Disneyland Half Marathon

Mad Stitch

Mad Stitch

Well-Known Member
I don’t fly out until Saturday morning, but to everyone going to Disneyland this weekend safe travel and have a good race!
 
fmingo36

fmingo36

Well-Known Member
Good Luck to everone running this weekend (and Congrats to those getting their Coast-to-Coast medals!).

Wish I was there running with you!
 
Texas84

Texas84

Well-Known Member
AUPr8Hd said:
Congrats to all the finishers! It was a nice flat course. Temps were wonderful for the run. If I ever run this one again, I'll have to train and plan for it to be a PR race.
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I heard some runners complaining about the freeway overpass and the small "hill" going over the railroad track. One woman yelled, "I'm from Florida! What's with these hills?" :)
 
Texas84

Texas84

Well-Known Member
Quick trip report: It's worth running this one just to see DLR and Radiator Springs. We stayed at The Grand Californian and it's amazing how close everything is. TGC has it's own entrance to DCA and an entrance to DTD. The DL gate is right across a plaza from the DCA main gate.

Registration at the Disneyland Hotel was very similar to a WDW race. Chaos. Rhetorical question: Why do we have to walk through the entire expo to get our number? Yes, I do know why. Grabbed a few 'official' shirts and a hat.

Got up at 0330 to head to the race. Very organized. Didn't have to walk 2 miles to the start like a WDW race. I was in Corral E. The corrals line up on a street that goes under DTD so you could see the start on the up-slope past the overpass. The humidity was WAY lower than what I've been training in and I felt like running.

I had to pass a lot of people at the start. I think I need to start submitting 10K times because I ended up wasting a lot of energy passing. The Garmin said I did 13.18. The first 3-4 miles were gridlocked with choke points and I couldn't go full speed. Running through the parks was fun but I was ready to get out into the streets to get some space. There was almost an accident at Darth Vader because everyone stopped when they saw him. In DCA the World of Color fountains were going. Awesome show BTW. We did the dinner package at Trattoria Tuesday. The food was, WOW. Highly recommended.
 
Texas84

Texas84

Well-Known Member
Then we headed east through Anaheim directly into the sun. Even with my sunglasses I couldn't see a thing. Nothing much to see until Anaheim Stadium. Lots of high school bands and cheerleaders. They really do a great job getting the runners pumped up. There were also some Polynesian dancers and mariachi (sp?). There was a guy pushing a woman in a wheelchair. He was doing great but I left him at maybe mile 6-7. We started to get closer to the Big A and there seemed to be a mile of awesome cars, old and new, including a Corvette (?) painted just like Lightning McQueen. Very cool. Wanted to stop and look at them but couldn't. Then we turned onto the Santa Ana river trail for a short while. Nice sand path. We were kicking up quite a dust cloud there.
 
Texas84

Texas84

Well-Known Member
Then off the trail to the Big A. We entered on the first base side and there was a decent crowd going nuts. It was a bit overwhelming, in a good way. Then we exited on the third base side. The track was like a foam rubber, very nice to run on. Then back to DLR for the final 3-4 miles. More bands and cheerleaders. Crossed under the freeway and saw the Tower of Terror in the distance. Finish line was very narrow but we were spread enough for a sprint. I saw Goofy at the finish line.
 
Texas84

Texas84

Well-Known Member
The finish area was typical Disney, just like Florida. The cold towel was perfect. Got the DL medal then found the Coast to Coast tent. That wasn't as organized but they got it done. The lines for the photos were taking forever. Much longer than the WDW photo lines. They passed out a nice goody box of different snacks. But my question is, why can't we get a big ol' Coca-Cola at the finish? Am I the only one? I went right to the hotel for a Coke. Took me forever to get out of the reunion area. It was packed.

You have to do this once and get that CtC. DLR is amazing. And if you're training in the deep south you will love the weather. The CtC medal is heavy and beautiful. I wore it to DCA that afternoon and all the CMs were asking about it because everyone else wore the normal 'D' medal. I give Disney an 'A' overall. Had a GREAT time. Very impressed with DLR and the area.
 

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