Disclosure: We were provided race bibs by runDisney for the Wine and Dine 5k as part of a media event, however all opinions are my own.
Back in November, my family attended the WDW Fitcation media trip, where we learned all about the numerous ways to stay fit and keep up with healthy eating habits while on vacation. One of the things we were fortunate enough to participate in was the runDisney Wine and Dine 5k. This one was special, as it was my 9 year old daughter’s very first 5k.
She has watched me participate in races many times, and I am so glad I got to experience her first with her. Here is a little recap of our morning:
We woke up at 2:45, because we had to get on the bus around 3:30/3:45 I believe. I wasn’t sure how long it would take me to get her ready, so I wanted to be in the safe side. She ended up getting dressed and then falling back asleep in her bed while I finished getting ready. We tried to be quiet, since Bobby was still asleep. I had brought old beach towels to use to keep us warm, so we grabbed them and headed to the lobby. This is what the Animal Kingdom Lodge lobby looks like at 3:30. Empty!
We boarded our bus and headed to the starting line area. The drop off was at the bus stop drop off at EPCOT, so we had a long walk to the corrals on the other side of the parking lot.
I showed her the starting line area, finish line, and explained everything to her as we walked. She was a little overwhelmed with all the people. We went potty (very important!) and then got into corral B for the 45 minute wait.
Finally the corals started moving forward as we inched towards the starting line. I explained to her that each corral still had many “waves” to help spread the runners out more.
It was finally our turn, and we were off through the parking lot! We talked about pacing ourselves, she wanted to run fast but quickly realized that was a bad idea (she was pretty undertrained!) We only took two walk breaks but definitely had to slow down a few times. As we ran, I took the time to explain runner etiquette to her (walking on the right and holding up your hand so people know you are about to walk.)
We finally made it into EPCOT, where the real fun begins!
We had a blast running around the World Showcase waving at cast members, taking pictures and just enjoying the excitement of the race.
We loved looking at everyone’s costumes and seeing what characters were out for photos.
This kid is just pure joy and I love it.
I could tell she was starting to struggle at about 2.5 miles, so I really pumped up the encouragement, because I know she is strong and really wanted to not have to walk again. She was doing AMAZING and I was so proud. We got to the gospel choir and I teared up, this is always where the emotions start to hit me at the end of a runDisney race, and here I was, getting to experience it with my daughter.
For those that don’t know, I found out I was pregnant with Emma Kate right after Tinkerbell 2014, which means I was VERY VERY newly pregnant when I ran Dopey, and then Tink the next weekend. I just thought I was super tired from all the running but turns out I was pregnant! I then went on to run all 3 Princess weekend races with morning sickness because we had already paid for everything.
When I announced my pregnancy, I did it with runDisney medals- all the races she had “run with me” so far.
So, being there in that moment felt so full circle for me and “Baby M” as she was known at that time.
We rounded the corner, and I told her she did it, I could see the finish line! She started running faster and faster, and threw her arms up as she crossed. I was so proud, and the look on her face just gets me every single time.
You did it baby girl.
We got our mylar blankets, drinks, snack box and medals, and we ran into a friend and traded taking pictures for each other before hopping on the bus.
The course was different this year and we actually had to wait for the last participants to pass where the buses were before we could board and leave, so we ended up sitting and waiting about 20 minutes. I hope they change this in the future, we were so ready to go take a nap!
We busted into our snack boxes and then Emma Kate fell asleep as we drove back to the hotel. What an amazing, magical experience. It’s exactly what I love about runDisney and why I keep going back. Now to get her to run a 10k with me next time.
You can see my video recap of the wine and dine 5k race on this Instagram post. Enjoy and happy running!
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