Rock 'N' Roll USA (DC) Day 2

Today is race day!

Hubby finally arrived in DC! Granted it was 11:30pm and he had to take a plane (a great friend hooked him up), but he made it. So bedtime came a little later than I had hoped; I finally fell asleep around 12:30.

The alarm went off at 6:00 am and I felt exhausted. My prerace jitters got the best of me and I didn't sleep as soundly as I liked. After getting ready and hurrying out the door we finally made it to the metro station (which DC opened an hour early).

When we arrived at our transfer point, the trains were having major problems. Which meant there were 20,000 runners stuck waiting for long periods to squeeze into a small space on the train.

When we finally arrived at our station, I couldn't help but turn around at the top of the stairs and look down (of course out of the way of foot traffic). The sea of runners was insane.

Once out of the metro, we made our way to our corrals. As I found my pacer (2:45), my hubby whispered to me that he would be running with me today because he was exhausted (both mentally and physically from work). Hubby only ran one run with me during training, so the fact he wanted to run a whole race with me was surprising. He is substantially faster than me, so I was pumped to have him run alongside me for 13.1.

As the race started, the corrals moved smoothly through the start. Runners were spreading out nicely and it didn't feel like people were on top of each other. Not once did I feel like I was being squeezed to the shoulder of the road.

Mile one went by pretty fast.  I kept a really steady pace and was pretty proud of the speed. As we reached the mile one marker a female spectator was yelling, "Yo! You running through the hood! Run faster!" My hubby and I looked at each other and laughed.

Mile two I stopped to use the bathroom. I hesitated because I didn't want to lose my pacer, who was only a few yards in front of me. I hate my bladder (will do a separate post about it a different day). But the pit-stop cost me 3 minutes. The port-a-potties were disgusting, pee all over (I mean on the walls, floor, seat, etc). And there were so few of them as the race went on. Definitely not enough for 25,000 people to utilize. After I was finished I hurried outside to find my husband motioning for me to get a move on, "You got to pick up your pace a little bit to make-up for the time you were in the bathroom". I nodded and sped up to a comfortable fast.

The first five miles were pretty uneventful. But the scenery was nice; we passed the Capital Building, Washington Monument, the Smithsonian's, and ran Constitution Avenue. There were great spectators. Some cute signs. One family waved a sign for their daughter, Ali, that said "Don't Dilidalie Ali, Beer Awaits." It made me smile. A group of people who were part of the Fallen Soldiers had flags set up and it lined half a block. Everyone seemed to fall quite when they passed. During this whole time I hadn't seen the pacer, but I held hope that I could catch her. A little after mile 4, I saw her turning a corner. I got excited and told my husband we can get to her if we increase speed just a little bit. He told me to not push to hard and we would catch her soon. I sorta listened. I sped up gradually. And just short of mile 5 I had caught her. I was happy.

Just after we passed the mile 5 marker I started to feel like I was losing some steam. I had just climbed our first massive hill. So I took 3 Shot Blocks. It took a while to feel the energy comeback, but my husband kept pushing me forward. I took a short walk break and we continued. My bladder started to act-up and I told my hubby that I might have to pee. We saw some bathrooms, but the line was at least 20 deep. Hubby motioned to pull off the road towards the line, I shook my head no. I couldn't afford to lose the valuable time.

Miles 6-8 had some crazy hills. CRAZY! I walked a few and coasted down the downhill. But hubby wouldn't let me walk them all, he would say "you trained for this, utilize it" or "keep strong". It helped. I ran up most of them, and while doing it I would say "I eat hills for breakfast!" Hubby would just giggle and keep going. At mile 7 I felt tired. I lost a lot of energy running up those hills, and it really did have an impact on my time. It was the worst mile I ran at 13.43 minutes, it was over two minutes slower then my good pacing. Mile 8 I took a few more Shot Blocks and I started to feel the energy come back in. I felt strong and I utilized it.

The spectators in the later miles were amazing. We were now running through neighborhoods, and people were on their porches and sitting on their lawns cheering us on. One group of young adults were giving out cups of cold beer. COLD BEER! Oh how much I just wanted a sip, but I didn't want to risk it. I had never had beer while running and I had a mission to accomplish.

