So This Is Love: A 2010 Princess Half Marathon Trip Report!

Hi everyone! We returned almost two weeks ago from a quick weekend stay at Disney’s Pop Century resort, March 5-8. I swear, I finish one trip report and it’s time to turn around and start another one. Seeing that my last report hasn’t moved down the page too far, I’m going to be brief with the introductions, as I think many of you might “know” us by now!

I’m Holly, and traveling with me is my love, Brett. Here we are ringing in 2010 from sea:

That picture was taken approximately 4 days after we signed up for the 2010 Princess Half Marathon! Now, I’m not a very princess-y girl and tiaras and sparkle really aren’t my thing. But after seeing the character pictures from last year’s inaugural event, the thought of meeting Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale in their royal attire had me sold. Therefore, we’d been talking about this as a possibility since sometime last summer; however, we didn’t actually pull the trigger and make it happen until the end of December. Mostly this is because the first week of March is one of the two absolute busiest weeks of my entire year at work. Pretty much everything I do leads up to a week long event and then tapers off from it twice a year. Because of this I knew the only way to make it happen would be to leave after work on Friday and come home Monday (taking only one day off). When we got home from our cruise we made resort reservations, secured some ADRs, and started setting the plan in motion. Oh yeah… and we talked about a training schedule. Can’t forget that! :lol:

Speaking of training… :lookaroun Does anyone remember how well prepared we were for the 2009 Marathon?!? I’m not going to go back and count, but I’m sure there were numerous times throughout that trip report that I swore I’d never go into another one of these events under trained… yada, yada, yada. Yeah… about that. The motivation to train in the cold weather we’ve been having just wasn’t there. I know, I know, we live in South Carolina... hardly the harsh weather many others have been dealing with. Plus, I’ll admit, neither one of us was truly respecting the distance, considering we’d already conquered a full 26.2 miles, it wasn’t hard for us to tell ourselves we’d be okay pushing through a “measly” 13.1. I’m sitting here shaking my head at myself as I type this.

Anywhoo… enough about our pathetic attempts at training, let’s get on to the good stuff. One thing is for sure, Brett was a real sport about it all. From the beginning, months ago, when I asked him if he’d be willing to run a race geared towards women all the way to the finish line where he’d endured my countless references to him as Princess Brett.

So this is love!!

 

[HollyBelle]

At this point I was really starting to feel the pain in my ankles so we’d moved to a walk/run pattern… unfortunately, more walk than run. I faintly recall taking gels as we passed through a water stop in this area. And eventually we found ourselves heading past the Hess station and “merging” back onto World Drive right around the same time we passed mile marker 9:

Brett’s character radar went off again… he could see that someone was out near the “Tough to be a Bug” billboard. Probably Flik, or could it be Atta?! I was so excited. I’ve been searching for and hoping to find her at the Animal Kingdom for quite a long time now. We picked up the pace to get to her… she’s my kind of princess! And what a perfect backdrop!

We could see the heroes up ahead, still rocking out to Bonnie Tyler. Yeah, I bet those guys are seriously tired of that song! :ROFLOL: Across from the heroes was the tenth mile marker. Just a 5K to go:

In the picture above you can see the overpass that leads to Epcot… we’re almost there. When we started making the loop up the exit ramp I could hear someone shouting out orders. And as we rounded the corner, we saw three green army men. It was a lot of fun listening to them encourage (yell at) women to run faster, harder and longer. We stopped for a brief meet and greet before the sergeant shooed us back onto the course.

It seemed that we were playing a bit of a game over the last 4-6 miles. Every time we stopped for a character meet and greet it would eat up a little bit of our time (obviously more than worth it to us), we’d get back on the course and find ourselves passing some people. At the next character sighting we’d stop again… get back on the course… and pass the same people again. There were two girls with “Team Tink” t-shirts on that I swear we danced with like this 5 or 6 times. We’d come up on them and I’d think, “haven't we seen these two before?” It confused me a time or two. :lol:

Mile marker 11 was up ahead with the last med tent.

Guess what they had at the med tent?! Biofreeze! For those of you who followed along with my marathon report, you know how much this stuff saved me during the 26.2 miles. I passed it up at the first two stops on the half, but couldn’t bring myself to pass up this last one. The stuff is worth its weight in gold… and was as good to me as I remembered it. Sweet numbing power! I slathered it all over my ankles and looked up at Brett with a huge grin on my face. Love this stuff! He just laughed at me. As we walked away I joked that we should have taken a picture of the volunteer holding the huge industrial size bottle so I could include it in my trip report. Ah well, maybe next time. It was a good idea but not worth walking backwards for. Our motto for the weekend quickly became “forward motion dictates the direction we go in.”

