Disneyland Half Marathon "The Most Stressed Out Race on Earth"

Yesterday I wrapped up the Disney Coast-to-Coast Half Marathon duo. In spring, I did the Disney Princess Half Marathon; yesterday was the Disneyland Half.

I love Disney. Some of my happiest memories are family vacations to Disney World with my cousins and nieces. Growing up I thought the Polynesian Village was the greatest place in the whole world.

Disney bills the Disneyland Half Marathon as the "Happiest Race on Earth". Wrong, it was the "Most Stressed Out Race on Earth". There were lots of weird things that made the whole event more high-strung than it had to be. For example, they decided to close the starting corrals about 30 minutes before the race. Anyone who was stretching or making a port-o-let visit couldn't get back to their spot and had to go to the back of 18,000 runners. The first part of the race was a mess of faster runners trying to weave through the pack. It was an odd choice by Disney, since runners who've been hydrating for a hot race day are going to need to pee before an event.

I had a nice run and felt strong all day. It didn't get hot until mile 11 and I pretty much walked it in from there. It was a disappointing event, because I expected it to be super-fun and it just wasn't. I did dig running through Angels Stadium. The most amusing thing all day was a sign on the course, "Run faster. Mickey just raised admission prices again."

She Ran Calling Wildfire

Again with the equation of wildfire+race= problem. Not a problem that's nearly on the scale of losing your home to the fires, but still annoying.

This weekend, I'm supposed to run the Disneyland Half Marathon. With the wildfires burning, the air quality in Anaheim is veering toward sucky. Last year I was planning to run the Pasadena Marathon when wildfires forced it to be rescheduled.

Between my race calendar, Steve's calendar and work, there's not a free weekend for a Disney reschedule. Here's hoping for clean air on Sunday.

Disney Princess Half Marathon - Finishers' Party and Hidden Mickeys

After the race, Disney hosted a finisher's party at Disney Hollywood Studios amusement park. The park was closed with the exception of finishers and their guests. The park probably had less than 4,000 people in it. Normally, it would have about 20,000 people. There were no lines at all. It was awesome, because it is my favorite of all the Disney parks.

I did end of waiting at my favorite ride, the Tower of Terror - not due to a line, but due to a miscommunication with Debbie. As I was waiting, I met one of the Disney cast members and asked about the hidden Mickey's in the ride. He was incredibly well informed. He told me about the history of the ride and all 14 hidden mickeys in the ride. I'd already found 2 of them, but the others were a surprise. I've probably been on that ride 100 times in both Florida and California - searching for the hidden Mickeys every time. Somehow I missed 12 of them.

Just for fun, I'll give you an easy one. Can you find the hidden mickey on the concierge desk at the Tower of Terror? I shot this photo to make the hidden mickey easy to find.

Disney Princess Race Report

Gee, my race notes are 10 days late. Perhaps because there isn't much notable about my performance. It was not my best race or my worst. I had a consistent run with no complaints. Most races I come home with a few things to improve and a few things that were perfect. This time, I have neither. I had a good day, but not a great one.

The Disney Princess Half Marathon was a well produced event - flat race course, well organized, nice weather. It was, unfortunately, a bit boring. The course went through Epcot and the Magic Kingdom which was cool, but took up less than 3 miles of the 13.1. Between the two parks, there was a lot of nothing.

Here is what gives me faith that this race, which is already very good, will only get better. We met two people from the Disney Endurance Sports group. Both asked what went wrong, how could they improve, how did Disney compare to the Rock N Roll Marathon series and the Nike Women's Marathon? They weren't looking for kudos; they were trying to learn how to run a world class event.

Finisher Medal - Disney Princess Half Marathon

My finishers medal.

Race report later.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Swag ... I Gots It

Two shirts, a pin, a race bag and my race bib. Swag. I love it. (I must concede that the commemorative Disney ears were a dud though.) Please note my race bib refers to me as Princess Christine.

Same As It Ever Was

Tomorrow I'm headed to Orlando to run in the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Guess what the weather will be on Sunday. Did you pick hot and humid? Then you'd be right!

Because every race I do needs to be accomplished within 5 degrees of the record high for that day.

Sunny High 82°F Precip 0%

Wind: SSE 8 mph Max. Humidity: 66% UV Index: 8 Very High Sunrise: 7:44 AM ET Avg. High: 76°F Record High: 87°F (1974)