Mile 10 volunteers were handing out Gu, I passed it because I had my own sustenance. I should have used that as a sign that I needed to have something soon. Miles 10 and 11 I cruised through. I felt strong and hubby kept me going. I had been keeping my pacer in front of me most of the time, but at mile 10 I passed her. I had the energy, I didn't push myself and I knew it was the right thing to do. The rest of the race I felt like I was being chased. I did not want for her to pass me. If I could accomplish this, I had my PR in the bag.

Mile 12 was brutal. It was getting hot and my energy was running out. Hubby kept telling me to run just a little faster. I couldn't, my back was killing me and I just wanted to walk with everyone else I saw walking. I saw my hubby glance back. The look was disappointment. "What is it?" He didn't answer me. He didn't have to. 3 to 4 seconds later my pacer was beside me. I had slowed down and she caught up and passed me eventually. But I wouldn't let this happen. My brain turned into crazy mantra mode, I started saying out-loud "Pain is temporary, Pride is forever" over and over. It helped, because on a uphill I passed them.

Mile 12.6 I knew the finish line was around the corner. But I was exhausted. I wanted to stop. Not once during this race did I say I wanted to quit. Until that point. I told hubby "I'm done. My feet can't go anymore." He shook his head no and said "push". So I did. I ran that uphill to the finish (this was very mean of the race organizers to put a finish on an uphill like this). And as I got to about 20 yards from the finish line I began to sob. I couldn't help it. The harder I ran the harder I cried. But I pushed. And I finished.

My unofficial Garmin said 2:45. I did it I had a PR. Thanks to my hubby and my Personal Trainer, Alexandra. My official time was 2:44:59 (even better). As I sat at the finish line trying to gain composure, I watched my pacer come through. I had done it. The feeling was crazy. I was so proud of myself, of my husband for pushing me, and us as a couple for working together. It was amazing. I beat my previous PR (from Oct) by 6 minutes and 42 seconds. As I sat in a chair waiting to get ice for my knees, I heard the live band Switchfoot start their next song. They begun singing Dare You to Move. I just closed my eyes and lived in that moment, and it felt great.

My Mile by Mile Breakdown

* After looking at my results and really thinking about how I felt during certain times of my race, I have come to the conclusion I need to adjust when I take my energy bars. I think I could have avoided those slow times at miles 5, 7, and 12 if I had gave myself the blocks a little earlier.


The Overall Pace and Course Elevation Graph

The Race
- Water stations were in abundance. At least 1 every other mile. They had supplies of water and Gatorade.
- Food after the race was also abundant. Tons of bagels, bananas, water, Gatorade, and chocolate milk.
- The first medical tent post race was swamped. The second tent had more people helping. Response time post race was fast.
- I only saw one medical tent on course and a few medical people sprinkled around the miles. This was slightly disturbing for such a large race.
- There were not enough restrooms on course for 25,000 people.
- People have been complaining that there was not enough on-course entertainment, I didn't mind. But I am not a big on-course entertainment person.

Rock 'N' Roll USA (DC) Day 1

Written on Saturday 3/16/2012
Today I set off for my next adventure running adventure…The Rock & Roll Half Marathon in DC. I am beyond excited for this race. Running through the National Mall, pass the white house, underneath the cheery blossoms. In all honesty, out of all the races I have ran to date, this one is by far the one I am most looking forward to. I just hope it lives up to the mental hype I have going on in my head right now.

On the flip side of things, the planning process has been a crap-storm for this race. As a compulsive planner, everything is always setup and ready to go weeks in advance. But because of a minor snafu, my husband had to work on Thursday and Friday. Instead of arriving in DC Thursday afternoon and enjoying the day seeing the city and attending expo on Friday; I left this morning by myself. Hubby will be arriving late tonight via plane because he has officially missed his bus. The most important thing is that we both get to the starting line.

Today started with a 5:30am alarm that taunted me until I reluctantly rolled out of bed after a brief 5 hours of sleep. I had to be on a bus in Manhattan by 7:30am. On our way to the bus station, we drove by the Today Show where I saw Matt and Al sitting in their newscaster chairs laughing about something. Here I am watching two ‘celebrities’ and thinking “If I don’t make this bus, I am going to miss bib pickup and I might kill somebody!” Oh how my outlook on life has changed. I arrived at the station just is time to climb on the bus; within five minutes we were on our way.

