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My Disney Marathon, 2012
Image by Brett Kiger
Yes, that's right, it adds up perfectly! That's 3.1 miles for the Expedition Everest Challenge, 10 miles for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler, and 13.1 miles for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon for a grand total of 26.2 miles. I guess you could say my current PR for the marathon distance is a few months!
I had a great time at each of these races, but each had some pros and cons. All of them had great pre-race entertainment, tech shirts, and medals, but here's a mini review:
Expedition Everest Challenge
This race was unique because it was a 5K with obstacles, followed by a scavenger hunt. The 5K course was through the parking lot and within the actual Animal Kingdom park itself which was fine. There was one section where the course crossed itself which made for some congestion because of the staggered starts, but otherwise it wasn't bad. The obstacles were pretty boring (generic hay bails, tires, etc.), and one towards the back of the park was even required to be a "silent obstacle" due to a rhino in labor. Oh, and the bag drop off and reclaim was a complete disaster!!! Disney needs to fix this, it was fine for the other races.
This is a great starter race for someone thinking about jumping on the RunDisney bandwagon. The distance isn't overwhelming, and you get a feel for how Disney does a race. With a few tweaks, this one could be perfect for anyone.
Tower of Terror 10 Miler
What I will always remember about this race was how HOT and HUMID it was!!! At the end, I would't say that I was dripping, but I was literally melting. To keep cool, I would throw water over my head at each water station, but I never dried because of the humidity. The course was mostly on the streets around the property. We did run through the car entrance to Animal Kingdom, but we didn't enter the actual park. We did go through the Wide World of Sports Complex and Hollywood Studios, but the route could have been much better. While there was some entertainment along the way, it didn't really stand out. Maybe I was just too hot!
If it wasn't for the cool shirt and medal (my favorite of the three, the elevator is spring loaded and moves!), I would say skip this one. If the weather was cooler, I may have had more fun, but the course was also a little boring.
Wine & Dine Half Marathon
Now, this is what I expected out of a DIsney race! This course was by far the most interesting since we ran through three parks, and the entertainment was excellent! Some of the highlights along the way were lots of great characters, live music, and just experiencing the parks themselves all decked out for Christmas. A very memorable experience was running through the Osborne lights with just a handful of people. Overall, I had a great time, and the weather was just perfect for a distance run.
Of these three races, this would be the one I would be most likely to recommend. It was extremely well run, and somewhat made me wonder why the other races weren't the same way since they are put on by the same people.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, RunDisney races are a great way to get in to running. For me, it had been years since I had gone for a run, and even then I never ran nearly this far. Knowing that each of these races would include a Disney trip was a huge carrot. My training runs made me anticipate each trip even more since I knew I had to be in shape to reach my goals.
A HUGE thanks goes out to Susan, Diana, and Katie for inspiring me to get started and motivating me along the way. If it wasn't for them, and Lou's Marathon Weekend recap on WDW Radio, I probably would have never started this crazy hobby!
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Brett Kiger Photography
tigers 'rock'
Image by Adam Foster | Codefor
I tried to edit the fence in the back out alittle, i don't like animals looking captive in photos. He was posing for ages on the rock for me.