I was feeling pretty beat up in the last couple miles. My ankles were really protesting, and I think the next time we do this (if I can wrangle Brett into the Wine and Dine Half) I’m going to have to wear some sort of support braces on both of them; they’re just too weak from years of abuse as a gymnast. I knew we were nowhere near being swept, but one of my goals was to not slow down so much that we didn’t maintain the 16 minutes for each of the last miles... I wanted to finish strong! At some point between markers 11 and 12 I remember looking over at Brett and asking the rhetorical question, “How the #@%$ did we EVER finish 26.2 miles?!” I truly do not know. It kind of makes my Mickey medal even more special to me now. :sohappy: :lol:

 

[HollyBelle]

Two thumbs up to tuxedo shirt dude for his sign… we saw these guys earlier in near the same spot (on the other side of the guardrail) between mile markers 1 and 2. They were rocking out with their kings’ crowns and cheering on the ladies (and Princess Brett). :ROFLOL:

We saw the fairies long before we made a hard right onto their road (the one that is used to exit the park, it crosses over the entrance road). We thought about passing them up… but then realized if we were ever going to meet Terrence, now’s the time, because he’s not someone we’d ever take the time to stand in a killer long line for in the parks. So here you have it folks… Brett’s princess-y limit:

We came over the crest of the overpass to the sounds of a jazz band… looking down at the end of the hill we saw Tiana, Naveen, and Louis! Wooohooo… we were hoping to meet Louis or Dr. Facilier during the race:

The time clock on mile marker 12 wasn’t working… not that it really mattered to us:

We crossed over the bus drop off area for Epcot, where CMs were doing their best to hold up people and send them across during lulls. We overheard one irate guy tell a CM he didn’t have to wait as he busted through the runners. Really?! Wonder how many times the CMs had to deal with his “type.” It’s not like they held them up for long... maybe a minute or two.

Spaceship Earth from the backlot:

 

[HollyBelle]

We busted into Epcot near the Art of Disney store… woohooo, Future World! We’re in the homestretch now. We saw Suzy and Perla as we hit the out-and-back turning point where World Showcase and Future World converge. I’ll admit these weren't the mice I was looking for, and I was a little disappointed as this location was my “last hope” for a large group of characters. And hopefully, the classics. But it looks like this wasn’t the day.

We made our way back past SSE and out into the parking lot, where mile marker 13 and a gospel choir were waiting for us:

We picked it up to a run as we came into the finish chute, where we saw Donald and Goofy up ahead. They were clapping and waving to all the runners passing by. Brett and I, of course, stopped. Really, what’s the difference between a 3:06 finish time and 3:07?! Without further ado, I give you my favorite character picture from the race, Regal Donald and Jester Goofy… now this is what I'm talking about... and I just love that you can see the finish line in the background. :sohappy:

Had we thought about it before moving on and crossing the finish line, Brett and I might have asked the CM if they were switching out with anyone and how long it’d be – I kid you not. Knowing us, we would’ve waited had we just thought to ask. :ROFLOL:

With that we took off and crossed the finish line at a run! That feeling of accomplishment really is exhilarating. Brett took a fun picture of me receiving my medal from one of the young volunteers.

My legs were cramping up because we’d finally stopped, but we bypassed the med tent anyway in search of post race party characters. We grabbed some bottled water in the “food” tent and took off for the family reunion area. It was packed with people and the only characters we saw were Cinderella and Ariel (with feet not a fin). The lines were incredibly long, as family members were also in the area and the princesses were clearly taking their time with each family. Overall, I was really surprised because from what we saw, Jasmine, Aurora, and Snow White were nowhere to be found... not on the course, nor in the post race area. I know we had some really rotten luck with timing during this race, but I was quite surprised.

We took a quick self-portrait and made our way to the car.

Next up... a full day. After all the day was just getting started seeing that it was only 9:30 am!!

 

[MKCP 1985]

congrats to both of you on finishing your race. :king:

it was a pleasure reading your account of miles 1-13. How do you remember all that detail? My mind becomes oxygen deprived and I can hardly remember much of the detail at the end of a long race like that. :lol:

 

[mouselvrmom]

Woot,woot! Another race completed! :sohappy:

I love the Pluto in his gear! You were right he is super cute! I also was super excited that you saw Tiana and her crowd and regal Donald and jester Goofy! Very cool! And Brett with the fairies is just too funny! :lol:

I'm sorry to hear that you missed some of the characters, but that's always what another year is for!

