Race Recap: Princess Enchanted 10K

Greetings friends, runners, and fellow princesses! I recently returned from my favorite place, yup you guessed it, Walt Disney World! I was at the house of mouse for the Run Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend. This event has become an annual girl’s trip with my BRFs, and this year even more magical memories were made!

This recap is LONG, but instead of splitting it in parts, I figured why not just give you the full novella. I know when I was researching Run Disney races I enjoyed reading all the details. I hope this helps you newbies and those of you curious about doing a Run Disney event in the future.

Royal greeting at the Princess Expo!

For my non-Run Disney readers, the Princess Half Marathon Weekend is a women’s focused event that takes place in Walt Disney World every February. The weekend hosts a 5K, 10K, and half marathon race as well as kid’s races. While men can participate, the weekend is all about the ladies! It’s the only women’s focused running event I’ve ever done, and I absolutely LOVE it. So many ladies use the weekend as a chance to do their first ever race(s). I love watching people make a commitment to fitness. Overall, it’s a really great run weekend for newbies as well as seasoned runners. It also makes for a great girl’s trip, which has become a tradition for me and my BRFs.

I started going to Princess Weekend as a girl’s trip in 2014, when I completed the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge (the Enchanted 10K plus the Princess Half Marathon). I returned in 2015 and completed the Princess Frozen 5K as well as the Enchanted 10K. This year we changed it up again and decided to primarily focus on the Enchanted 10K. Magical miles aren’t exactly cheap, and we all agreed that we’d like to start the weekend with our race and enjoy our park days after. We found that the past two years our legs were tired for the races due to more park time before. Also, with the 10K being my favorite running distance in general and the Enchanted 10K being my favorite current Run Disney course (I miss you Tower of Terror 10-Miler), this seemed like a perfect Princess Weekend plan.

With the race scheduled for Saturday, I began my Princess Weekend journey Thursday evening. I normally fly to Disney early in the morning so how I was able to contain my excitement at work all day is still a pixie dust mystery to me! I arrived in Orlando and instead of finding the Magical Express as I’m accustomed to, I met my parents. My parents are Florida snow birds and recently had a new house built there, which is approximately 15 minutes from Disney. I am completely jealous of them, but they worked hard for years and have earned this treat! It was nice spending some time with them and getting spoiled with my favorite dinner ever, mom’s homemade chicken pot pie!

Best welcome sign ever!

Friday morning I finally entered the Disney bubble and enjoyed a Mickey waffle breakfast with my parents at the Poly. I also tried some Tonga Toast for the first time and sadly I am not a fan. Womp womp. I think it’s due to my hatred of bananas. That was disappointing as it is one of the big hyped Disney foods, but now I can at least check that off my to-do list! Dole Whip, you are still number one! Since I wasn’t meeting the girls until later and my mom is a run expo junkie as well, my parents set off to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex with me to retrieve my race packet.

Expo swag/haul

I braced myself for the Princess Expo as there had been a lot of chatter about not-so-Princess behavior there the day before. Apparently pushing and shoving over jackets and tumblers ensued. Yikes! Also the Wine and Dine Weekend Expo I attended in November was simply insane because it was so crowded. However, once we arrived we saw none of this reported behavior and the crowds weren’t bad at all. Perhaps it was because it was the second day? I’m not sure, but it was smooth sailing picking up my packet and participant t-shirt. And those jackets that apparently caused fights? While I myself didn’t buy one, I saw several in ALL sizes. I also saw plenty of tumblers. Lol. I know a lot of people do all three races, but if you don’t and prefer to avoid insanity maybe consider hitting up the expo on the second day next year?

The more relaxed expo meant I could actually take time to shop and enjoy walking around. I adore race expos, and Run Disney does a top notch job. I had no park plans Friday, so I took my time. I ended up getting several cute things, including a Run Disney mug at last (they’ve been sold out every other time I’ve been) and the adorable Inside Out Disgust tech shirt that I’ve had my eye on since Run Disney posted pictures of that collection in January. I also purchased my 2016 Run Disney Vinylmation Mickey as per tradition as well as a Run Disney Princess Weekend travel coffee cup. I picked up a Dr. Cool Wrap as well, which has already come in handy due to some crappy knee pain (more on that later).

Royal Room at POR!

After the Expo I met my BRF Cailyn at our awesome Royal Guest Room at Port Orleans Riverside. Other than the room’s loud air conditioner (more on that later) this room was AMAZING and perfect for Princess Weekend. I ended up going back to the expo with her, which I totally didn’t mind and eventually all of my BRF’s were re-united once again! We hit up Disney Springs for dinner and then off to bed we went so we could “nap” before waking up at the bright and cheery time of 2:30 a.m.

