Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend

Like all runDisney events, the beginning of the weekend begins with the expo. The expo is where you pick up your bib and race shirts. You can also get any other merchandise you're looking for. From clothing, to shoes, to fuel, to tutus; you can find it at the expo! The runDisney booth at the expo is always the craziest booth. This time around, they filed everyone into a area and only let a certain amount of people into the booth at a time. This was wonderful. I never felt congested or overwhelmed like I have in the past. I got a few items here and then explored the rest of the expo.

The next morning was the Neverland 5k. The 5k started in front of the castle. There were no corrals for the 5k. Instead, as people entered the park and got closer to the castle they just stopped where the crowd of people were. I think I was in "Corral B". There was no official start line that I could see as well. I found this strange, but after the congestion in the beginning the course was great. The course went through Disneyland and out through a backstage area into California Adventure. After going through California Adventure, we exited through a backstage door and finished in Downtown Disney.  I wore the same leggings and tank I wore during the Princess 5k. I figured the mermaid look would work in Neverland as well.  

Saturday morning was the Tinker Bell 10k. This was the first race in the Pixie Dust Challenge. When I opened the hotel room door I found it raining. Luckily the ran stopped once I was I got to the parking garage and held off the entire day. The 10k started on the tram road underneath Downtown Disney. After going through some backstage areas we entered Disneyland. This race had a lot more time in Disneyland which was awesome. 

Running through the castle never gets old!

We left out the front gate and headed out to California Adventure. The finish was in the same spot as the 5k I wore a bright green tee and headband in honor of Tinker Bell. I really enjoyed this race. I was excited to spend the rest of the day in the park and get ready to run the half the next morning.

On Sunday morning, I got up early once again to run the Tinker Bell Half Marathon. I have only done the Disneyland Half Marathon and that course wasn't the most thrilling. I had heard much better things about the Tink course so I had my hopes up. We went through the same areas in the parks, but we did have to go out into the Anaheim streets. I saw much better areas of Anaheim and wished I had known about them before this moment. 

Everyone loves running through Cars Land!

 

One of my favorite parts of the streets of Anaheim was the Red Hat Society. There were so many of these ladies out and they were cheering for everyone. It was a really special moment that I could never put into words.

Once I finished the half, I hit up the photo area.

I was able to get the pink Coast to Coast medal during this run. When you do the Princess Half and the Tinker Bell half, you get a pink medal. The blue one is given for doing any half/full marathon in Disney World and then a half marathon in California. I was surprised to get both Coast to Coast bracelets at the Expo. I then heard that you could turn down the blue Coast to Coast to get it at a later race. It was nice to have all of the medals though. 

I am so happy that runDisney uses Disney Photopass now as well. The photos are so much better and you have the ability to know when a photographer is coming up (they have tents and balloons so you can see them). If you have a Photopass for your trip the photos can be linked into your account. No more spending more money to buy a package or even just one photo! 

Next up with runDisney: the Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend!

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Expo

Last week at this time I was in the midst of the biggest physical challenge I'd face, the Dopey Challenge! I haven't been home or awake long enough to write any recaps so I'm going to break it down over the next couple of days.

I left last Monday to head down to Orlando. I couldn't wait to get out of the cold that we have been having. The first two days Nate and I visited some parks. On Wednesday we were up early to head over to the Expo! The expo is where you pick up your bibs, shirts, swag, merchandise, and almost anything else you could see. The expo for Marathon Weekend is at ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. I already had in mind what I wanted to accomplish while there which helped. (You should always have a game plan!)

Once you arrive at the complex you want to go do your packet pickup in the HP Field House.  I usually do the 5k and then another event making me need to go all the way around, downstairs, and back upstairs to do it again. This was the first year I only had to stop at one area because I was doing the Dopey Challenge!  runDisney has just started making it so that you have to pickup your own bib. (People will sell their bibs or have someone run a portion of a challenge for them, but still receive the medals.) After getting my bibs I had to get a picture for the race weekend. The pictures were the way to make sure that I was running every race. I was given two bibs (one for the 5k/10k and one for the Half/Full), a gEar bag sticker, and a card to pick up my commemorative items. (I've never received a card for commemorative items before. I've always received them when I got my bibs.)

