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Through Heather's Looking Glass

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runDisney Princess Half Marathon Race Recap 2017

March 9, 2017 | blogging, Disney, fitness, health, Race Recaps, runDisney, running, running gear, Running Skirts, Travel

A couple of weeks ago I have the privilege of running in my 6th runDisney Princess half marathon. I ran the Glass Slipper Challenge last year and in 2014, but this year my friend Jen and I decided to save some money (and some sleep!) and just run the half marathon. (Pssst. There is a video at the end of the post so hang tight to watch a recap from my Instagram Stories!)

Every year we dress up, and this year was a bit crazy for both of us and we didn’t have time to create elaborate matching costumes like we have done in the past. However, we still dressed up and per usual kept our costumes a secret until the night before the race. We went to bed early, and my 2:45 am alarm came way too soon.

We got dressed, put on our traditional fake eyelashes like we do every year (you would THINK we would be better at this by now!) and headed to the bus.

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(Coming soon: A tutorial on how I created my costume, the easy/I’m terrible at sewing kind of tutorial!)

We got to the bus stop in front of the Yacht Club, and were the last people loaded before we left. What was interesting was we were on a park bus, not a regular greyhound which was a first for me with runDisney. There was a lot of traffic, but we made it to EPCOT by about 4:15 and walked to the family reunion area where we met up with a friend before checking Jen’s bag. It was chillier than I expected, and I was thankful for my throw away sweatshirt I remembered to bring.

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We had never gotten to the corrals this early before, and they were pretty empty! runDisney got smart and put a row of port-o-potties close to the front corrals so we were able to go to the bathroom with no line and then jump in D corral. Karen was also in our corral, so she hung out with us and started the race with us, too. Our plan was to just have fun and take walk breaks. I was super undertrained and this was just a “for fun” race.

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The race started a few minutes late because the traffic was so bad, but finally we made it up to the start line with the rest of our corral.

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After a quick hi to Rudy and Carissa, we were off on our 13.1 mile journey!

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The first couple of miles are always so uneventful. It’s dark, there is nothing to look at, and you start thinking about all the miles ahead! Thankfully we just all chatted together until around mile 2 when Karen decided to stop for a character photo that we decided to skip (lines were already so long! I can’t imagine how bad they were for the corrals behind us.) We made it to the Magic Kingdom gates and I was excited we were getting closer to the more exciting parts of the course.

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After a quick stop at the med tent for body glide, we were on our way towards the TTC. I have to admit, I was a little bummed at the low crows at this spot. Traditionally this is my second favorite spot in the race because of all the energy from wall to wall people screaming and cheering, but this year there was hardly anyone and it made me sad. Did anyone else notice this? It wasn’t very cold outside so I’m not sure what the deal was. We passed my favorite drummers and kept going towards the big hill.

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When we made the turn to get to the Magic Kingdom, we thought it was odd that the 5 mile marker wasn’t in it’s usual place. (The things you notice when you have run this course over a dozen times!) We would later find out the course through the Magic Kingdom was slightly altered which is why the markers were in a different place.

We made the turn onto Main Street, my favorite part, and again it just didn’t have the same crowd and energy I am used to seeing, but it’s still my favorite part.

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We stopped and found a girl by herself trying to take a photo and we took turns getting pics for each other. I love runners!

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Next stop was the bathroom in Tomorrowland. We used to stop at the ones at the TTC, but a couple years ago they started locking those for us for some reason, which means even more princesses waiting in line in Tomorrowland. We had a several minute delay, and then were on our way again.

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We made it out of the Magic Kingdom (sad times) and made another bathroom stop at the next water station (too much coffee!) We arrived at the long stretch of single lane road, and Jen and I can’t figure out why its always so COLD on this part of the course! Any ideas? Before long we were at mile seven by the Grand Floridian. I took a picture with Snow White, since the line for her in the Magic Kingdom was dozens of people long. This is as close as I was going to get.

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The next few miles were uneventful again, just running out on the road. We saw the race going the other way towards the Magic Kingdom around mile 2.5 I guess, and I saw the balloon ladies! I yelled for the princesses to run faster! We grabbed a CLIF shot at the free station around mile nine, and took a walk break to eat those (I am not coordinated enough to run and eat at the same time). Next we were making the turn on the loop of death at mile 10 (it KILLS my IT bands) and had a 5k to go. At this point we had gotten to the length of my longest and one and only really long run from this training cycle of 10 miles, and I was getting tight even though we weren’t running fast at all. My right thigh/quad up near my hip flexor started to hurt, but we only had a couple miles to go so I just pushed through.

[Tweet “Check out my @runDisney #PrincessHalf marathon race recap!”]

Soon we hit mile 11, and looped around and up the overpass and down into EPCOT and mile 12. A photographer caught me doing an Insta story on my phone. Oops. But seriously, if this doesn’t sum up my life I don’t know what does.

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We looped around the small part of the course that goes through the park, and then I could hear the gospel choir singing! Miles 13 came and went, and we were in the home stretch of the finish line.

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Can I just say that I love getting race pictures free as an annual passholder?!?