So about that nap. I am not even joking when I say I got maybe 30 minutes of sleep AT MOST. For the first time in forever my room at Disney had a noisy air conditioning unit that was incredibly disruptive every time it kicked on. I was actually awake before my alarm went off at 2:30 since, well, I never really even went to sleep! I thought I was maybe a bit over sensitive to the loud AC, but it turns out Cailyn didn't sleep at all either.

Excitement over our awesome costumes helped us get ready despite our lack of sleep though. Costumes are the best part of Run Disney and this year ours were pretty incredible. Non-Disney nerds might be confused, but my Disney family I know y’all get me. Yes, we were the Dapper Dans! But instead of pants we paired our vests with Sparkle Skirts to give the costumes that special princess touch.

Dapper Dans ready to run!

After a semi-long wait for the bus, we finally arrived at Epcot for the race. As usual, Run Disney had the jams going and the energy was awesome. Our weather was great too! Not horribly hot and humid like 2014 and not overly cold like last year. Soon enough I heard a “last call for corral A” while I was in the porta-potty, yeah that was fun LOL, so I bolted, said a quick goodbye to my fellow Dapper Dans and ran to my corral. I had a brief PTSD flashback of nearly missing “final call” from my track days, but all was well and I was relaxed to see we still had plenty of time!

Eventually corral A fireworks went off in true Run Disney fashion and we were soon running! The first part of the course is the classic Run Disney parking lot tour before you hit up the Disney highway. To keep this part of the course exciting we were quickly entertained with fake snow and encouragement from Anna and Elsa on the above overpass. Seeing the Frozen ladies gave me a needed boost and I continued along holding a pretty good pace. I noticed way more characters on this first 3 mile stretch compared to before, including Tink, The Old Hag from Snow White, and Pocahontas and Meeko. In years past I only remember usually seeing one character prior to entering Epcot. While I was excited to see more characters I stuck to my plan of running until I reached Epcot World Showcase. This plan coupled with the fact that I found my groove made the first half fly by in a flash. I know at some point I stuck my Dapper Dan bowtie in my FlipBelt because it was making me hot and itchy lol, but other than that it was smooth sailing.

The first part of the race seemed so fast that I was surprised to already be entering Epcot World Showcase. It was still dark and the park was lit beautifully. Despite running alongside thousands of my closest friends, I always feel so peaceful during this portion of the Enchanted 10K. World Showcase is always gorgeous but there is something about running through it before sunrise that makes it even more special. I quickly jumped in line for my first character stop, Jiminy Cricket! I’ve only ever had my picture taken with him during the Enchanted 10K and as he is my dad’s favorite, I was pleased to see him again on the course. As soon as I jumped in line they announced Jiminy was taking a quick break, which made me almost consider getting out of line, but seconds later Jiminy was right back out but not alone. He was with PINOCHIO! What an amazing photo op of rare characters! I was ecstatic that I stayed in the line as it ended up not taking much time at all and I got the bonus of two characters.

Awesome on-course characters!

I then proceeded around World Showcase, where I saw a short line by the France Pavilion but no characters. I assumed it was possibly Marie again from the Aristocats like last year, but was quickly told by another runner that it was “Be Our Guest” people. I barely had time to wonder if that meant Belle or the Beast before none other than Lumiere and Cogsworth came out. I literally almost lost my mind you guys. These two are bucket list characters for me and incredibly RARE to find out in the parks. SO EXCITING!

That put some spring in my step as I headed out of World Showcase and to the Boardwalk, my favorite part of the Enchanted 10K course. It was there that I legit almost cried when I saw him: The Genie in his “free” look with the Hawaiian shirt and Goofy hat. Aladdin is my all-time favorite Disney movie and while I’ve had a picture with the Genie before, I’ve never had him in his “free” outfit. I knew he was on the Princess 5K course and had actually expressed regret the night before about not doing it since I assumed I missed my chance for that photo opportunity. This is just another part of what makes Run Disney races so magical and special!

After meeting with Genie I continued down the Boardwalk and it was there that I started to feel some major stiffness and definite tightness in my knee, a feeling I had never really felt before until then. I could still run thankfully, but it was apparent that at some point during the race I tweaked it somehow. Instead of dwelling on the pain, I pushed it out of my head and focused on enjoying the sights and sounds of the final portion of the race. As I left the Boardwalk I also snapped a quick picture with Sofia the First as she had no line and I adore that show!

This deserves a stand-alone picture! Genie, you are free!

