Yes, the lights were my favorite part! As we approached the Cast Members were yelling, "Welcome to Christmas!" It was so great.Foot is still sore...
If it hasn't improved a week from now I'm going to bite the bullet and see a doctor. If that happens I know I'll get scolded for running after the initial injury. Thanks Jill! Crazy thing about the shoes is that I saw them in January too (when they were first available) and I saw people running the half/full in them!
Couldn't believe it. Like I said to Lindsay I'm still dealing with the foot stuff and am hobbling around work a bit, but I'm sure it'll heal faster with a real break from running and my not walking around Epcot/Magic Kingdom for hours.It really was so awesome! The only thing that compares to it is running through a dark Epcot during the early miles of the older marathon course. I knew it was coming but I was still in awe. Thanks for the healing wishes.
Kristia
Well-Known Member
@Ariel484 - I was wondering how you did at the half! Congrats to your husband for his first 5k! Sounds like he may be getting the running bug if he wants to try one at home.
Love the shoes! I don't think I would run in them either. I saw people running in them at the marathon and like you, I thought they were crazy!
Would love to run this race one day but would really miss the Osbourne lights if they went away. That sounds like an awesome experience! Hope your foot feels better!!
Love the shoes! I don't think I would run in them either. I saw people running in them at the marathon and like you, I thought they were crazy!
Would love to run this race one day but would really miss the Osbourne lights if they went away. That sounds like an awesome experience! Hope your foot feels better!!
imagination30
Well-Known Member
awesome as always- Shannon , take care of that injury .. its no fun having to nurse a injury ... but its better to rest it than hurt it more! ... and not give 100 % .. Glad will loved his first run Disney / race.
SyracuseOrange
Well-Known Member
Finally back on the boards after my trip to WDW for the half marathon. It was my very first RunDisney event, and it did not disappoint! Between the characters, the beautiful course, and everything else Disney adds to make these races magical, I had an amazing time.
It was my 2nd half marathon, and originally I wasn't setting out to beat my old time. I wanted to enjoy it, meet characters, and not get angry when people were walking in big packs that were hard to navigate around. But once I crossed that starting line, my competitive side kick in and I was like....I'm gonna PR this! I had to remind myself that I'm at Disney and need at least ONE picture with a character on the race, but every time I passed one I couldn't justify waiting in the line. Finally, around mile 10 I stopped to meet with the Incredibles. Then it was onto the Osbourne Lights, which I haven't actually seen since I was a child, so they were extra amazing to see.
After I crossed the finish line, I thought that I was JUUUST around my old half time. (Later I discovered that I did officially PR by 4 minutes!) I was originally planning on partying in EPCOT for a while, if not until it stopped at 4am. I've never been to F&W, and I figured that the race party would be my best time to experience it. But I was so spent. I waited at the crosswalk to get to World Showcase for about 20 minutes, and then realized I wasn't moving anywhere any time soon, was still wearing my soaking wet clothes, and felt like crap. The last thing I wanted at that moment was alcohol and new foods. So I went back to my hotel, and woke up early enough to hit F&W and crammed in 4 booth by 11:07am (some of them opened just a bit early, and I was the first in line at several of them.) LOVED the Singapore booth.
After a couple more hours, including a break at American Adventure, it was back to my hotel for some more sleep, followed by a glorious return to Epcot for one last taste of F&W.
Overall, it was an amazing weekend. I am moving to SoCal soon, and plan on running in the Disneyland Half, and several other RunDisney races in the future. I am technically signed up for the WDW 2014 marathon, but I've been slacking on my training, and have't yet bought plane tickets or booked a hotel. I wish I could transfer my bib to someone else, but I'll at least just smile that I'm making the corrals one person less crowded
And I agree with @Ariel484 - cell phone coverage at ESPN before the race was awful. I'd hope they add wifi to that area; since I was running alone, I just had to hang out there with nothing to do for like 2.5 hours before I even started running. I did meet Chip & Dale, but didn't want to wait in the MASSIVE lines for anyone else.
It was my 2nd half marathon, and originally I wasn't setting out to beat my old time. I wanted to enjoy it, meet characters, and not get angry when people were walking in big packs that were hard to navigate around. But once I crossed that starting line, my competitive side kick in and I was like....I'm gonna PR this! I had to remind myself that I'm at Disney and need at least ONE picture with a character on the race, but every time I passed one I couldn't justify waiting in the line. Finally, around mile 10 I stopped to meet with the Incredibles. Then it was onto the Osbourne Lights, which I haven't actually seen since I was a child, so they were extra amazing to see.
