The Big Run Disney Trip - Day 6. The Disney Princess Half Marathon

[Guest]

BEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEP. 2:30am and our alarms were blaring!

This was Half Marathon day, and even though Gemma wasn't running, she got up and joined me all the way to the start (when she then hopped a monorail to MK to spectate on Main Street).

I jumped out of bed and threw on my chosen costume for the day, village belle and made a start making myself look less like I'd had a handful of hours sleep! Gemma was up shortly afterward, dressed and very kindly took some pictures and that was us. Off to the bus stop at POR before 3am!

I've said before, Disney races start EARLY, but when you are walking through a deserted hotel complex dressed as a princess and the only other people around are equally as dressed up you don't feel so alone or tired any longer!

We arrived at a near empty bus stop, which was great because that meant we would definitely get on the first bus out to Epcot (the start line). A few women joined us shortly after and you could feel the excitement and the nervous energy from everyone.

The bus arrived at 3am on the dot and we all loaded on, Gemma had packed a towel to wrap up in if it got chilly, which was a great idea as when we arrived at the Epcot car park we had a couple of hours to wait!

At the Epcot start Gemma and I decided to line up for the character meets that were going on, another great thing about the RunDisney events is that they offer character interactions before the race starts, during the race and after the race, so there is always something to keep you occupied!

After our meeting with Tiana and Belle it was time for me to head to the starting corrals and Gemma to make her way to Magic Kingdom. It was 4:30am and it was just under a mile to walk from the staging area to my starting group, Corral H.

A quick stop at the portaloos on the way to the start line meant I didn't need to worry about using the super crowded ones further along the course, and I ate a little bag of jelly babies for some sugar before I started.

There was lots of entertainment on the big screens once we got to the start corrals, snippets of Disney films, messages from the race sponsors and also lots of on stage interviews with people who were running the race for charity or for a special occasion.

The race started at 5:30 to a great fireworks display, but no fairy godmother waving us runners off which was a bit of a let down, a number of runners around me commented on how they missed her this year.

The first few miles passed by without any issue.

When I crossed the start line I'd managed to squeeze into the first row of my corral so I had a nice clear patch of road ahead of
Me as we snaked out of the Epcot car park and along the road towards Magic Kingdom. As each corral was set off around 2mins apart it meant the first few hundred mtrs of my run was clear and I managed to get distance on the people behind me.

The character stops on the way to Magic Kingdom were super busy so I didn't stop, but I passed Malificent, the Evil Queen, the Princes and a couple others, but I can't remember them all !

Shortly after mile 2 I approached the pay barriers at MK. So surreal running through these arches!

The route led us in to MK property, and around where the old speedway was, through the car park and onto the tramway towards the TTC

As we ran under the tunnel we were hit with a wall of sound, supporters had lined the course and were helping carry us towards the park. And as we ran through the TTC there was an amazing drum squad rocking beats to keep runners on the go!

We ran from the TTC up into the road towards the Contemporary and, ultimately, the Magic Kingdom.

Space mountain!

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New Photo Added by Elsamac - 7 Jun 17 12:07 PM.

[KarenG]

More please more please! Love this course!

[Excited83]

Amazing! X