I entered into the Epcot Future World section and was almost sad that the race was over, but I was also looking forward to finishing due to the aforementioned knee issue. I rounded the familiar corner to the finish and for the first time in all my Run Disney races I got a finish line shout out by the announcers, who joyously cheered “here comes a Dapper Dan!” That made me smile and I happily crossed the finish line.

Post-race medal selfie!

No post-race pukes for me as well, which is a good thing since I notoriously get nauseous after races. I got my beautiful race medal, grabbed my Run Disney snack box, and eagerly sat down for a little bit before checking in with my fellow BRFs to let them know I had finished. My only regret is walking past the medical tent and not getting ice. I didn’t realize I had passed it and instead of walking all the way back to the finisher area, I boarded my bus back to our Royal Guest room for a much needed Princess shower!

Overall this year’s Run Disney Enchanted 10K was great. I thought the Expo was better and had more official Run Disney merchandise than other years. And those on-course characters. WELL DONE RUN DISNEY! They really upped their game. More characters and rare ones at that. One of the perks of Run Disney races is seeing characters you don’t often see in the parks, so I am glad they really went above and beyond this year. Complaints? The only negative about this year’s event was the Run Disney snack box. It seemed to have way less and can I just say #bringbackthecheese? But seriously though it was a great race made even better by awesome weather.

Beautiful bling with a Little Mermaid touch, the theme of this year's Princess Weekend!

Currently I am still battling knee pain and with a full slate of spring races I really hope and pray that it will go away soon. If you have experienced something similar please let me know. I'd appreciate any advice!

Congratulations to those of you that finished the Princess Enchanted 10K as well as the other races. Share your experience in the comments. It seems far away to think about Princess Weekend 2017, but registration will already be coming up soon in July! So for now I will say see ya real soon princesses!

I will leave you with a few extra pictures from the perfectly, princess weekend:

I won trivia at the Run Disney Expo!

Celebratory Dole Whip!

Until we meet again princesses!

Race Recap: Princess Enchanted 10K

It’s now June and I still can’t stop talking about what a fabulous time I had in February at the 2015 Run Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend! I know it’s long overdue, but it’s finally time for my Princess Enchanted 10K race recap! Now is the time to Seize the 10K (you will get that reference soon)!

In addition to the 10K, I also took part in the weekend’s Frozen 5K! Check out my 5K recap here. I flew solo out to Florida to meet my friends for our annual girl’s trip at Walt Disney World for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend! In 2014 I completed the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge, which in case you aren’t Run Disney obsessed includes the Enchanted 10K race Saturday followed by the Princess Half race Sunday. In order to change it up this year as well as save some money, the girls and I created our own princess challenge by doing the Frozen 5K Friday and the Enchanted 10K Saturday!

This also enabled me to really soak in the 10K and give my favorite race distance a more solid effort. With 10K race options so limited around me, the Enchanted 10K was only my third 10K ever! The first one was done on a track in my final collegiate race and the second was last year’s Enchanted 10K! The day before the 10K was spent doing the Frozen 5K and then walking around the Magic Kingdom (still in our fairy tutus of course) to take pictures as well as catch the ever-so awesome Festival of Fantasy Parade. Needless to say we had been on our feet quite a bit, but that enabled me to get a MUCH better night’s sleep compared to the evening before the 5K, where I maybe got one hour of restful sleep.

Newsies! Seize the 10K!!!

Even with a good night’s sleep though, morning always comes WAY TOO EARLY Run Disney style! Before we knew it our alarms were all going off at the bright and shiny hour of 2:30 a.m. and it was time to get ready to run more magical miles! It was also time to get NEWSIE-FIED! That’s right, for our 10K we decided to go against the typical princess attire for this event and opted to dress as Newsies! Our race theme was Seize the 10K (see now you get the reference!) of course, and I think this was a good theme of our entire weekend in general. Fortunately the weather seemed to be much warmer compared to the below 30 degree temps from the morning before. That being said, it was still quite chilly, especially for Florida and especially compared to 2014 when it was already 80 degrees for the 10K!

The temperature sparked some wardrobe debates as in “sleeves or not to sleeve” and “should I bring a throwaway shirt” and “should I check a bag with clothes to change into after.” Usually I do check a bag, but our plan was to go right back to the hotel after the 10K to rest a bit before hitting the parks later. After some discussion, we decided while it was still pretty cold, we could tolerate it for the race itself and that sleeves weren’t necessary. Plus our Newsie vests and Seize the 10K tanks looked cuter without sleeves underneath. And, well, fashion wins. At least when you Run Disney!

