My first experience with RunDisney at this year's Disney Princess Half Marathon was nothing short of magical! While I've ran a half marathon, multiple 5Ks, and other distance races before, this race was definitely a good course for athletes of all backgrounds and abilities. I set a personal fitness goal a year ago to prepare for this event, and despite a little bit of nervous energy, I really felt ready. Plus, there were characters and entertainment along the course, tons of positive energy from Cast Members, volunteers, and fellow runners, and fireworks at the race start to get the party started. You really can't find a race location better than Walt Disney World! Here's some highlights from my race experience this year, as well as some helpful tips for registering for RunDisney events and getting ready: The registration process: Maybe you've never heard of RunDisney and all of their annual events, but trust me, THOUSANDS of other people have. If you're interested at all in participating in one of their races, be prepared to sign up the minute your event opens. My running group and I knew exactly what date and time registration for the Princess Half was set for, gathered our necessary personal and payment information, and situated ourselves at our computers 15 minutes prior to that time so we could get on right away. And boy, were we thankful to have done so! I believe this year's main event (the half marathon) sold out within 6 hours. The accompanying 5K, 10K, and Kids Races weekend events took a little longer to fill up, but everything happened much quicker than I initially anticipated. There a few things you'll need to know and have before you register. First, you really want to make sure you know exactly what kind of event you're signing up for and be prepared to commit MONTHS in advance. For the Princess Half February 2015 event, registration opened up in mid July (about 6 months ahead of time). Registrations are non-transferable to other runners, so you can't chicken out once you're signed up. Plus, your registration fees are non-refundable as well. It looks like the open early bird registration cost for the 2016 Disney Princess Half Marathon is $175 (without commemorative items). You may be eligible for an even earlier registration date if you're an Annual Passholder, member of the Disney Vacation Club, etc., so pay attention to the RunDisney website leading up to registration and sign up for their reminder emails! Secondly, know if you want to pre-purchase any commemorative items or participate in any of the weekend's special challenges. You'll be able to pre-order items like the event's special pin (what I chose to do), Mickey ear hats, and limited edition apparel, so I'd suggest adding on anything you know you'll want ahead of time, as a lot of merchandise does sell out quickly. And same goes with the challenges - If you're up to the task, get yourself signed up right away. These also fill up quickly! Thirdly, have all of your personal and payment information ready on registration day. This will just make the process quicker. As soon as registration opened for this year's event, I could tell that a lot of other people were also trying to get signed up, as the website was really moving slowly. Just be prepared with all of the necessary info you'll need, and you should be set to go in no time. Preparing for the race and training: Even though this is a fun Disney race, it's still a tough test of physical endurance. TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN! And start early. RunDisney offers a lot of really great training and nutrition resources for free to help you prepare, so take advantage of everything you can. Get involved in local running events and races, find a running buddy/group, do whatever you need to do and hit the pavement. You want to be fully prepared. Definitely set a training pace of a 15-minute mile or quicker, as there will be pacing in effect on race day (but I'll get to that in a minute!). You can even submit a proof of time to RunDisney (which I'd recommend) ahead of the event to help get a corral placement closer to the initial start. There are a few stipulations to submitting a proof of time, as well as a deadline, so pay attention to your event's rules. I submitted an earlier half marathon time from November of 2014 for this particular event. Also take time before your race to prepare a special costume! I saw so many amazing and creative costumes during the race that brought a smile to my face, and you really were in the minority if you weren't dressed up. Whether you want to get advanced with props, makeup, and headpieces, or would rather DisneyBound with a more simple, character-inspired look, get into it and have fun! Also take your event theme into consideration - I obviously saw a lot of Princesses during my race, but their corresponding villains and sidekicks were also popular. I of course had to dress up as my favorite Princess Aurora, but I saw everyone from Cinderella to Maleficent to Flounder! Booking an accompanying stay at Walt Disney World: Whether you want to make your race a long girl's weekend or a week-long stay with extended family, it's fun to add a couple of extra days to explore WDW before or after your run. Upon registering and getting your confirmation, start looking into what kind of vacation you want to plan, and when you want to arrive/depart. RunDisney races bring in thousands of runners, spectators, and family members (there were close to 50,000 runners alone for the three Princess weekend races), so hotels will fill up quickly, and especially those close to the race start/along the course. I stayed at Disney's Pop Century Resort in the EPCOT and Wide World of Sports areas, which is extremely close to the race start and Health and Fitness Expo. For some of the smaller events, RunDisney will designate some resort hotels as Host Resorts, which are essentially the only resorts you can get direct race transportation to and from. All of the WDW resort hotels were considered to be host resorts for the Princess weekend events, but some like The Expedition Everest Challenge only have three or four resort hotels as host resorts. Having direct transportation really helps on race day and getting to/from the Expo, so be sure to check where you can get that during your event. RunDisney also partners with some third-party travel providers for special vacation packages if you'd rather have someone else do the planning, so look into those opportunities as well. I personally prefer to book everything directly and independently through Walt Disney World, but that's just me. Race weekend and race day: Once you've arrived at your race destination (Walt Disney World, obviously, for the Princess Half), you must attend the accompanying Health and Fitness Expo to pick up some necessary materials before race day. These include your race bib with your timing device, gEAR check bag, and free race t-shirt. You will have to present a signed waiver to pick these items up, which will be emailed to you directly a few weeks out from the race so you can have it ready ahead of time. This waiver will also list your bib number and corral assignment, which is fun to know before you get to your race. The expo will also have numerous exhibitors with merchandise for sale, including official race items from RunDisney, Dooney & Bourke, and NewBalance. If you're particularly interested in any of the "official" items, be sure to get to the expo on the first day, and early. I was told later that all of the event's Dooney & Bourke bags had sold out within hours of the the expo opening. If you can't make it until later, there will still be plenty of other items to shop for from the other exhibitors and RunDisney, but some of the more popular items will go first. When race day arrives, be prepared for an early morning. And I mean EARLY. Depending on your event and first corral start time, buses could begin running as early as 3:00 AM. I personally think you should strive to be on those first round of buses to assure you get to the race start within plenty of time to fuel, stretch, warm up, take specialty character photos, check your bag, use the restroom, and get to your corral before the designated start time. Remember when I said that thousands of people participate in these events? Well they'll all be trying to get to the same place as you, at the same time, so get to everything early! My group and I pretty much made it to the buses at 3 and didn't feel rushed at all. You will feel like there's some downtime at the race start, but it's better to be relaxed than rushed! And if you're preparing to run in costume, be sure to have tear-away warmups with you in event of inclement weather. It was a little chilly the morning of the half (only to then get boiling hot!), but the 5K and 10K earlier in the week had near record-low temps. If you have to shed some layers once you get running, anything you leave along the course will be donated to local charities. So don't be afraid of losing some sweats to just be thrown away - Everything will go to someone in need! The magical course: The Disney Princess Half Marathon course is AWESOME! Coming from a particularly hilly area and having completed really hilly courses, this one was fairly flat and offered great places to vary your pace. Plus, the best part of RunDisney races are the characters, entertainment, and theme parks! This race started just outside of the EPCOT parking lot, moved along WDW roadways to go through the gates to the Magic Kingdom, around the Transportation and Ticket Center, into the Magic Kingdom via Main Street USA, then through Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and Frontierland, out back past the Grand Floridian, down more property roadways, and back into EPCOT for the last mile and a half. There are a few exit ramps and uphill slopes, but they really aren't all that bad. And there are also a few areas where the road really narrows, so be prepared to have to move onto grass for a little bit. I definitely ran on grass a lot to weave through walkers. Just give a little shout to your fellow runners as to where you're moving or when you're slowing down. And if you ever need to walk, be sure to move to the side so faster-moving runners can move through. All of the character and entertainment stops really add extra pixie dust and magic to the course, so have a plan in place before you start as to how much you want to stop. Some Disney friends will attract more fans (think the Heroes and Villians gatherings, as well as the Cinderella Castle photo spot), so know that you may have to wait for some pictures. The photographers and character attendants really try hard to keep things moving, so have your camera/phone out and turned on so you can move through quickly and get back to running. Also know that characters will NOT sign autographs during races. There are plenty of water stops, bathrooms (port-a-potties and formal restrooms alike), and medial tents along the route, and the mile marker signs make for cute photo ops as well. Definitely bring some form of camera with you during your race, because you won't want to miss any magical moments! What you need to be mindful of though are the notorious balloon ladies, or the pacers. These volunteers cross the start line last in the last corral and keep a 16-minute mile pace throughout the entire race. If you were to ever drop back behind these gals, you may get swept up before you finish the course and miss out on receiving a medal. I started in corral M (out of A through P), and I came very close to falling behind after a few photo stops. Proper training and a photo stop game plan will help in staying as far away from being swept up as possible. Post race fun: Once you've made it past that finish line, it's time to PARTY! You'll receive your medal as you move a little further down the chute, as well as some snacks, Powerade, water, and congratulatory greetings from all of the wonderful volunteers. There's also a photo spot for finishers and some additional entertainment, like a live DJ and character greetings. My travel party headed right to a buffet brunch at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary, but really Walt Disney World is your oyster! I'd definitely recommend heading to Downtown Disney for the finisher's party that evening, where you'll see tons of other runners with their medals and can take advantage of some shopping and dining discounts at select locations (like T-Rex, where we had dinner!). Whether you want to take it easy by your resort hotel pool, or head right to the parks, be sure to celebrate your triumph! I'd highly recommend tackling the Disney Princess Half Marathon to interested athletes, and I myself am considering running again next year. Be sure to pay attention to registration dates, train properly, book your vacation early, and have fun! This event was definitely one of the most fun and engaging races I've ever participated in, so be prepared for a lot of smiling all along the course! For more information on RunDisney and all of their other events at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, check out http://www.rundisney.com. Have you ever done a Disney race before? Tell me about it in the comments below! Until the next post, see ya real soon!
1 Comment
5/6/2016 11:57:42 pm
The accompanying 5K, 10K, and Kids Races weekend events took a little longer to fill up, but everything happened much quicker than I initially anticipated.
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About MeA twenty-something alumni of the Disney College Program looking to help others plan the Disney vacations of their dreams! Living that Disneyland AP dream in SoCal. Archives
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