Long Line for MegaBus

The trip went smoothly, nothing too crazy. The bus was packed to the max and was slightly hot on-board. Not to mention the toilet must have backed-up because the smell started to seep through the bus during the last 30 minutes of our trip. During the trip I regretted not buying a cup of coffee and some breakfast before getting on board. Besides my deep thoughts of caffeine, I spent most of my time reading Running On Empty by Marshall Ulrich. Great book, but it did cause me to shed some tears. Probably not the best choice for a light read on a packed bus.

Once to the hotel, I got checked in and headed to my room. I reserved a room through Pricelines name your own price and I got the Hotel Monaco. This place is pretty cool, but the hallways do give off a slight “The Shinning” vibe. Once in my room I noticed no bathtub! So I called down to request a room with the right “half marathoner” facilities. They moved me to the first floor, which was right below ground level. The whole place smelled like stale cigarettes. After sitting in the room for 20 minutes I decided that it wasn’t worth the switch, so I called the front desk and ask for our old room back. They were more than polite and understanding.

What?! No Bathtub!

 After I finally got settled in I headed over to expo. I arrived at 2 on Friday so the foot traffic wasn’t horrendous. The shirts were pretty cool and we got one free Gu in our race packet. The expo was pretty interesting, with Brooks having a carnival type atmosphere right after you left packet pickup. Other than that the thing I found most interesting was the Brooks changing rooms. Totally hilarious!

After expo I went back to the room, started to do my hydrating, put out our racing gear, and ordered pasta for dinner.

Hydrating Time!

Seafood Pasta for Dinner

Running gear ready!

Now it is just time to sit and relax. I will probably do some foam rolling and read a little bit before we have dinner and head to bed. Race day tomorrow! 5th half marathon in 6 months!

Hyannis Marathon, Half Marathon, and Relay

Well it's official we are only 21 days away from my next (and first outside Disney) half marathon. I am really excited about this one. It is the Hyannis Half Marathon which takes place in Hyannis MA, right outside Cape Cod. I have only been to MA once and it was years ago when my husband wanted to go eat at a hamburger place featured on the Food Channel, so we took the 4 hour drive to fulfill his hankering. This time around we are going for just a slightly different reason, to fulfill our need of 13.1 glory.

As of right now our plans are to drive up Friday. Where we are staying at the Comfort Inn Cape Cod. We selected this hotel because of the price, location, late check-out for runners (3:00 pm = AWESOME), and the cryptically worded "welcome gift for runners at check-in" (I hope it's free ice, I hope it's free ice). I was hoping to stay at the conference hotel where everything will be located, which included expo, the spaghetti dinner, and a very close starting line. But after reading how packed and hectic it was, I thought it would be best to stay somewhere a little less hopping since MG will be attending the mini-vaca with us. I am pretty sure we will take Friday to relax and maybe do some pool time and go out to eat at the local Olive Garden (which I have read is in town somewhere). Since the race isn't until Sunday, we might head out to Cape Cod (if the weather permits) on Saturday and explore a little bit (of course we will call it an early night). Sunday is !Race Day! with a 10:00 am start (I feel spoiled). I am keeping all fingers and toes crossed hoping to PR with this race since it is relatively flat, not as congested as Disney, and doesn't have crazy distractions (which of course make a Disney race a Disney race).

The medal looks pretty cool, but the shirts on the other hand seem a little on the "blah" side. They are the standard cotton long sleeve. I love tech shirts, so this somewhat disappointing. More importantly the course is reported to be beautiful with some shoreline running. I am anticipating a day that is unseasonably warm, last years race looked like it had quite a bit of snow and MA is notorious for its winters. So here's to having some optimism. Now I just have to figure out some clever signs for MG to hold while his mommy and daddy run (so excited, this is his first race where he is going to be watching us!) :) Stay tuned for a race report after race completion.

Disney World Marathon Relay 2012 Race Report

I had decided to register for two back to back half marathons. The time from race one start to race two finish was only 32 hours. After coming off my first race and feeling horrendous, I knew that my second race was going to be a tough one. The truth is that the second race was my worse time ever (even in training).

The day began with an early start; 3:00 am wake-up call and 3:30 am departure. We were once again off to the same place as the day before; the starting line right outside Epcot. I was heading over to the start with my husband and my brother who were running the marathon. Once I left them so they could head over to the starting line, I met up with a group of runners who I met on an online facebook page (Bling Whores). It was great meeting so many people who I have conversed with regularly. After I met my relay partner face to face, she headed off to the start and I headed to the monorail to be transported to the relay exchange.