The good thing about running as a Newsie was our costumes required far less maintenance compared to our fairy outfits. We were able to get ready and out the door much quicker! We boarded our bus and off to Epcot we went! In true Run Disney fashion, the energy was already crazy once we arrived. It was still quite chilly for our “standing around” time, which can be quite a while since Run Disney requires you to be at the course so early. At this point I was regretting not bringing a throwaway shirt. It wasn’t too bad though, but I’m sure you could tell I wasn’t a local as I got some odd looks walking around in sleeveless attire while many still had hats and gloves on along with multiple layers! Hey, I had left negative temps behind at home, so in a way this was a “heat wave” for me. We occupied our time well enough to stay warm by taking a few pictures in our Newsie finest!

We eventually bid farewell and headed to our separate corrals. I was in corral A! While I have been assigned corral A at Run Disney events before, I had always jumped back to other corrals to run with someone. So, this was my first time in corral A. I was excited that my wait to start wouldn’t be long because I was chilly and ready to run! I knew once I got going I would warm up just fine as the temperature was good “running weather” by that point. I met some people who totally geeked out over my Newsie costume, which made me happy! I also enjoyed seeing other adorable costumes! I will say being in corral A I saw less elaborate costumes, but that was to be expected as this corral likely packs in more “serious” runners.

Soon enough the fireworks were going off and the race finally started! My goal for the 10K was to run at quick solid pace until I got to World Showcase at Epcot. I wanted to run faster than I normally do for Run Disney events, especially because my Tower of Terror 10-Miler experience was still fabulous even though we stopped for way less photos than usual and held a good pace. Also, since I had to hold back so much last year for the 10K due to running a half the next day, I wanted to see what I could do! Fortunately for me I didn’t have to stop for any bathroom breaks. Not just at the beginning, but the ENTIRE race. This is a first for me when it comes to Run Disney! Usually all the standing around time beforehand has me in a porta-potty within the first mile! The first part of the race through the typical Epcot parking lot tour and Disney highway went by pretty fast. It was almost a blur. I did notice NO ONE starts the race off walking in corral A compared to other corrals. I have zero problems with walkers in races, ESPECIALLY Run Disney ones, but I was glad to be able to get out quick and establish my pace without feeling like I was stepping on someone. Other than an experience with a rude “Belle” who thought it was polite to yell at other runners, things were going well at this point in the race. In fact, rude Belle probably helped me run even faster because I decided I had to pass her. Take your grouchy attitude out of my Run Disney, thank you!

Newsie and Jiminy Cricket!!!

We continued down the dark Disney highway but there were still a good number of volunteers and crowds on hand to cheer us on! The first character stop, Tinker Bell and I believe her sister (?) in their winter attire, was on the highway shortly before entering Epcot World Showcase. I was tempted to stop as the line wasn’t long AT ALL (another perk of corral A), but I wanted to stick to my plan! I passed the half way mark and before I knew it I was already entering World Showcase! As usual, World Showcase was gorgeous. It was still dark when I got there, which in my opinion made it seem more beautiful and even serene, yes, serene despite the fact that I was running alongside thousands of my “closest” friends. I had a solid pace going, but I had to stop for a quick picture with Marie from The Aristocats and of course Jiminy Cricket! Jiminy is a rare photo opportunity in the Disney Parks, so I always try to get pictures with him. My dad is a huge Jiminy fan too, so I like to get pictures to send to him! I got a quick pic with the Snow White Topiaries and took some other quick pictures before continuing on.

Enchanted 10K World Showcase fun and Boardwalk with Baseball Donald!

With my two character stops and a few random pictures, I didn’t really lose much time as the character stops were super-fast! I took in the beauty of World Showcase and headed toward another favorite place to run at Disney: the Boardwalk area! Talk about stunning! Getting to run on the Boardwalk is one of my favorite parts of the Enchanted 10K course! I was looking for baseball Goofy since I got a picture with him there in 2014, but much to my delight it was BASEBALL DONALD instead! Donald is my FAVORITE of the Fab Five and I LOVE baseball. Needless to say this made me VERY excited! Donald was my last character stop of the race, but ending it with my favorite was good enough for me!

Enchanted 10K finisher! Love the bling! So pretty!

Before I knew it was heading back into the Future World section of Epcot. I did see space Goofy and while his line was short, I opted to continue running since I was enjoying my pace and was ready to finish! I soon rounded the corner I know very well as a seasoned Run Disney-er and found myself sprinting down the finish line! I couldn’t believe the race was over! It FLEW by! I was immediately awarded my awesome finisher’s medal, which is BEAUTIFUL! Medal and all I made my way through the finish chute to grab some Poweraid, water and my snack box.

