My husband and I recently ran the second annual Star Wars Dark Side half marathon at Walt Disney World. Check out my recap of the race below and email heather@heatherslookingglass.com if you have any questions about the race.
My alarm went off at 2:45 am, and I was actually oddly enough already awake. I knew just laying there would make it even harder to get up, so I begrudgingly did it and got ready for the race, taping my knee, and psyching myself up. I scarfed down a Quest bar and Bobby made eggs (seriously, who makes eggs at 2:45 in the morning?) and soon we were off to the buses. It was slightly chilly (for me, but I’m always cold) but not “cold” by any means. I could tell it was going to be a humid race though.
The bus pickup for Bay Lake Tower and the Contemporary was on the far side of the convention center, so we had quite a hike to get where we were going. However a bus was there waiting and we snagged the front row. We made it to the star very quickly since it was in the Magic Kingdom parking lot, and we got in line for the bathrooms then made it into our corals with an hour left to spare. I know runDisney wants to make sure everyone gets there on time, but we got on a bus right before 4 am (which is when they say the last buses leave for runners) and we had WAY more than enough time to spare. We sat down in coral C and waited…and waited…and waited. When you are sitting there waiting to run 13.1 miles you begin to contemplate why you spent money to be tortured in this way. Anyway, soon it was time for the National Anthem and then coral A got their fireworks and start, and we were moving up to the front.
Then we were running…and it was dark. Like REALLY dark. A lot of the street lights weren’t on/working and I was concerned about tripping on something it was so dark. We made a huge loop and ended up almost next to the start line. We were in the 3rd of 19 waves, so we kept hearing fireworks for a very long time. We then turned onto Bear Island road, which reminded me of running the marathon around into the back of Animal Kingdom, which is exactly where we were headed. But not before running into some storm troopers!
My knee began to bother me a little bit so we did run walk intervals, which I was fine with since I had not been running since the Princess half eight weeks ago.
There were a few photo op’s that didn’t involve characters which I thought was a nice touch. Since I don’t know a ton about Star Wars (don’t hate me) I had to get Bobby to explain several things to me.
We made it into Animal Kingdom, hit the bathrooms, and made it around the park. I was actually shooting an Instagram story in the below photo. Gotta work while I run!
On the other side of Animal Kingdom we ran into these guys. Bobby told me to do this with my hands but I still have no idea why.
Dark Maul was next. Clearly I am impressed with Star Wars characters. However, Bobby was in his element.
At about mile eight, Bobby’s lack of training began to show. Poor guy doesn’t have time to run, and he ran one six mile run and a few short runs before the race, but that’s it. His hamstrings began to cramp up and his knees were aching pretty badly, so we did more walking the last few miles of the race, and stopped some so he could stretch.
I really enjoyed running a different course than the same ones I have done over and over, and in particular I loved going through Hollywood Studios an dover the Boardwalk.
But what I did NOT like is the path going from DHS to the Boardwalk. It’s super narrow and was really congested. You can’t get around people so it was slow going the whole way. Oh well!
I kinda like him.
On the Boardwalk there were more fun characters to pose with.
Selfie with a Storm Trooper? Why not!
As we came down towards the International gateway area, we saw Chewie but didn’t see a clear path to get to him from the road, so we hopped in the grass to get over to the line and a cast member yelled at us in a not so magical voice to get off the grass. Oy.
We made the turn into EPCOT and started around the World Showcase.
My attempt at getting Spaceship Earth in the background.
Near where the gospel choir is at other runDisney races, we saw these two and of course had to stop. Leia’s face cracks me up.
We made one final turn past the mile 13 marker, and were in the home stretch. Across the finish line we went and another half marathon was now complete.
We didn’t stick around because my parents were watching Emma Kate, and we had fastpasses at Animal Kingdom so we hopped on a bus and headed back to the resort, eating snacks from our boxes on the way. Another race to check off my list!
QOTD: Are you a Star Wars fan? Would you ever run this race?
Great recap! But, Heather, you need to watch Star Wars, even if only to understand the many ways people refer to it obliquely in everyday comments. Besides, its a great movie! Start with Episode IV, the original, classic movie.
I’ve seen a couple of the old ones 🙂
Oh that looks like so much fun, especially the non character photo ops! I have been contemplating registering for the half next year, but have been hesitant because April can be so warm in Florida! But it is the only WDW runDisney weekend I haven’t participated in and I do love Star Wars, you may have just sold me on it!
It’s early enough in the morning that heat wasn’t bad, it was dark for half the race!
I thought it was such a fun race!! Although super hot and humid, and yes the wait is soooooo long I started contemplating the very same things! At least Disney keeps it entertaining!
In 2015 I participated in the Wine & Dine half which was cut short because of weather conditions in the area. I remember going through the Boardwalk/DHS area where it was so narrow! It was almost miserable. I’m glad you all didn’t trip or get injured since it was dark. It looks like a fun race though. I’m signed up for the Super Heroes half in November and then Princess next year! Motivation to keep running! Congrats on another race medal!
I feel your pain. I was also in Corral C, after running the 10K the day before. Two 2:45 AM days in a row.
Those challenges are painful. I’ve done so many I opted to just do the half. I think I’m still traumatized from dopey 2014!