Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend | Recap

It's hard to believe that another Princess Weekend has come and gone! This weekend has quickly become one I look forward too all year long. I will admit that this year I did not train as much as I should have, but more on that later. For now, let's do a quick recap on the weekend!

FRIDAY

I took one of the first flights out of DC on Friday morning to ensure that I would have plenty of time to get settled and go to the expo without feeling rushed. After a quick layover in NYC, I was on the ground in Orlando before noon. Since I was running the 10k on Saturday as well as the Half Marathon on Sunday, I knew I needed to get to the expo to get my bibs for the races. I also wanted to take this time to get all of my race shopping done, so I wouldn't have to worry about it on Saturday.

Once I got to the hotel (more on that later), I met up with my mom and my sister and we hoped on a bus to ESPN's Wide World of Sports. There are 3 massive buildings dedicated to the race weekend. One building is for the bibs, one is for sponsors and vendors, and one is for runDisney merchandise. We always make sure to get our bibs first, and then go to the vendors and finally end at the runDisney merchandise. It can be overwhelming at first, but I love going around and seeing what everyone has. The vendors are great, and they will take the time to talk with you and help you with any questions you may have. 

We decided to lay low our first few days in Orlando. I'm a huge proponent of resting up before a race, so that's exactly what we do! Also, you have to wake up around 2/2:30am for these races so you want to relax as much as possible.

SATURDAY

My first race day of the weekend!! This was my first time running a Disney 10k and I LOVED it!! 6 miles is the perfect amount of mileage (in my opinion), and 6 miles through Disney is just plain fun. You start in the Epcot parking lot, run through highways for the first 3 miles, and you're in the parks and the boardwalk for the last 3 miles, ending back in the Epcot parking lot. I truly felt great after this race. It was really humid, so I wasn't able to wear my mermaid leggings that I was planning on wearing, but I still got to wear my leg day tank from Raw Threads. 

After the race, we relaxed at the hotel for most of the day. We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and it was amazing! We hung out by the pool which also had a pool bar. I obviously opted for some frozé. We were really lucky with the weather in Florida, it can be a hit or miss when it comes to February in Florida, but it was warm and sunny the whole time we were down there!

SUNDAY

Ahh, the day you spend months preparing for. Sunday, aka Half Marathon day!! I'm not going to lie, I did not feel the greatest going into this half marathon. I was fine with the 10k, but I was sore and groggy the morning of the half marathon. I actually struggled pretty bad in the first half of the race. So much so that I was actually having a hard time breathing going down Main Street USA, which I am not happy about (there were tears, and not happy tears like last year). Thankfully I was able to pull myself together before we ran back through the castle which is when I got this photo. I have wanted a castle picture and honestly thought that the photographers missed me as I was coming out of the castle. I was so bummed until later in the day when I was looking through the race photos and saw this. I am so happy that they were able to capture me coming through the castle. 

I signed up to do the Fairy Tale Challenge which is why I ran the 10k and half marathon. It was such a good feeling to get my half marathon medal placed around my neck and then the Fairy Tale Challenge medal placed around my neck as well. I am really proud of myself for completing this beast of a race weekend. I have never accomplished something like this, and I am so glad that I did it.

After the race we went back to the hotel, ate, showered and got ready for the rest of the day. We had family from SC come down to spend the day with us, so we all ran around Magic Kingdom, rode roller coasters, and I watched the parade. Because of health issues, I cannot ride all of the roller coasters, so while they were riding some of the more intense rides, I opted for a sweet treat on Main Street USA.

MONDAY

tank | shorts

We decided to do Animal Kingdom & Epcot on Monday. I love both parks, but I think they're the perfect two parks to split between one day. Thankfully the humidity had somewhat subsided, and it was almost a little chilly when we left for the parks in the morning. I opted for a basic white tee and denim shorts with my new race jacket from the half marathon.

Well there you have it. Our weekend at Disney in a nutshell. I will go over the whole half marathon process as well as a breakdown of our hotel and transportation in other blog posts.

Disney Princess Half Marathon | RACE DAY

Hello friends! Today I am sharing an in-depth post about my experience at the Disney Princess Half Marathon!! So grab a glass of rosé (or coffee depending on what time of day it is) and get ready because this is going to be a long one.

So the Disney races start early...and I'm not talking 7am early...the half marathon started at 5:30am. If you read my first post, you'll know that we stayed at a Disney resort. I cannot stress how important I think it is to stay at a Disney resort if you are running a Disney race.  They have race day transportation for all the runners staying at their specific resorts and let me tell you, it was perfect! There were over 20,000 runners so they suggested you get to Epcot early so you can get to your corral in time. The busses started leaving our hotel at 3am and you better believe that we were on that first bus. If you stay off-site, you either have to drive in and park (which I hear is not an easy task) or try to get a cab. Having the transportation provided by Disney was a total life saver!

I'm not going to lie, when my alarm went off at 2am, I did have a moment of "why did I think this was a good idea??" And you will probably have the same thoughts, but I promise you it is worth it!! We quickly got ready and headed to the bus to go to Epcot.

Something else I want to point out is make sure you eat before the race. We got to Epcot around 3:30am which meant we still had two more hours until the race began and our corral didn't start until 6am. I have a sensitive stomach and I have to be careful of what I eat before I run, or else I will be sick. I was so nervous that I was going to be sick during the half I ended up only eating about a half of a packet of oatmeal and a half of a banana...2 hours before I started running. Be sure to fuel up before the race because you don't want to lose steam during the race. I got tired a lot faster than normal and I know it is because of I didn't eat enough before the race. So be sure to eat enough and drink plenty of water!! They have food and drinks for sale and the pre-race party (there's a DJ who is WAY more awake than anyone else, but it really helps you get excited) but I also suggest to bring food with you on your trip so you can 1) save money & 2) start eating before you leave.

