First, I wish all the volunteers would have been in a long line so I could thank everyone of them. Amazing job. Special thanks to the high schools. I'm sure there are better things for them to do on a weekend. :wave:
Second, sorry, no pics. I left my iPhone at the hotel. :hammer:
Getting to the start line was chaos. Baby steps all the way from parking to the very distant start because of the crowd followed by an hour wait in the corral. My back was killing me and I hadn't even started. Felt like a whiny little jerk when they announced troops in Iraq would be running with us. Then the first group launched with fireworks and the adrenaline kicked in and stopped the pain.
As we headed towards MK we could see the leaders already headed back to Epcot. Everyone went nuts cheering them on. We passed a cool SSE hot air balloon, with the infamous wand, then Winnie the Pooh.
Saw the Tangled couple in MK. Looked JUST like them! Then trumpets announced our approach to the back of the castle. Very cool. Then saw the train on the way out. Then back down to Epcot past the balloon and Winnie. I bet the volunteers were sick of the Pooh song. :lol:
Unfortunately the race was stopped right behind me so an ambulance could get through. Hope that person is OK.
I was worried about the overpass before Epcot but it was no big deal. A Toy Story green army man was telling us "civilians" to "take that hill!" Wish I would have stopped for a picture. But the crowd was slowing me down.
As we approached Epcot I thought I heard Off Kilter. And it was them! We ran right past them. Man that got me pumped up. Love those guys.
As we ran into Epcot a little after opening, you could see regular guests making their way in. They gave us a big cheer even though we were messing up their morning. Thought that was very cool.
Then you exit and turn the corner and see the finish. Wow, look at all the spectators! That was fun. I felt like an Olympian. :king:
After the finish volunteers were passing out some sheet of paper with a shiny side. Didn't know what that was but people were wrapping up in it. Grabbed the awesome Donald Duck medal and a muffin and headed back to the truck for the 1.5 hour wait to get out of the parking lot. Ran into a runner at the hotel and he said it took longer to get out of the parking lot than to run the race! :ROFLOL:
So I met my time goal but could have been a lot faster. The best and worst part of this race is all the people (I heard 27,000). The other runners keep you pumped up but they also get in the way at times. And there are a lot of choke points. LOTS of people were walking in the last 3 miles. My Garmin said I ran an extra quarter mile running around people. But they are a big reason I finished strong. Great people running this race. Runners are some of the best people I've ever met. :wave:
Was it worth it? Heck yeah. Would I do it again? Heck yeah. Am I ready for the marathon? My feet say no. Maybe after I lose 20 more pounds. I recommend this highly. If you haven't done this yet, get down here. Maybe I can do the Disneyland next year. :wave:
Second, sorry, no pics. I left my iPhone at the hotel. :hammer:
Getting to the start line was chaos. Baby steps all the way from parking to the very distant start because of the crowd followed by an hour wait in the corral. My back was killing me and I hadn't even started. Felt like a whiny little jerk when they announced troops in Iraq would be running with us. Then the first group launched with fireworks and the adrenaline kicked in and stopped the pain.
As we headed towards MK we could see the leaders already headed back to Epcot. Everyone went nuts cheering them on. We passed a cool SSE hot air balloon, with the infamous wand, then Winnie the Pooh.
Saw the Tangled couple in MK. Looked JUST like them! Then trumpets announced our approach to the back of the castle. Very cool. Then saw the train on the way out. Then back down to Epcot past the balloon and Winnie. I bet the volunteers were sick of the Pooh song. :lol:
Unfortunately the race was stopped right behind me so an ambulance could get through. Hope that person is OK.
I was worried about the overpass before Epcot but it was no big deal. A Toy Story green army man was telling us "civilians" to "take that hill!" Wish I would have stopped for a picture. But the crowd was slowing me down.
As we approached Epcot I thought I heard Off Kilter. And it was them! We ran right past them. Man that got me pumped up. Love those guys.
As we ran into Epcot a little after opening, you could see regular guests making their way in. They gave us a big cheer even though we were messing up their morning. Thought that was very cool.
Then you exit and turn the corner and see the finish. Wow, look at all the spectators! That was fun. I felt like an Olympian. :king:
After the finish volunteers were passing out some sheet of paper with a shiny side. Didn't know what that was but people were wrapping up in it. Grabbed the awesome Donald Duck medal and a muffin and headed back to the truck for the 1.5 hour wait to get out of the parking lot. Ran into a runner at the hotel and he said it took longer to get out of the parking lot than to run the race! :ROFLOL:
So I met my time goal but could have been a lot faster. The best and worst part of this race is all the people (I heard 27,000). The other runners keep you pumped up but they also get in the way at times. And there are a lot of choke points. LOTS of people were walking in the last 3 miles. My Garmin said I ran an extra quarter mile running around people. But they are a big reason I finished strong. Great people running this race. Runners are some of the best people I've ever met. :wave:
Was it worth it? Heck yeah. Would I do it again? Heck yeah. Am I ready for the marathon? My feet say no. Maybe after I lose 20 more pounds. I recommend this highly. If you haven't done this yet, get down here. Maybe I can do the Disneyland next year. :wave:
To put things in perspective - it took us so long to start that the leaders were already on their way over the overpass into Epcot as we were nearing mile 1. :dazzle:
