So last weekend, I checked a pretty epic item off of my bucket list: I finally ran my first Disney race! I guess I should back up a little bit…Last year, Megan’s cousin Chelsie asked us if we would be up for running a race at Disney with her, something we have been wanting to do ever since we moved here. We decided to do the Enchanted 10k since it was less expensive than the half marathon that weekend and a little more challenging than the Frozen 5k (which ironically had below freezing temperatures this year.)

Chelsie flew in to Tallahassee on Tuesday night and we went down to Orlando after work on Thursday. On Friday, we went to the awesome race expo at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex where I met one of my favorite Biggest Loser contestants Danni Allen! (There isn’t a GIF to describe how awesome that experience was.) After walking around the expo and a few hours at Downtown Disney, it was time for bed!

Now as you all know, I’m a quite the Star Wars geek. (There’s something about a spacecraft that can make the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs that just gives me the vapors….awe lawdy!) So when I was trying to think of how I was going to effectively and creatively describe just how awesome this actually was, I turned to the only other thing that was as awesome in my mind: the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer! AAAAHHHH! IT’S SO GOOD!!!! So without further adieu, I present to you the weirdest/funniest, to me at least, race recap I’ve ever done….

We got up early…REALLY early

You know when you wake up super early and you wonder why you even went to bed to begin with? Yeah, it was that early. At 3:30, my first phone alarm went off. (There is nothing worse than When You Wish Upon a Star playing at full volume. I thought it was going to be inspiring since we were running at Disney. I was waaaaay off.) Before I knew it, I was chowing down on a peanut butter and banana bagel sandwich (my pre-race breakfast of choice) and it was time to make our way to Epcot. It was funny to watch the combination of drivers in Kissimmee who were either going home after a night of partying or were part of the convoy of cars with 13.1 stickers on their way to the race.

Then, we waited in our corrals…forever

While I knew the race was big, I didn’t think it was going to be 12,000 racers big. The Epcot parking lot was packed! We knew we had some time, so we waited in the nice warm car for a little while before trudging our way over to the race pavilion. The race’s starting line was in one of the many Epcot parking lots which is smart because there is so much more space to work with. Anyway, Megan and I were in the D corral which was second to last. We didn’t realize that we were going to have to wait for about 45 minutes to finally run after the first corral. It was a weird adjustment for my body because I was so jacked and ready to go and then I had to stand around waiting for our turn. That just happens when you run a big race like that!

Then, it was our turn to run!

Our corral was finally called and we were up! The race MC’s counted down and the fireworks went off! Time to conquer some miles!

 

 

 

 

The first few miles…

We didn’t start running until 6 so it was still pretty dark. It felt even darker because we ran away from the lights of the park onto the highway. The first mile felt like a cakewalk because my adrenaline finally kicked back into gear. Then, it started to snow!!!!
Well…kind of.
Anna and Elsa were on top of an overpass with “Let it Go” blasting as loud as possible. The ice royalty waved at the runners and at one point they asked if we wanted to build a snowman which led to a resounding “NO!” from the crowd. It was pretty hilarious. (Side note: I may or may not have done an interpretive dance to “Let it Go.”)

Bathroom Break

Around mile 2.5, Megan and I both realized that we both needed a bathroom break. The lines were pretty long so we kept going. Then, there were two random port-a-potties (well…not random. They weren’t phantom port-a-potties.) with a pretty short line…or so we thought. We ended up waiting for a good while which made me antsy. (So I admit that this GIF doesn’t really have anything to with port-a-potties. That is unless you call the bathroom the dark side? I don’t know. I got nothing. All I know is that I’m ridiculously stoked for the new lightsabers. I don’t really care what the rest of the Internet says. They are epic and I want one!!!!!! Oh yeah…where was I?)

Rolling through Epcot!

Before we knew it, we were approaching the backside of Epcot! We ran by the outdoor part of Test Track and and eventually made our way into the World Showcase between China and Norway. It’s weird because you think there would be more behind the pavilions. It was basically just a parking lot and a loading dock full of beer kegs. Anyway, we stopped for a few pictures since it was finally sunrise. Running around the countries has always been a dream of mine and was definitely my favorite part of the race!

All the High Fives!

(Obviously the Millennium Falcon and the TIE Fighters aren’t high fiving, but you get the picture….) We eventually made our way through the International Gateway towards the Boardwalk loop. There were other people running towards us which led to multiple high fives and loud cheering. There’s really nothing more encouraging during a race than runners cheering other runners!

The Finish Line is in Sight!

We finally made it around the loop (an old man was giving out cookies. It was one of the few times I’ve taken food from strangers.) and we ran behind the Land and the Imagination pavilion. After a selfie in front of the giant ball, we kicked it into high gear and finished the race!
AND WE DID IT!

WWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We felt awesome! We crossed the finish line, got our medals and found Chelsie! It was nice to enjoy the experience and not worry too much about our time. Overall, I would definitely run another Disney race. They are pretty pricey, but they are extremely well organized and I mean, come on, it’s Disney! One of my goals is to run a marathon before I turn 30 and the Disney Marathon weekend is on my birthday in 2017. I think that might be it!

So congratulations to all of the Disney Princess Weekend runners! You all totally rock!

Stay tuned next week for pictures of us (not just Star Wars GIFs) during the race!

(I know this isn’t a part of the trailer, but who cares?)