I warmed up considerably through the race and found the temperatures ideal for running, but once I was stopped I noticed my sweat was turning into that “cold sweat” feeling and I was chilly soon after. I thought about getting in line for some post-race character pictures while I waited for my girls to finish, but ultimately decided to set up camp in the finish area to wait. It was here that my great experience had a hiccup as I found myself getting pretty cold and my stomach was a bit jumbly from all the adrenaline of racing. The girls and I had been texting throughout the race to see where we all were as none of us started in the same corral. With such long breaks between corrals, it made our plans to meet at the finish a little scattered. So, with their blessing I decided to head back to the hotel to warm up and hopefully settle my tummy since we had a day of parks planned later! There was zero wait for the Port Orleans Riverside bus and before I knew it I was back to our warm room (that’s still odd to say as it’s usually “cool room” while at Disney). Fortunately a warm shower and munching on some of my goodies from the post-race snack box perked me right up!

We successfully SEIZED the 10K and were ready to enjoy the rest of our runcation at the parks! Overall I once again had a fantastic time during the Princess Enchanted 10K! This is a great course. While some tend to not enjoy the first half, I am totally cool with it. The last half through World Showcase and the Boardwalk makes up for the highway/parking lot portion tenfold. It was another great Run Disney experience and I can’t wait to hopefully be back with my girls for Princess Weekend 2016!

Mickey was proud of his girls!!!

Did you run the Princess Enchanted 10K? I’d love to hear all about your experience!

Race Recap: Princess Frozen 5K

Another Princess Half Marathon Weekend is in the books folks! It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a month since I was in Walt Disney World with my BRFs for our annual Princess girls’ trip. This year instead of doing the Glass Slipper Challenge, we created our own Run Disney challenge by doing both the Princess 5K and 10K races. In true Run Disney fashion, magical miles were had by all and more magical memories to count were made!

A Royal Greeting at the Princess Expo!

Princess Race Swag!

To kick off the race weekend, we went to the Fit For a Princess Expo and got our race swag! This year's race shirts were so much better than last year! Very colorful and much more "princessy." I especially loved the purple Enchanted 10K shirt! I also purchased a FlipBelt at the expo. I love it, so expect a review here soon! We later hit up Hollywood Studios for a little bit of park time and Fantasmic. Before we knew it, we were off to our room at Disney's Port Orleans Resort-Riverside for an early bedtime, because when you run Disney you not only get magical miles, you also receive super early wake-up calls!

For phase one of our race weekend, we participated in the Princess 5K, which was appropriately themed the Frozen 5K this year. One of the great things about Run Disney is their dedication to event theming. Themes and Disney go together like peanut butter and jelly. That being said, I didn’t realize when I registered for the Frozen 5K last summer just how close to the theme that race would be! Of course, I’m sure not even Run Disney officials could have guessed the Frozen theme would be taken to another level by Mother Nature herself. While I normally anticipate overly hot and humid temperatures for my Run Disney Florida races, imagine my surprise when the morning of the 5K my weather app read 30 degrees. THIRTY DEGREES people. I guess that’s what happens when you put Elsa in charge of the race. I mean we all know the cold never bothered her anyway!

We had fun visiting with Jasmine at the Princess Expo! 

I know Run Disney sent out a weather reminder that it could be chilly the morning of the 5K, but I assumed it would be “Florida cold” and nothing major to worry about. Anything seemed better than the sub-zero temperatures and snow that I left behind in West Virginia. Still, being the overly cautious and always prepared runner that I am I managed to pack a few long sleeve options that could work with my race costume. That being said, I found myself wishing that I had packed even more layers. Normally at home a 30 degree run would be no biggie with my proper attire and such. However, I was in Florida and this type of race weather was just totally unexpected! Again, thanks for that Elsa.

Flora, Fauna and Merryweather!!!

While slightly annoyed at the weather, which was more so because we would be standing in it for a while before the race actually started, I knew I needed to LET IT GO (do you see what I did there?) and enjoy another Run Disney experience that I was blessed to be able to do! So I put my “fairy” best attitude on and got into my costume, which was the Flora part of our Sleeping Beauty fairy trio! Seeing my BRFs in their Fauna and Merryweather costumes to complete our fairy theme raised my spirits even more! As soon as our tutus were on and glowing (that’s right they had lights in them!), the Run Disney magic had officially taken hold of me!

Flora Fairy ready to go!

It wasn't easy getting off the warm bus, but the energy before the 5K was contagious. I loved seeing everyone's costumes, but I especially loved how other runners were geeking out of our fairy outfits! Cailyn, who designed our beautiful light-up tutus, hats and wands, deserves all the credit! She did such a great job! Be sure to check out her blog here. On a not so humblebrag, I think we stood out as one of the best group costumes I saw before the race. You know you are rocking a great costume when strangers are asking to take your picture as well as take pictures with you!