When I arrived at the exchange area, I was shocked. It was the complete opposite of the starting line. No water, no food, no shelter, no benches.... NOTHING but porta potties, a DJ, and two medical tents. The second leg runners sat from 5:00 am until their runners reached the 13.1 mark (mine was 8:30 am). It was cold and uncomfortable. This is where Disney dropped the ball. It would have been nice to have a tent (not even heated) and it got to a point where I would have paid to eat some breakfast and drink some water.

Before my partner made it to the transition point, I had decided to go to one of the medical tents and get my ankle wrapped since it was a little sore from the day before. This was a huge mistake, as you will hear about later. Once that was done, I headed over to my corral and waited for Stephanie to arrive.

Once Stephanie reached me, I was off. The starting point for the second relay wasn't actually the start of our time. We had to run almost half a mile before we reached the chip reader and have our time started. Besides the chip start location and the relay exchange accommodations, the race was amazing.

Even though this race had my worse chip time ever, it was the best race mentally. It made me realize exactly what my body was capable of accomplishing. The first few miles went pretty well, I felt well. The atmosphere of the marathon was so different from that of a half marathon. I can't quite describe it, but it has encouraged me to run one by the end of the year.

Back to the race, after the first few miles my ankle started to hurt and throb. It got to a point by my mile 4, marathon mile 17, that my ankle was so swollen that my toes were feeling stiff. I began to hobble. In my mind all I had to do was finish. By mile 18, I had enough. I had to take the bandage off my foot asap or I was going to give up right there. I couldn't feel anything below my ankle and the pain was causing a migraine I had never experienced before. Without a medical center in site, I pulled to the side of the road and sat down removing my shoe and sock. I began to tare away the bandage, but because my leg was so swollen and my bandage was so tight, it was taking everything in my willpower to pull off the tape. I finally asked a bystander for keys... no luck. She hollered to others, no one had anything sharp. A man ran over, seeing my foot said that he was going to call the medics to come and pick me up. "NO!" I shouted. I was not quitting, not until I say so. At that point a young women rushed over. She was a TNT coach. She looked at me and said, "raise your foot" and I did. She proceeded to tare off my tape with her teeth. "Listen, your foot is swollen because this damn thing is too tight and you have too many electrolytes in your body." I looked her in the eyes and with sincere gratitude I said "Thank You." She smiled and responded "No problem. Now finish." I got up and headed off. After that, there was no option but to finish even if it was dead last.

The following miles weren't as bad, as the swelling went down I began to feel better. But I didn't feel awesome and capable of running full out until mile 23ish. By this point, my time was already shot. I text messaged my husband to see how he was doing. He wasn't doing well. I knew I, once again, needed to stop. This time it was to wait for him. He needed me to help him through the remaining miles. So I paused at a medical station until I saw him. He was obviously upset that I had waited and didn't finish. But getting to the finish line and crossing it with him, together, was the most amazing experience.

The spectators of the race were by far the best of any race I had ran. They had amazing signs and one was even handing out Twizzlers (Awesome). Some of my favorite signs during the race included:
Giving away free high-fives (a child holding it)
Chuck Norris counted to infinity but he never ran a marathon
Billy if you are reading this you need to start running
And my #1 favorite sign.....
You trained longer for this moment than Kim Kardashian could keep a husband

Disney had an abudance of characters (Chip and Dale, UP, Woody and friends, Belle and Beast, Pirates, Mickey and gang, Alice, Cinderella, Jiminy Cricket, Incredibles, Peter Pan, Aladdin, Stitch, Pooh and friends, Scrooge, and Monsters Inc), as well as DJs and marching bands. Porta potties were numerous and rarely did I have to stand in a crazy line to get in one. Water stations were plenty, one every two miles. This actually caused me problems because I ended up over hydrating and that took a toll on my body as well. It was after my second race that I realized that I was bloated for the last two days because I had consumed way to many electrolytes. Disney also had two banana stations (highway), one Gu station (highway), and a chocolate and gummy station (Hollywood Studios).

