We did it! After training for 5 months, my sister, myself and our 2 cousins successfully completed the RunDisney Princess Half Marathon. I feel so proud of this accomplishment. It wasn't my first Half, but it was my best. I felt great the entire race, and there is something really cool about feeling like you adequately prepared.
We followed this training schedule and I highly recommend. It has you run 3 times a week, and I felt like it was very well paced.
Cons of a Disney Race
There are SO many people who do this race. My gosh, the expo and the run itself were both so crowded. There are certain areas of the course that narrow, and people do not follow the 'walkers on the right' etiquette well. I hit 13.1 miles well before the finish line just because of all the weaving.
The early morning was also brutal. It's recommended that you get to the start line corrals about an hour before your wave starts. The resort has a great busing system for getting runners to the race. But you have to be on the bus by 3:30am (or earlier!)! The lines for the bathrooms were outrageous as well! I slept so poorly because I was afraid i'd miss my alarm. So, it's already an extremely early morning, and you are doing it on just a few hours of sleep.
The bus also drops you off about a mile from the start line, so you need to plan accordingly.
Pros of a Disney Race
Disney just does everything top notch. They know how to move huge groups of people! I was impressed with the medical tents. They know there are so many inexperienced runners on the course who might need help. There was even a woman handing out popsicle sticks loaded up with vaseline! There were plenty of water and Powerade stations - and they also passed out the Honey Stinger chews that I love.
The race medals and shirts are great quality. I felt like with such a high race registration fee, this is the type of swag I'd expect.
There were a ton of race photographers on the course! I highly recommend purchasing the Memory Maker package. I was able to download all of my own photos, as well as those in my friends/family list. We got our money's worth ten fold. Such great shots too!
Tip!
If your family is going to spectate in Magic Kingdom, or really anywhere on the course - they need something bright/colorful/different so you can spot them. There were SO many people on main street, we never would have found our family. Blake bought a giant photo of my face to hold up - and I was so glad he did! As soon as we hit the street, I was like "there's my face!" and I knew exactly where they were.
Race Must Haves:
Outfit:
All in Motion Shirt | Fabletics Sports Bra | PopFlex Skirt (longer length) | Brooks Shoes | Feetures Socks | Flower Hair Clips | Blake's Shirt
Running Favorites:
-Kristen
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