After I crossed the finish line, I thought that I was JUUUST around my old half time. (Later I discovered that I did officially PR by 4 minutes!) I was originally planning on partying in EPCOT for a while, if not until it stopped at 4am. I've never been to F&W, and I figured that the race party would be my best time to experience it. But I was so spent. I waited at the crosswalk to get to World Showcase for about 20 minutes, and then realized I wasn't moving anywhere any time soon, was still wearing my soaking wet clothes, and felt like crap. The last thing I wanted at that moment was alcohol and new foods. So I went back to my hotel, and woke up early enough to hit F&W and crammed in 4 booth by 11:07am (some of them opened just a bit early, and I was the first in line at several of them.) LOVED the Singapore booth.
After a couple more hours, including a break at American Adventure, it was back to my hotel for some more sleep, followed by a glorious return to Epcot for one last taste of F&W.
Overall, it was an amazing weekend. I am moving to SoCal soon, and plan on running in the Disneyland Half, and several other RunDisney races in the future. I am technically signed up for the WDW 2014 marathon, but I've been slacking on my training, and have't yet bought plane tickets or booked a hotel. I wish I could transfer my bib to someone else, but I'll at least just smile that I'm making the corrals one person less crowded
And I agree with @Ariel484 - cell phone coverage at ESPN before the race was awful. I'd hope they add wifi to that area; since I was running alone, I just had to hang out there with nothing to do for like 2.5 hours before I even started running. I did meet Chip & Dale, but didn't want to wait in the MASSIVE lines for anyone else.
Ariel484
Well-Known Member
Thanks Kristy! I think he is...!! He asked if we have any local 5Ks in our town coming up soon (we don't) and I asked him if he'd be interested in another runDisney event. He wasn't sure because he thought the distances went right from 5Ks to 10-milers and half marathons, but I think I have him thinking about a 10K at some point.
I saw so many people wearing those shoes over the weekend! I didn't wear them around WDW because it seemed like a dumb idea to wear new shoes with the foot pain, but they're waiting patiently for me in my closet.
The Osborne lights were such a huge part of the race for me - that was the one area of the course I was looking forward to the most and was such a huge motivator for me. I'd have mixed feelings if they went away. Foot is feeling better today but I think I'm still a ways off from running.
And doesn't SOMEONE have a marathon coming up this weekend??
GOOD LUCK to you and Dan!! I can't wait to hear about it!Thank you! Yes, I think I pushed my luck enough by doing the races...no running for me until I kick this thing. And he totally did love the race!
@AUPr8Hd and @SyracuseOrange - congrats on the new PRs!! @SyracuseOrange - good luck with the upcoming move and remember to sign up for those Disneyland races early!!
@a2grafix - sorry we never got to meet up this weekend, congrats on getting that C2C medal!
JillC LI
Well-Known Member
Glad the race ... and the weekend ... went so well!
Kristia
Well-Known Member
@Ariel484 - Yep! Philly Marathon on Sunday! Not quite ready for it but I don't think I could ever actually feel ready for a marathon. Thanks for the good luck! I am still trying to decide if I want to run with my camera or not. I probably will end up running with it. Looks like the temp at the start is supposed to be 50 F. Perfect! I have my fingers crossed that the rain will hold off till later in the day which is what the forecast is sayin'.
Not quite ready for it but I don't think I could ever actually feel ready for a marathon. Thanks for the good luck! I am still trying to decide if I want to run with my camera or not. I probably will end up running with it. Looks like the temp at the start is supposed to be 50 F. Perfect! I have my fingers crossed that the rain will hold off till later in the day which is what the forecast is sayin'.
Maryssa*
Well-Known Member
I'll be the first to wish you an early WELCOME! The weather here is awesome in the winter for running! I hope they add another race on this coast though.Overall, it was an amazing weekend. I am moving to SoCal soon, and plan on running in the Disneyland Half, and several other RunDisney races in the future. I am technically signed up for the WDW 2014 marathon, but I've been slacking on my training, and have't yet bought plane tickets or booked a hotel. I wish I could transfer my bib to someone else, but I'll at least just smile that I'm making the corrals one person less crowded