 

[One Lil Spark]

I adore your running skirt with the Minnie belt! Also, the picture of the two of you at the start of the race as the sun is rising in your background is amazing. Definitely one to keep to show the kids.

You are one of my favorite TR people and can't wait to see more! :sohappy:

 

[Brett]

Holly, you forgot the single most important detail of the entire race... I finished exactly 1 second ahead of you. WOO!!!

Better luck next time, slowpoke! :lol:

 

[One Lil Spark]

Holly, you forgot the single most important detail of the entire race... I finished exactly 1 second ahead of you. WOO!!!

Better luck next time, slowpoke! :lol:

BURN! :lol:

 

[WDWFigment]

Holly, you forgot the single most important detail of the entire race... I finished exactly 1 second ahead of you. WOO!!!

Better luck next time, slowpoke! :lol:

That's awesome.

Pluto in front of the Lunching Pad is great--I've never seen him in that costume. I'd love more of the retro-futuristic costumes that used to be out in Future World and Tomorrowland.

 

[fmingo36]

We could see the heroes up ahead, still rocking out to Bonnie Tyler. Yeah, I bet those guys are seriously tired of that song!

I thought the same exact thing.:lol:

 

[RNRguy]

great report.. i enjoyed reading it and looking at the pics. thanks holly!

 

[fyn]

Awesome report so far. Congrats on pushing through the cold. I know that couldn't have been easy.

 

[joanna71985]

Thanks, Joanna. For some reason I was thinking you were signed up for the January Half. I hope nothing serious kept you from participating in that one. Knowing that you're a big character fan, I think you're really going to love participating in one of these things.

Yeah, I was signed up for the Half. But I had a problem with my foot, and had to drop out. Oh well, I'm sure I'll have better luck next time.

 

[Danielle Shay]

You have my respect for doing all that running with a cold. Doesn't it just figure you would get sick right before a Disney trip? Glad it didn't seem to ruin your good time. Great report so far!

 

[maggiegrace1]

Great Report..but every time I see the title I start singing..So, this is love!...:lol:

 

[HollyBelle]

congrats to both of you on finishing your race. :king:

it was a pleasure reading your account of miles 1-13. How do you remember all that detail? My mind becomes oxygen deprived and I can hardly remember much of the detail at the end of a long race like that.

Thanks, Doug! The pictures help to remember detail, over time though I've gotten better at mentally "tagging" things as they happen. I try to remember them long enough to jot a reminder down in a small notebook at the end of each day (or in this case, when we got back to the room after the run). I don't journal, per se, just bullet some things to bring the memory back. My long term isn't quite so good. If it weren't for all these trip reports I write, I'd forget everything from one trip to the next. They're a great little reminder when I want to go back and read them at a later date. I even print them out, put them in sleeves, and keep them in a 3 ring binder... talk about OCD. :ROFLOL:

Woot,woot! Another race completed! :sohappy:

I love the Pluto in his gear! You were right he is super cute! I also was super excited that you saw Tiana and her crowd and regal Donald and jester Goofy! Very cool! And Brett with the fairies is just too funny! :lol:

I'm sorry to hear that you missed some of the characters, but that's always what another year is for!

Thanks, Jenn! Go to flickr and type in: "princess half mickey" and check him out! You'll see why I wanted to cry when I found out we'd missed him. You'll also see Donald and Daisy all decked out from the 2009 run. As for Brett with the fairies, it really was funny. At first I thought he was just going to take the picture and then he handed the camera off to a CM and jumped in. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right?!

I adore your running skirt with the Minnie belt! Also, the picture of the two of you at the start of the race as the sun is rising in your background is amazing. Definitely one to keep to show the kids.

You are one of my favorite TR people and can't wait to see more!

Awww, thank you, Jennifer. Initially I was going to wear a red running tank; I looked high and low for a reasonably priced one and couldn't find anything I liked. That's when I decided to go with the classic black and put a fabric "sleeve" over my belt! I'm still sad I didn't find the ears, though.

Holly, you forgot the single most important detail of the entire race... I finished exactly 1 second ahead of you. WOO!!!