Getting ready to walk to our corrals! I think this was around 4am...

You end up walking about a mile to the start line so you definitely get your warmup in!

The starting line!!!

Since there are so many people who run this race, you are split up into corrals. I HIGHLY suggest running a local race in the summer or fall to submit a proof of time to Disney. This will help you get in a better corral and you won't have to wait forever before starting the race. We ran a 10k in October and honestly, I had barely trained for it so the time wasn't spectacular but I was still able to get in a good corral for the half! 

The farther back your corral, the more you will be zig-zagging throughout the race. Even though I was in a higher corral, I ended up running more than 13.1 miles. So I would highly suggest submitting a proof of time to Disney so you can get in a good corral!

The first few miles were honestly a blur to me. Almost immediately, we passed a marching band and I wanted them to follow me thought the race...they were SO motivating! The first 4-5 miles are pretty much all highway. There are characters and DJ's along the route which really help it go by quickly.

It was abnormally hot and humid that weekend. I checked my phone right before the race and it was 99% humidity....make sure you stay hydrated!! 

 This moment was beyond magical.

Running down Main Street USA was even more amazing than I had imagined it. The entrance to Magic Kingdom all down Main Street was flooded with crowds of people cheering you on, ringing cow bells, and making the experience absolutely incredible. On top of that, they had "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" blasting throughout the park. You all, I was completely overwhelmed with emotion. I have been dreaming of being healthy enough to run this race, and the fact that I was doing it, I was running a half marathon was just so overwhelming!

The love and support from your friends, family and total strangers is really what helps you get through the race. Everyone just cheers you on and supports you even when they don't know you. People were reading names off of the race bibs and cheering people on by name. There are some amazing signs there as well!! My favorite was at about mile 8 that said "5 more miles until mimosas!"

One misconception is that most of the race is through the parks...that's not true. You start and end in Epcot and run through Magic Kingdom but most of the race is on highways and back roads. You run past a gorgeous golf course at one point which is where I found these guys. This was around mile 9 and they were so funny! They were such troopers taking pictures with all of us sweaty racers. I of course had to get a picture with them and the glass slipper!

Look at all those people!! I was really struggling at this point in the race. We were about 2 miles out and my leg was really bothering me. The week before the race I had pulled a muscle in my left leg and it really started acting up towards the end of the race.

This moment was incredible. While this is not my most flattering angle, I am so glad this was captured! Crossing the finish line was a surreal moment and it made all the pain and training completely worth it! Also, I have now decided that I am not wearing printed pants while running ever again haha. We loved these Lilly Pulitzer leggings but they were not photo-friendly.

So in conclusion...

Would I run the Disney Princess Half Marathon again? HECK YES!! I already have the registration date saved in my calendar so I can register for next year.

Have you run a runDisney race before?! Tell me about it! Also, if you have any questions about this race, let me know in the comments below!!

Disney Princess Half Marathon | Travel Day & Expo

Hey all! I'm back! If you have been following along, you know that it's been just over a week since my first half marathon! I went down to Orlando, FL and ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon! Let me tell you, it was one of the most incredible experience's of my life. This race was so eye-opening and I can't wait to share more with you all later in another blog post!

For this post, I wanted to go over our travel day and our experience at the expo!

I apologize for the lack of edited photos. I only had my phone and honestly didn't take a ton of photos. It was nice to just be in the moments as they were happening.

We had a super early flight on Friday morning with a layover in NYC, so I am super thankful for the Delta Sky Club coming to the rescue with quiet, free wifi, food, and coffee! 

Once we landed in Orlando, we headed down to Disney's area of the airport. (I will do a whole blog post on our stay at Disney) I was super impressed with how Disney ran the whole process. Since we were staying at a Disney resort, we decided to take advantage of all of the free transportation they offer. A few days before we left, we had luggage tags arrive in the mail that we put on our suitcases. After we got off the plane in Orlando, we didn't have to worry about picking up our bags. Disney took care of everything for us! But more on that later.

We checked into our hotel and then headed over to Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports for the expos! Be sure to wear comfy shoes for the expos. I wore a pair of sandals and forgot that they give my feet blisters. I ended up switching shoes with my mom about half way through.

Our first stop was to pick up our bibs. This years theme was Snow White and it was so cute!!

Next, we headed over to the vendor's expo and OH-EM-GEE there was SO much to see!! We honestly just wandered around for a little bit. There were so many amazing vendors and most of them had really good sales for us and a ton of them were handing out freebies. I picked up a pair of running socks that I am now obsessed with! I will be sure to link them once I find them online.

JayBirds had a booth with a wall where you could write why you run. This run was super special to me, but that is a whole other blog post that I will post in the next few weeks. ;) 

I was SO excited at this point!! I couldn't believe it was finally here!!

So before even going to Florida, I knew I wanted to get a jacket from the Disney side of the expo. These jackets were a little pricey but 100% worth it (in my opinion). I was super proud of myself for accomplishing this half marathon so you better believe I've been wearing this jacket loud and proud ever since!! (My mom, my sister and I all wore them on our flights home lol).



So my advice for any future runDisney runners is to be ready to spend money at the race. You are going to want to buy stuff to commemorate the race, and there are SO many options to choose from. Wear comfy shoes for the expos, you are going to be doing a lot of walking and you don't want to give yourself any extra blisters right before the race.

That's all I have for you today! Be sure to keep checking back for more posts on my runDisney experience!!

Do you like to run? Are you interested in running a Disney marathon or half marathon? Leave your questions for me in the comment section below!