Eventually, it was finally time to start the race. By this point the weather hadn't warmed up at all and it was still cold. Again, thanks Elsa! We were soon off and moving though and that helped warm us up! We planned to stay together the whole time and to take the race super easy. We also wanted to take as many character pictures as possible since this was the first Run Disney race that all three of us would be together the whole time! The first part of the course is the typical Epcot Run Disney parking lot tour, but soon we saw our first character: Minnie Mouse in her special blue snowflake dress! She looked super cute! I will have to wait until I purchase the official race picture to show y'all because the photographer clearly was rushing people as fast as possible and I wasn't even looking at the camera since they literally snapped the picture as soon as we got next to Minnie! I guess that's why the picture stop lines that were pretty long went by so fast! Lesson learned!

Pluto with his winter antlers so cute!

From there we soon were entering the gorgeous Epcot World Showcase area, where Let it Go was appropriately playing for all to hear. I absolutely love running through World Showcase. It's so beautiful! Our Minnie character stop was by far the longest line, but during this time we actually made friends with another group of girls who we kept meeting along the course. That's the beauty of Run Disney - you get to connect with so many awesome people who share your love of running and Disney! They even saved us a spot in line as if we were part of their group for the next character stop, Pluto, who looked extra cute in his winter antlers! After our brief Pluto visit, we took in the sights of World Showcase and continued forward. Let it Go continued to play, and this was the point where we realized the song was being played in a different language. This would continue through the entirety of World Showcase. I love me some Frozen and the ever-popular Let it Go and enjoyed hearing it in different languages, but it was even a little redundant FOR ME. I can't imagine how some of the moms and dads running that hear this song daily anyway felt LOL!

Fairies with Goofy, wearing his winter finest!

The next character stop was Mickey in his winter sweater. His line was pretty long, so we decided to skip our pal and keep going. In hindsight, we probably should have stopped since our next character stop, Goofy, would be our last as well as the only remaining character picture stop of the race! We caught Goofy, who was also wearing his winter sweater, before we left World Showcase. We fully expected to see Donald eventually, since at this point we realized the only characters they were utilizing for this race were members of the Fab Five. However, Donald was no where to be found. Womp womp. So there were only FOUR characters total! That was a disappointment, I'm not going to lie. I've read other Run Disney 5K recaps that had more than four characters. Even the Castaway Cay race on an island had more than four characters. I'm not sure if the cold had something to do with it or what? Did anyone see Donald? Maybe he was gone when we ran by, but we didn't see any place where there would have been a stop. Oh well, I had my best girls with me so we still had a blast even without as many of our Disney friends to see along the way!

With some Frozen Dudes after the race!

Eventually we made our way back into Epcot on the future world side, which was utilizing basically the same route I know well by now as a seasoned Run Disney runner. To perhaps make up for the lack of character picture stops as well as highlight the race's theme, we did see Anna, Elsa and Kristoff from Frozen! They were on a stage-like set-up and not available for photo-ops, but we did get some pics with them in the background! They were hilarious as usual as they joked with us and shouted words of encouragement. It wasn't too long after this that we were running down the finish shoot! We made sure to hold our fairy wands high, smile and take in every magical moment of crossing the finish line together! I've crossed many finish lines in my running career, but it was super fun to do so with my BRFs!

Love me some Run Disney bling!

We immediately got our bling and were given mylar blankets, which were a much needed addition to the usual Run Disney post-race accompaniments. They really helped keep us warmer as it was still quite cold! We also grabbed our Run Disney snack boxes, which also were a nice upgrade. I've received a snack box for every Run Disney event I've done, but the boxes for Princess Weekend were better than usual! Our medallions are so cute. They are rubber, unlike the metal ones you get for longer races, but are still really nice!

Before leaving the race area, we did enjoy some post-race pictures with the guys from Frozen and some cute snowflakes! Instead of going back to our hotel like we usually do, we stayed in costume and hopped on the monorail to Magic Kingdom! This was mainly done so we could get our picture with Princess Aurora since she wasn't on the race course! It was worth staying in costume because of that as well as we seemed to be entertaining other Disney patrons! We got more photo requests, even from official Disney photographers! That's when you know you have a pretty great costume theme going for you!

Princess Aurora with her fairy friends! Make it pink! Make it blue!

Overall cold and all it was a great race experience! It was fun being with my BRFs, and I think that's what made the Princess 5K most enjoyable. Did you run the 5K? If so, what did you enjoy most?

Princess Frozen 5K fairy fun and magical memories!

Stay tuned for my Princess Enchanted 10K Race Recap coming soon!

