Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by runDisney, however all opinions are my own.
I was so excited when runDisney announced an all new race series, the runDisney Springtime Surprise. I love Disney in the spring, and was thrilled to get to run all three races, otherwise known as the “Springtime Surprise Challenge” which was made up of the Expedition Everest 5k, the Race for the taste 10k, and the Tower of Terror 10 miler.
The 5k was at 10:00 at night in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I was fortunate enough to run this race once before, the last year of it’s existence back in 2015, and so I couldn’t wait to do it again! I went with an Up themed outfit, dress courtesy of this adorable Etsy shop.
Since the race was at night, Bobby was still awake when I left so he was able to get a shot of me in my outfit before I headed to the buses at the Contemporary.
I hopped quickly on a bus and made it to the park. I was pretty tired but excited for a fun nighttime run. Some bad weather was moving in later, so we weren’t sure what they were going to do in that regard. When I got off the bus, I did have to wait in a really long line to go through security which was a first for me. Once inside, I used a “real” bathroom and got in my corral just before race time.
Due to the weather, runDisney made the difficult decision to cancel the scavenger hunt portion of the race. I know people were bummed, but I appreciated them looking out for our safety on the course.
Soon I was at the front and it was go time!
I stopped for one “character photo” along the way. I just love her! I also stopped and took video of several things which you can find in my IG highlight labeled “RunDisney22(1)”
One thing I loved about this race is that we ran through a LOT of the park, and there were tons of photographers! I got a bunch of photos, so I will just post some of my favorites below.
There were also musicians, characters, and a super fun run through Pandora. I am pretty sure I smiled the whole race! It was pretty humid and warm, but I was just so happy to be back running in my favorite place that I didn’t really care. I was surprised when I hit the mile 3 marker only 2.4 miles into the race. I kept checking my watch and was so confused. Come to find out they cut the course short due to the weather, so it was around 2.6 or so miles long. I finished the race, grabbed my awesome medal, and walked back to the bus.
I ended up waiting on the bus a pretty long time, but had a runners high and a shiny new medal so I was still a happy girl.
When I got back, I was surprised to find that Bobby was still awake, so he was able to take a post race picture of me. It felt amazing to take a shower and crawl into bed. One race down, two to go!
The runDisney Springtime Surprise 5k race was very well done. There were plenty of volunteers, photographers, lights, and lots of fun. I know it takes a small army to put on these races, and am thankful for all the hard work. It was a great night!
You can still sign up for the virtual challenge for this summer at this link!
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