I Am a Runner: DISNEY WINE & DINE TWO COURSE CHALLENGE

After the debacle that took place at the last Disney race, it was only fitting that my next race would bring me back to the scene of the crime. With a brand new custom-fit knee brace, and all injuries on the mend, this next Disney weekend experience could only be positive.

The entire family and I made our way up early Friday morning, and drove directly to the expo. Since this was our second Disney race weekend, Lindsey and I were already pros on how to plan out our activities. The race shirts were very nice (long sleeve) and the merchandise was outstanding. After breaking the bank, we parked our car at the Port Orleans, and took the bus to the Magic Kingdom. To our surprise and delight, the park was not very crowded. After our fill of food and fun, we went back to the hotel for an early dinner. It was lights out by 9pm, and up and out the door on Saturday morning by 3:30am.

Upon arriving at the starting line, Lindsey was greeted by her friend Jessica. They had made arrangements to meet up before the race, and the conversation helped kill some valuable time. Soon after that, a familiar face came running towards us. Robin had volunteered to work the races, and she was stationed at our corral with her husband Willie. I absolutely adore Robin, and she was tasked with making sure everyone entered the correct corral. Since Lindsey had some race experience under her belt, we were able to get into a faster corral for this weekend. As the gun sounded, there were 11,117 runners ready to take on the 10K. This was 222 more runners than the Star Wars 10K back in April. It only took about 16 minutes for us to start, as Disney is extremely organized. The course was exactly the same as our previous 10K, but it was enjoyable nevertheless. It was a little warmer than we would have liked, but not extremely hot. I ran a pretty slow pace, but no physical issues at all. Once the race was over, we showered back at the hotel. It was now on to EPCOT, and the Food and Wine Festival. Rachel had made plans to hang out with her friends, so it was just going to be three of us. Glenda had gotten really sick a few days prior, and her participation this weekend was in question the entire time. She was a trooper, but you could see the struggle was real. Unbeknownst to me at the time, she would pass on her illness: Fortunately, the flu didn’t kick in until after the race weekend.

I can’t remember the last time I had seen EPCOT this crowded. The lines for the food were insane. We were able to sample many different adult beverages, and tasty food as well. The Gators were playing that day in Columbia, Missouri, and I watched most of the game on my phone. It made me almost as sick as Glenda. We left the park early again, and hit the sack around the same time as the day before. One added bonus was Daylight Savings Time; hooray for an extra hour of sleep!

As we entered the bus early Sunday morning, I could already tell that I would be dragging during the race. It wasn't so much the race on Saturday, as it was spending the day at the park. As long as my brace didn’t break, I could deal with the sluggishness. 13,182 runners were signed up for the half marathon, which was more than 3,000 less participants than the Star Wars half marathon (I was surprised to see that). It took 22 minutes for us to start the race, and I could tell right away that I would be paying many visits to the bushes. My knee felt very sore from the day before, but not enough to influence my pace in any way. As we got to the point in the race where I was injured during the Star Wars half marathon, Lindsey and I were all smiles. History would certainly not repeat itself. It was very overcast, which helped keep the temperatures down a bit. As we ran though Animal Kingdom, we were able to see the new Pandora area. Once we made our way out of the park, I told Lindsey to take off on her own. I was running extremely slow, and taking too many potty breaks.

The race was very enjoyable. Since I was able to run the entire time, I was not stuck in the back with the walkers. It allowed me to really enjoy the course, and not feel as though I was stuck in a cattle call. My finishing time was not the best, but I was very satisfied with the race weekend. The medals were very nice, and I would certainly entertain doing this race again.