Once again the finish line was a large distance from the transportation center. And after this race we really felt the distance. Bag check, medical, and postrace food were all great. I just would have wished that the race merchandise was more abundant. By the time I got to the tent the shelves were empty. With Disney race merchandise, if you don't buy it at expo or right after the race then you are SOL because Disney doesn't sale it online.

Overall it was an amazing experience which helped me realize that I was capable of an amazing task. I learned that I need to do cross training to become a stronger runner, and I also discovered that I truly love the feeling of running.


Be Inspired, Stay Motivated, Run Strong!

Disney World Half Marathon Report 2012

January 7, 2012 - Walt Disney World


We started the morning early, departing the hotel at 3:30 am. We were staying  at a monorail hotel, so we hopped on the monorail and switched trains at the ticketing center then headed off to the Epcot stop. Even though we were "early" everyone was being ushered to their corrals. I quickly checked my bag and then followed the massive group of people to the starting line (27,000 + people). The distance from the prerace party/bag check to the starting line wasn't short. I wish I had tracked the distance, but I would say it was over half a mile. 


When I arrived at my corral, we waited for awhile. Once the first corral was off, there was a buffer of 27 minutes until the last corral started. There were a total of 7 corrals (A-G). The start was exciting with fireworks and Donald, Mickey, and Goofy sending us off. From the start to the first half mile, it was pretty congested making it hard to really get going. At about mile 1.5 running became pretty easy. 

The race started right outside Epcot and went up into the Magic Kingdom, then went back down to Epcot and we ran through the park and ended the race right outside the park in the parking lot.


Miles 2-9 seemed to fly by. It definitely helped that the on-course entertainment was distracting. There were 3 to 4 high school bands and cheerleaders playing throughout the course on the sidelines. Disney also had many character appearances including: Toy story characters (Buzz & Woody), Stitch, Alice in Wonderland (and friends), Chip and Dale, Mickey and gang, Rapunzel, Uncle Scrooge, Darkwing Duck, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Along with the characters and high school bands, there were also DJ's and real bands playing throughout the course.

After mile 9, I started to feel pain in my left side. At this point we were running the highways and the excitement started to calm down. I pushed through and started to look at those around me. I passed many families running together. One was a mother, son, and daughter who hired a coach to help them get through. The children were preteens and were looking pretty good considering we were at mile 10ish. Another person I ran by and briefly chatted with was a girl who was running with a full arm cast. I commented saying, "Wow, that's ambitious!" she responded with a Scottish accent, "Well I had no choice I flew all the way from Scotland." We wished each other well and I sped off. Another group that was pretty awesome was the Jack's 60th Birthday crew. They were a group of 6, all wearing shirts with Jack's picture and description of how they knew Jack (brother of Jack, wife of Jack, son of Jack). Jack's shirt said, it's my 60th birthday and I am running my first race. It was pretty cool to see a group come together like that. 


Disney always puts on great races. Of course there were some minor hiccups. As with all Disney races there were parts of the course that suffered from crazy congestion with a majority of those areas being in the parks. Unfortunately, Disney doesn't directly provide runners etiquette handouts and many times "newer runners" would stop in the middle of traffic with no advance warning causing runners behind them to trip or swerve. Another downside was the long walk back from the finish line to the monorail. After a race it's great to walk, but this was a hike. Maybe Disney could provide transportation like they do in the parking lots for park guests.


Some aspects of the race that were great were the frequency of water/power aide stops, bag check was quick, on course entertainment, the spectators, and the amazing medal at the end.


One main aspect I would like to see changed is that runners receive access to the park (Epcot) after the race concludes. Our race registration fee is so high, that park access would make up for the price.


Overall, amazing race and experience. And now I wait for next years registration to open :)


Be Inspired, Stay Motivated, Run Strong!

Disney World Marathon Weekend 2012

This is the first post of, hopefully, a handful in the next 7 days. The numbers have officially hit the one day mark until our departure for the wonderful world of Disney to participate in Marathon Weekend. I am excited, but I don't think it has really hit me yet. Maybe tomorrow when I finally have everything packed and ready to go will I feel that this weekend is finally upon us.