It’s Time to RUN Princesses!

Forget the glass slipper and lace up your running shoes fellow princesses, because the Run Disney Princess Half Weekend is ALMOST here! With the Frozen 5K kicking things off Friday, many princesses are already at the House of Mouse or making their way down shortly!

This running princess leaves TOMORROW! I couldn’t be more thrilled to get away from the snowy cold of West Virginia and to the sunshine state! Yes, Florida residents I get that this is your winter and that it is a bit colder than usual there, but I will gladly accept temperatures in the 50s and 60s right now! I’m looking forward to a girls’ trip runcation. Even though this is a quick Disney trip, it will be nice to get away for a few days with the BRFs and enjoy time in my favorite place with some of my favorite people!

Princess activities kick off Thursday with the race expo at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports. I can’t wait to see what the official race shirts look like this year. We’ve already been given a sneak peak at all the beautiful bling! The Enchanted 10K medal, like last year, is still my favorite. Run Disney also shared a few pictures on their Facebook page of some of the official race merchandise. I am so excited to see everything there as well as explore the other vendor booths. The Princess races start Friday with the Frozen 5K, followed by the Enchanted 10K Saturday and the Princess Half Sunday. Did I mention how excited I am for this weekend?!

Last year I completed the Glass Slipper Challenge, which involves running the Princess Enchanted 10K Saturday followed by the Princess Half Sunday. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you already know that my race plans are different this year. I’m still doing two races, but not the Glass Slipper Challenge. As an effort to save money and change it up a bit, I am doing my first ever Disney Princess 5K on Friday. I will then get my princess on for the Enchanted 10K Saturday! I am a run all the races EVENTUALLY Run Disney fan, so this plan works for me this year. I will miss doing the Glass Slipper Challenge and am not ruling it out for future races, but for 2015 this is the right race plan for me (and my wallet thanks me).

Of course the year I chose to do the 5K it ended up being Frozen themed. So just take a minute to imagine the hysteria that involved signing up for this race. Regular Run Disney fanatics know the sign-up process for Princess Weekend is crazy as is! Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Frozen mania is still alive and well, so of course the Frozen 5K sold out quickly! It will be a jam-packed race and I can’t wait to have fun with my BRFs and thousands of my “closest” Disney friends! Unless the husband comes with me, I typically run the actual Run Disney races solo. However, since the 5Ks at Disney are even more fun (if that’s even possible) than the longer races, the BRFs and I plan to do this one together. We are looking forward to hopefully achieving some PRs in FUN Friday! As for our race costumes, check out the picture for a clear-cut hint of what you might see!

 Saturday, I will take on the Princess Enchanted 10K for the second year in a row! I am SUPER excited for this race. I LOVED the Enchanted 10K last year and my only regret was feeling like I had to hold back and not being able to fully soak in the experience knowing that I still had to run 13.1 miles the next day. Well, this year I will not have that worry and I look forward to hopefully crossing that magical finish line anxiety-free! While the first few miles of the 10K are the typical Disney highway/parking lot tour, the last half of the race is awesome! In fact, it’s one of my favorite Run Disney courses! The Enchanted 10K takes you through the World Showcase as well as the Disney Boardwalk area, which is my favorite part of running at Disney. There were several character photo opportunities last year as well, including baseball Goofy, who I hope to see again! Hopefully we also get another Elsa surprise during the first few miles of the race this year too! As for our race costumes, let’s just say that we plan to SEIZE THE 10K!

I will be staying at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside, so if you recognize me say hi! I’d love to meet my fellow running princesses! I met some of you out on the race courses last year and that was a blast, so maybe we will “run into” each other again this year! Follow me on Twitter @lilrunner and/or on Instagram @lilrunner1485 for my Princess Weekend updates! Official Run Disney hashtags for the weekend are: #Princess5K, #Princess10K, #PrincessHalf, and #GlassSlipperChallenge!

Good luck to all the runners in whatever races you choose to do this weekend. Let’s all have fun over those magical miles and make some pixie-dust filled memories together! See Ya Real Soon, Mickey!

Run Princesses, Run!

WOW! I am sure you all are just bursting with one major question: "Where the heck have you been, Hope?!" I am truly sorry for my hiatus and my lack of Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up posts for the month of July! Last month flew by in a flash and I've just been quite the busy bee! Instead of a traditional wrap-up post today, we are going to talk the 2015 Run Disney Princess Half Weekend! I've actually had this post written and ready to go since registration opened a few weeks ago. However, a case of a bad migraine and then losing myself to another type of marathon, as in a binge watching marathon session of seasons 1 and 2 of Orange is the New Black (amazing show), made me delay posting this. I've also been in full-training mode for the Run Disney Tower of Terror 10-Miler! Upping my training and adding back scheduled long runs has made me a tired gal! Then of course life has been hectic with some weekend trips, my summer yard sale, and the normal work-flow! Enough excuses though, I'm back and really hope to get in a regular posting groove again! I am sure you all have missed me! If not, well, oh well! Virtual high-fives all around for getting back to blogging!