Better luck next time, slowpoke! :lol:

Hmmm... how could I forget?! :ROFLOL:I think you're still sad I beat you across the finish line during the REAL MARATHON!!! 14,660th place, baby!!

BURN! :lol:

Ooh no... don't encourage him!

That's awesome.

Pluto in front of the Lunching Pad is great--I've never seen him in that costume. I'd love more of the retro-futuristic costumes that used to be out in Future World and Tomorrowland.

Yeah... LOVE him; we met that same Pluto back in 2005 along with a cosmic Chip and Dale. I'm all about the rare characters and characters "dressed" to represent a certain land. Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to keep doing these races to find them, though! I know I complain about it in every trip report I write, and people are probably sick of hearing it, but I just hate the standardization of characters. Now they've all got "backgrounds" popping up everywhere making them even more permanent (two fairly new ones I can think of are Buzz in Tomorrowland and Pluto and Goofy in Dinoland).

I thought the same exact thing.:lol:

You just know they couldn't get that song out of their heads for days!

great report.. i enjoyed reading it and looking at the pics. thanks holly!

You're welcome, RNRguy. And thank you!

Awesome report so far. Congrats on pushing through the cold. I know that couldn't have been easy.

Thanks, fyn. I think the cold morning helped clear up my head cold, so looking back I'm glad for it.

Yeah, I was signed up for the Half. But I had a problem with my foot, and had to drop out. Oh well, I'm sure I'll have better luck next time.

I hate that for you, especially because you ended up having to forfeit the hefty entry fee. There's always next year though!

 

[HollyBelle]

You have my respect for doing all that running with a cold. Doesn't it just figure you would get sick right before a Disney trip? Glad it didn't seem to ruin your good time. Great report so far!

Thanks, Danielle! When Brett got sick earlier that week we both just knew I was going to come down with it at exactly the wrong time. Thankfully, the day prior to the half was the worst of it, and it really wasn't bad at all while actually running.

Great Report..but every time I see the title I start singing..So, this is love!...:lol:

Thanks, Dana. I contemplated many a trip report title before settling on the song... I kept humming it myself after hearing it on the course! I thought it was a good representation of what Brett was willing to go through. :lol: :ROFLOL:

 

[Kristia]

I love your trip reports HollyBelle! You inspired me to do the marathon in January 2011! My husband and I still have a lot of training to do. We are currently up to 5 mile runs on the weekends and 3 mile runs on weekdays. Our training was stalled a little due to snowstorms and monsoon like rains! Hopefully now that the weather is getting a little better we will be able to kick the training into higher gear!

 

[fmingo36]

Holly,
Finally got to read through your whole report and honestly it could have been written by me except I woke up Saturday (my birthday) with some funky stomach virus. We went to Epcot in the AM ,made our way to France in WS, my husband got so delicious pastries and I just watched him eat them.
The only thing I was able to get down was some steamed white rice in China for lunch. We even canceled our dinner reservation in Japan for that night.

I managed to run the race with no food in my stomach at all. Even water(which I forced myself to drink at each waterstop) would repeat itself every few feet. BLAH!

And I have knee problems as well and hit the run wall in the 7/8 mile mark and sped walked the rest of the race as well. Even have a picture with me slathering on the bio-freeze!

I have almost the same pictures (from the F&G fest and the race except a few less characters-didn't want to slow my friend up anymore than I was with my illness).

I was in corral D and I think I saw a few more/different characters than you-Pochontos was definitely out with Meeko. I was somewhat surprised of lack of actual princesses on the route. No Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan, Aurora, but I was very happy to see Princess Atta and Princess Tiana.

Great report!

I hope to get my pix up soon.

See you in October for the Wine and Dine! (Can't believe I've convinced myself to do this again-:ROFLOL

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Fantastic Report(so far of course)!!

I've always wanted to do a Disney race, preferably a half marathon. I'm gearing up to do my first half marathon in May, the Eugene, OR Half(think Hayward Field UofO Track and legend Steve Prefontaine). Anyway, I'm really excited. One thing I kept wondering about the princess half was this: I'm pretty competetive...when I run races, I go for time. With all those people, waves and characters, how hard is it for someone who actually "races"? I'm more of a wave-at-the-characters-as-I-pass-by type of racer. Would that take the fun out of it for me?

Great job in finishing the race!! I'm sorry you were sick, there's nothing worse than Disney while sick(something I experienced in December unfortunately). However, there is also nothing like Disney to help you feel better really fast. It is remarkable how much better I felt as soon as we stepped into the parks.