It will be five days full of crazy awesomeness. My marathon weekend schedule starts with attending the expo on Friday  (Jan 6) and then running the Half Marathon on Saturday (Jan 7) and then completing the second leg of the Full Marathon Relay on Sunday (Jan 8). With the remaining days being utilized for park hopping :)

Disney Worlds Half Marathon is celebrating its 15th anniversary. So the race medals this year are specially designed to represent the old style Donald Duck (who is the half marathon mascot). The race starts outside Epcot at 5:30 am, then circles around and proceeds up to Magic Kingdom. After running through the Magic Kingdom, the route goes back down to Epcot then finishes inside the park by the Energy Pavilion after going through the World Showcase.


Disney Worlds Marathon relay is an inaugural event that features Chip and Dale as the mascots. The medal is an acorn hand off between the chipmunks, who are wearing running attire. Since I am running the second leg of the relay, I will be starting outside of the Magic Kingdom then running to the Animal Kingdom, swinging over and going through Disney Hollywood Studios, then finishing in Epcot.

The weather forecast is saying that it's suppose to be warm in the high 70's (I am a little nervous because I have been training in cold weather).

Overall, I am pretty excited. Just have to get use to going to bed early and start hydrating well tomorrow!

Be Inspired, Stay Motivated, Run Strong!

13 Going on Crazy

Awesome swag at 13 & Crazy!

Fellow runner and blogger, Melissa, has an amazing blog that I think you should all check out. First and foremost, she is working on completing 13 half marathons in 13 months. Yep that's right, 13 races, 13.1 miles each, in 13 months. Melissa debunks the myth of the number 13 being bad luck. Not only is she chronicling her journey of the crazy 13's, she is also giving away some awesome running gear from Oiselle. I highly recommend checking out her blog, as well as following her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/13GoingonCrazy).
Her journey is just beginning and it looks to be an amazing one at that. Don't miss out!

Disney Half-Marathon Route

Since this is my first marathon weekend at Disney I have been doing some online recon and I came across a video that really gets me excited about running this race. Another runner, Lee, records his Disney runs so people like me can watch them over and over...LOL! Here it is :)

Disney Marathon Weekend Medals

As I have blogged previously, I am running the Disney Marathon weekend. I am beyond excited especially after seeing the medals in person at the Wine and Dine Expo. The new Donald medal looks awesome and I do want the Chip and Dale! I also came across a video that goes inside how the medals are designed. Pretty cool! It's posted below the medal pictures.

Disney Wine and Dine Recap 2011

UPDATE:

RunDisney posted the recap video for the race and after party! 

So here it is! The recap of my first half-marathon and months and months worth of training.
First of all, I just want to say that it's an amazing experience to run at Disney. And the Wine and Dine solidified my LOVE for Disney races and now it's official I am going back for Marathon weekend to run the Half Marathon and 5k.

In this blog I will cover where we stayed, the expo, the race route and entertainment, and the finish line and after party.

Hotel

We stayed at the Boardwalk Inn and had a garden view room facing the back of the hotel and quiet pool. We originally wanted a boardwalk view, but because of the hotel being completely booked we had to settle for a garden view. Which ended up being a better option anyway because many nights there were loud drunks on the boardwalk coming back from Epcot's Wine and Dine festival. The hotel was a perfect pick for the race because of the amazing location, the transportation to and from the expo and race were easy and convenient. The course passed the Beach Club hotel at mile 11-12.5 (the Beach Club is adjacent to the Boardwalk). So my husband walked down the boardwalk and waited by the bridge that is right outside the back entrance to Epcot. I think we will either stay at the Boardwalk or Beach Club next year for the Wine and Dine. The location was AMAZING and the Boardwalk Inn was beautiful!

Expo
When I went to go to the expo the first day that it was open, I had to search for where the bus was picking us up. I asked the staff member running the station at the boardwalk bus stop and he told me that I needed to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then a bus to a value hotel, and then hop on a shuttle to take me to ESPN. I knew that the info he was giving me was totally off, so I searched for someone else to help. After asking 3 different people and giving in and standing in line at the concierge desk, I got the answer. The bus was picking us up a little further down than the normal bus stops. This wouldn't have been a problem if there were signs or if the staff at the hotel were told what was going on. Once we got to the pickup spot we only waited 15 minutes to catch a bus.

The expo was great. But it did start with a minor hiccup. I had no idea we weren't allowed to bring strollers into the ESPN complex, which was huge burden since it was only me and my 18 month old son. If I had one extra set of hands there wouldn't have been a problem. But trying to carry everything myself with a squirmy child who just wanted to run around was a little too much. I do wish it was a little more child friendly.

