Hey guys! I know a lot of folks are heading out to Disneyland today to run the runDisney inaugural Avengers half marathon this weekend. I am super jealous and hope you have a great time. Check out this post I wrote for Fitfluential on tips for running a Disneyland race.
Disneyland marathon weekend 2013
I can’t wait to read everyone’s race recaps on the event! I really REALLY wish I was running Star Wars in January, but I completely missed registration by time I had made up my mind. There is always next year! Bobby loves Star Wars so I think we would have a blast. There are just too many races and not enough time off of work.
Still can’t believe I was pregnant during Dopey!
Being in the thick of runDisney race season and not being there is tough. They are my favorite races and while it is fun to read everyone else’s experiences, it’s nothing like being there yourself. So that got me thinking. If you could plan a runDisney race complete with theme, course, what would the medal look like, runner’s perks, etc.? I would love to see your ideas of “the perfect runDisney race”. You can be as vague or as detailed as you would like! If I get some good ones I would love to feature them on my blog, and who knows, maybe runDisney will be listening!
So, to give you an idea of what I mean, here is one that I came up off the top of my head for an example:
Theme: Pixar Half Marathon weekend
Races: kids races, 5k, 10k, half marathon
Course: I’m not sure how this would flesh out distance wise, but it would end inside of Hollywood studios near the Toy Story Mania ride with an after party in Hollywood studios. Maybe if we ran through EPCOT and the boardwalk and then Hollywood studios we wouldn’t be on the road much and therefore could start the race later in the day (like 7:00) Or maybe it would be a night race? Of course, there would be tons of Pixar characters on the race course!
Medal: Each race would have a different Pixar theme. My favorites are Nemo, Monsters Inc., Toy Story, a Bug’s Life, and Cars. I’m sure we could come up with some really cool designs based on some of those movies.
-Runner’s would be given 3 fastpasses to rides or shows dealing with PIXAR for the weekend. (Bug’s life, toy Story, Monster’s Inc. laugh floor, Buzz lightyear space ranger spin, Living seas with nemo, Nemo musical).
-Maybe a fun scavenger hunt where if you get character photos with X number of Pixar characters during the race (or race weekend, in the parks?) you get a special commemorative item.
-The expo would have a costume contest where you show off your Pixar race costume at a certain time and can win prizes.
-runDisney and New Balance could partner to make Pixar character running shoes.
QOTD: OK so those are my ideas to get you started. Feel free to comment with your ideas or send them to me via email: heatherslookingglass@gmail.com. I can’t wait to read and feature your ideas!
I don’t have a “new” race idea but a few of us were coming up with a few other ideas for during the Dopey challenge. If you did just the 5k and and the 10K that would be called “The Bashful” and if you did the 5k, 10k, and half, that would be called “The Happy” or something like that!
Love that!
We wanted a Pixar race too! Since we dressed as the Incrediables for the Royal Family 5k, we were saying it would be a good theme to have. I’d like to pass through EPCOT at some point and see Mike on Spaceship Earth.
Great idea!
I do think they need a Pixar theme. For years Pixar kept them afloat with new ideas. They do need a half marathon with a different course, maybe the second half of the old marathon course. Start in the Pluto parking lot at WDW, run through Animal Kingdom, MGM and EPCOT.
love it. I love new courses!
I’d be all over your PIXAR race. How amazing would that be?! RunDisney, I hope you’re listening! Wyatt would LOVE a PIXAR kids’ race, too.
I’d design a “marathon” on the cruise ship. But it’d be a week-long cruise and we’d run a race on each island, culminating with the Castaway Cay 5k, with the distance over a week totaling 26.2 miles.
I have always loved that idea!
I’d love them to make the ToT 10 miler into a Haunted Mansion Half Marathon, a Tower of Terror 10k and a Nightmare Before Christmas challenge for doing the 2. As far as intellectual property though, Pixar should definitely be tapped. I liked the scavenger hunt idea, or something more unusual involving interacting with the characters. One of these days I want to do the everest challenge, but it’s at a weird time of year for me to go.
Love this SO SO MUCH! Everyone loves haunted mansion!
Love this and your idea! I can’t wait till I get to run disney!
I have actually given this a lot of thought… I have only experienced the Tinker Bell race weekend (twice) which was AWESOME! We can’t afford to fit in anymore than that… we live in the Pacific Northwest so going more often just isn’t in the budget. I think that maybe a traveling series would be awesome! I know I know… there is NO substitute for running through the parks… BUT I feel with the way runDisney does things – there is a lot that local races could learn from them. Hitting all of the major cities across the nation of course… (including Seattle) – Probably just offer a 5K and a Half Marathon… awesome medals and characters and just have a basic “Disney” theme for each throughout the local courses in each city! Also leading up to the races have an excellent EXPO where they would advertise the destination races at the Parks. It would be a win win for all of us that don’t get to travel to the parks very often!
Even though there isn’t a substitute for actually getting to go to WDW or Disneyland – this would be “the next best thing” for me!
interesting idea!
The link is my post to my race recap, but I just did my first runDisney race last weekend! I participated with my boyfriend and it was our first trip to Disneyland and our first half marathon! RunDisney races are a blast and even though I didn’t feel like I was as ready as I should have been, I definitely caught the bug and I’m trying to plan how to get back out there next year. I’m doing the Royal Family 5k in February and I can’t wait. As far as a race goes, I love the idea of a Pixar one!! You could really do it at WDW or Disneyland because Disneyland has Cars Land! It would be cool to run through there. A villains race would be cool too. Not sure if they have done one in the past but I don’t think they have? I feel like they are always coming up with new ideas!