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We made it! After crossing the finish line in 2:32, we had to get pixie dusted of course.

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We got our medals, and headed over to the Media/VIP tent for some much deserved food and of course, mimosas.

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Now I was able to do my favorite thing, cheer other runners on as they came through the finish. I LOVE seeing runners tearing up, holding hands with loved ones, and just getting to experience the looks on their faces as they are mere steps from the finish line. There is just nothing like it, and it makes me so happy.

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Mimosas make me happy, too.

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So does this guy. Always takes time to talk to runners and makes us all feel so special. Jeff Galloway is the best!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carissa came into the tent for some food and we were able to say hello for a minute and grab a picture.

princess half

We hung out and ate some more, met with a couple of people, and then headed back to the resort. I am so thankful to have a friend like Jen who gifted me with the opportunity to run in another Princess half marathon. I also love our little tradition of running the Princess half!

If you want to see a video I took during the race as a recap, and also see what Jen and I did for the rest of the day after the race, be sure to check out the video below. Please note this video is my Instagram story from the day, and apparently it doesn’t like when you have still shots mixed in with your videos, so there are about 5 times during the video where you will see it “Freeze up” for a couple of seconds. These are the places where I had still shots that won’t come up, so just ignore it, it will keep playing!

 

For more race recaps and general runDisney information, photos, and posts, check out my runDisney page!

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Comments

  1. Natashia Shannon says

    March 9, 2017 at 7:00 am

    I admire your ability to run/walk 13.1 miles! I am not there yet as I just completed my first 5K last month. Anyway, Disney looks really fun and you looked very pretty in your costume and those colors really look great on you!

  2. Blake G says

    March 9, 2017 at 8:13 am

    Loved reading your recap! This was my first half and had a blast!
    PS I actually saw you outside the tent with a mimosa right before the finish line 🙂

    • Heather says

      March 9, 2017 at 8:14 am

      Too funny! I love me some mimosas! So glad you had fun!

  3. Lesley says

    March 9, 2017 at 9:50 am

    I loved doing Princess as my first half all those years ago (5!). This makes me miss Disney, and I may need to do a race soon. I think there’s a big family trip in 2019 for marathon weekend, but will I be able to hang on that long?

  4. Jess says

    March 9, 2017 at 10:46 am

    Fun recap! I did notice that the crowds cheering were a little less than usual, especially around TTC. Also, can we talk about how I email RunDisney after every race I do where they won’t let me in the TTC bathrooms? To know there is indoor plumbing so close and be told to use a porta potty is so maddening, lol.

  5. Rick Stiles says

    March 9, 2017 at 10:50 am

    Great blog and video (kudos on very steady camera work!)! Do you always buy VIP tent access? I’ve only done that once, during the only Dopey I ran.

    • Heather says

      March 9, 2017 at 10:52 am

      This was the media/VIP tent not the runners retreat. Unfortunately it is invite only. 🙁

  6. Karen :0) says

    March 9, 2017 at 12:16 pm

    So glad we got to hang out that morning! Thanks for cheering me on at the finish line!!

  7. Lisa Still says

    March 9, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    It is fun to read your take on the run to see if it matches mine…and it does! I thought “cheer crowds” were down this year as well. My guess on the cold stretch is all the trees that make it like a tunnel. Love this run! Wish there was more on the long stretches to keep us distracted, but will certainly do it again.

  8. Kristen says

    March 9, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    Congrats! Disney Princess was my first half marathon so I love reading these recaps. Your costume was adorable. I’m totally interested in reading your tutorial for how to make it!

  9. Kathryn @ Dancing to Running says

    March 10, 2017 at 7:01 am

    Disney races are always so much fun! I’m looking forward to registering for my next one!

  10. Messi Albert says

    March 16, 2017 at 8:40 am

    Congratulations, what an amazing accomplishment!! Love your running shoes, what brand do you wear?
    Keep inspiring us!

    • Heather says

      March 16, 2017 at 6:41 pm

      Usually ASICS. Buts sometimes other brands. The ones in the pic are ASICS

  11. Irma says

    March 16, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    Awesome job. Where did you get the perfect yellow skirt. I would like to do the same outfit next year.
    Thx

    • Heather says

      March 17, 2017 at 6:43 am

      I wrote a post on my blog yesterday with the details of my outfit 🙂

  12. Carla says

    March 24, 2017 at 10:30 pm

    I was laughing at the “cold” remark about the section after leaving MK. All you have to do is run in Corral P – it wasn’t cold then lol! I missed getting my time in and had to start in the last corral – by the time we got past Mile 7, it was quite warm all the way back down the highway – I got a sunburn on my face! Seriously, though, it was my first RunDisney and i loved every minute – sunburn and weaving around the slow walkers and running in the grass to find somewhere to run and all. Definitely want to come back next year – and make sure to submit that time!

    • Heather says

      March 25, 2017 at 6:27 am

      I have totally had to run in the grass on that stretch before too! Bummer about your proof of time. Glad you still had fun!

    • Heather says

      March 27, 2017 at 7:04 pm

      Glad you still have fun!

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