The vendors were great and many had some amazing deals on running gear. I wanted to stay for some of the talks but didn't have the opportunity since my munchkin decided that it was nap time and wanted to go to sleep. The swag bag was pretty standard. We received a clear plastic bag for bag-check, a t-shirt, and an energy bar.

Pre Race and Race Start

Getting to the pre race and race start was pretty easy. The bus for the race picked us up at the same location as the expo buses. This time around there were also signs directing runners where to wait. I decided to get to go right when the buses started running. It was an easy process, I got a seat on the bus right away and we were at ESPN within 15-20 minutes. There wasn't really any waiting when we got there, we were off the bus within minutes.

After getting to the start, I headed straight to bag check trying (once again to avoid any lines). I had my bag ready and checked within 5 minutes. After getting that out of the way I hoped in a long line. I wasn't sure at first what it was for, but quickly discovered I was going to meet one of my favorite Disney characters. After getting through the line to get my picture taken with Minnie and Mickey, I decided to start to focus and began some stretching.

The music playing to all those on the field was great and there were so many bathrooms that the lines moved faster than light! As start time approached I headed over to my corral (C) and just took in the excitement of the runners around me. Before I knew it wave A was starting. The fireworks were AMAZING!

Less than 10 minutes later we were at the starting line. Each corral had their own set of fireworks, which was exciting. And with a spectacular light show we were off. At firs the congestion was pretty bad, but once through the first 1/2 mile runners spread out and it wasn't that crowded.

Race Route
The course started at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex and went down Osceola Parkway into Animal Kingdom. From Animal Kingdom we went back out onto the highway and into Hollywood Studios. The course then weaved through the Boardwalk/Beach club area and right into Epcot. Most of the race was on the highway, but the entertainment on the highway made up for the distance we put in outside of the parks.

The course did have some dark spots, but I think that is the fun of running a night race (being ultra aware of your surroundings). There were also ample bathrooms on the highway (which weren't lit well) so my one bathroom break I opted for an in park restroom (less lines and more light).

Water stations were at almost every mile and they offered energy bars towards the end of the race. Water stations also offered Poweraid (Poweraid at the front of the table/water in the back) .First aid stations also were all over and so were ambulances. First aid stations were also offering bio-freeze for sore muscles and joints.

Entertainment

When I first registered for the race I had no idea what kind of experience I had signed up for until I started reading blogs and forums. I was expecting the extent of the entertainment that we had.
The stretches of highway were full of entertainment including DJ's, light parade floats, stilt walkers, characters for pictures, and tons of spectators who were AMAZING! I loved the drill Sargent from toy story yelling at runners on the steepest hill.

When we entered the parks, the lighting was amazing. The Animal Kingdom had these amazing lights that looked like dinosaur teeth and the Tree of Life was lit up and was awesome.

In Hollywood studios the Osborn Christmas lights welcomed us with Christmas music, Lightening McQueen was showcased on stage at the stunt show (as well as a big screen tv showing you running by), and Darth Vader was taking pictures with people as they passed the Jedi school.

After leaving Hollywood studios the course took us onto the boardwalk, probably the quietest part of the race because of the hotels. I liked it though because it gave you the opportunity to realize the extent of how far you have come (11-12 miles at that point). The course finished at Epcot.

Finish Line
The finish line was at the entrance of Epcot. Once going through the finish, I received my medal and a bottle of water right away. I was then ushered to the picture area to have my photo taken with my AWESOME bling!

Food tables were set-up after the picture area. They were handing out bags with bagels, a banana, and a poweraid. The flow of the finish line took you right to an outdoor bag pickup area where I received my bag within minutes.Everything moved amazingly, it was pretty seamless.

After Party
Once we were done with all the finish line business, were entered Epcot and were greeted with numerous options for our free drink of beer or soda. I didn't actually stay for the party itself. I went in with the intention of getting my medal engraved ($20.00) and I did. Once I completed that task, I left the party and headed back to the hotel. I was exhausted!

Overall the race was amazing. I have told people that it has been one of the top 5 experiences of my life. I will, with no doubt, be coming back next year to run again. Thank you runDisney for such an amazing experience. Until next time... Cheers and happy trails

MY RACE GEAR

Nike Tech 8" Running Shorts

Nike Ribbed Running Tank

CEP Compression Sleeves