The next stop for me was the lower level of the HP Field House to receive my gEAR bag. I loved only going to one table to receive all of my things. (The bag that you receive is what you will use to check any items at the race.) Inside this bag was all six shirts! Yes six shirts! You get a shirt for doing the 5k, 10k, half marathon, and marathon as well as receiving a Goofy Challenge shirt and a Dopey Challenge shirt! After picking up my bag I headed over to receive my commemorative items. I got all six pins for the races and challenges.

In the field house they also have a smaller area for official runDisney merchandise. In the official event guide they had a picture of how the runDisney merchandise would be organized. I knew what I was looking for when I walked in so it was easy to grab things quickly and pay. I got the 2015 Mickey Vinylmation, the 6 race and challenge pins (they are mini medals), and a pint glass. I was happy the line was quick.

Jostens Center

After we left the field house, we headed over to the Jostens Center to look at more vendors. If you are not running a challenge this is also where you would head to pick up your gEAR bag and shirts. There is a bigger runDisney merchandise area which was busier and a little chaotic so we just kind of looked through quickly and moved on. We had walked throughout the aisles of exhibitors, but I didn't need anything so we headed towards the exit. On the way to the exit you can also find the Speaker Series. We listened to a little bit of Jeff Galloway talk before we headed outside.

Free photos!

Something new this year was that they had exhibitors around Champion Stadium. We looked at some exhibitors and won a free gift. Nate made me a cheering sign outside too. While he did that I put his name on a sticker that said something like "Thanks for being there" on it.

We took off back to the hotel after that to drop off our stuff. We had lunch reservations at the Magic Kingdom that we needed to get to.

I did end up back at the expo on Friday to get more capris (it was colder than expected). I also got an I Did It! Dopey Challenge shirt and a Coast to Coast Challenge pin. I'm not doing Coast to Coast this year, but I have in the past. I also got a gift certificate for Marathonfoto so that I could get some race day photos to keep. Nate also signed up for Runner Tracking while we were there.

5k

10k

Half Marathon

Marathon

Dopey Challenge

Goofy Challenge

Overall my experience at the expo both day was quick and easy. It felt strange that there were some exhibitors outside, but it was okay. The Jostens Center was a little crowded, but nothing out of the ordinary from previous years.

Coming up…the Walt Disney World Family Fun Run 5k!

NYC Marathon Expo!

I was planning on writing this post about the whole weekend, but honestly I'm just tired. So lets focus on one day at a time!

On Saturday Nate & I boarded a train to head to NYC. I was able to check-in to our hotel the day before online which was awesome because our room was ready before we even got to NYC! We decided to check-in first and then head over to the expo. When we got to NYC it was raining, but I was okay with it. After we dropped our stuff in the room we headed over to the Javits Center to get my bib.

Our hotel had some pretty awesome pumpkins in the lobby!

I was surprisingly not scared or nervous or anything. I felt calm when I got to NYC. The first thing we did when we got into the Javits Center was pick up my bib and my bag for the start village. I got my bib scanned to make sure the B-Tags were working so people could actually track me on Sunday. (They were working perfectly!) We exited into the ASICS area and I picked out a shirt. I kept away from anywhere that could show the medal. I wanted to keep it a surprise. We walked through our the expo and I grabbed a Sparkly Soul headband. I also got to meet Katherine Switzer!  If you don't know who she is you should! She was the first registered woman to run the Boston Marathon! (You know when woman weren't allowed to run!) She signed her book and took pictures with everyone. She was so nice and was rooting for us. We left the expo shortly after to go relax and grab dinner. I did have an early day and a marathon to run!

I'll leave you with some pictures to tie you over until I get to my NYC Marathon post!

#RunNewYork

This is the headband I chose to wear during the marathon.

Who doesn't get a picture with the course map!?!

I'd never be this close to a finish line tape ever again!

Katherine Switzer & I!