With my bling after the Glass Slipper Challenge!

Frankly, I can't believe it's already August! I am ecstatic that it's August too. This means I am closer to my favorite season, fall, as well as my Disney vacation and the Tower of Terror 10-Miler! Be sure to let me know if you are planning to run into the Twilight Zone with me this October! I've never done this villain themed night race (or a night race in general!), but am VERY excited as I love Halloween and have always had a special place in my heart for those naughty Disney villains! But, more on the Tower of Terror 10-Miler later, because now it's time to discuss Run Disney's shiniest event! Unless you are a Run Disney fan living under a rock (or just a normal, everyday non-Disney crazed civilian), you should know that registration opened for the Princess Half Weekend last month and all races sold out within a few days (not sure on how quick the 5K sold, but I know it went very fast as well)!

The Princess Half Weekend is generally the most coveted Run Disney event. It’s pretty much the crown jewel on top of the Run Disney tiara. Having participated in my first Princess Half Weekend last year by completing the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge, which included both the Enchanted 10K and Princess Half races, I can see why this Run Disney event is such a hit. With the usual Disney charm included, the women’s focused weekend is just spectacular from everything to the race expo to the races themselves. The husband stayed at home last year and I did the Glass Slipper Challenge as part of a girl’s trip runcation. I’m sure he was cool with missing out on the overwhelming amount of estrogen and wannabe Disney princesses that lurked everywhere! Completing the Glass Slipper Challenge and earning three amazing medals with it (I’m all about the bling!) along with all the other race swag was a wonderful experience. It was also a mentally and physically exhausting experience. I even shed a tear or two when I crossed the finish line after the Princess Half last year because the Glass Slipper Challenge was such an emotional event for me. While it had the Disney thrills and fun, the CHALLENGE part of the race was certainly true. In the future, I hope to have a post on here re-capping my 2014 Glass Slipper Challenge so I can explain all my thoughts in more detail!

Duck-facing with Pluto & my GSC medal
at our celebratory dinner last year!

After talking it over with my BRFs (Best Runner Friends), I am happy to report that I will be returning for the 2015 Princess Half Weekend! However, we decided as a group to not do the Glass Slipper Challenge, which is probably a good thing because it sold out in less than two hours the day registration opened, I believe! Cost effectiveness was a major role in our decision to not do the challenge this year. Run Disney is awesome, but expensive! I mean I want to run ALL the races, but I have to do it EVENTUALLY since well, money doesn’t grow on trees lol! I’m not sure I enjoyed the back to back race experience with my mental psyche either. It was quite intimidating post 10K to know that I would need to run an additional 13.1 miles the next morning. Maybe if the races were reversed that wouldn't have bothered me as much. Even though it would be the same distance, I think getting the half out of the way first would have made me feel a lot better! Dopey Challenge will never be for me! But all you Dopey runners rock! I love running and adore Run Disney, but that’s just not my cup of tea both mentally and physically. Someday I’d love to do the Glass Slipper Challenge again or another challenge like the Dumbo Double Dare/Rebel Challenge events in Disneyland, but that’s all for another year! Instead, this year for Princess weekend, I will be running the Enchanted 10K again as well as doing my first Run Disney 5K! The girls and I typically start in different corrals and the 5K will be the perfect option for us all to finally start and finish a race together! After running solo for both the 2014 races, I am very excited that I will get the chance to do this race with my BRFs! Having someone by your side, especially when it comes to Run Disney, makes the experience even better!

Olaf & Elsa before the 2014 Enchanted 10K!
BRFs make races better!

Now, imagine my excitement when word leaked that the theme for this year’s Princess 5K would be FROZEN! That didn’t take long for Run Disney to capitalize on the Frozen hysteria! I have to say that I am also very excited to be running the Enchanted 10K again. I like half marathons, but I find the 10K to be my favorite distance now and sadly, there seem to be very few 10K races compared to the halfs, 5Ks and even full marathons out there. I absolutely loved the Enchanted 10K course and even though it doesn’t run through the castle, which is my favorite part of the Princess Half, I’d say I like it better than the Princess/WDW Half course. The Enchanted 10K’s beginning might be a little uneventful, other than the wonderful Elsa and snow surprise we got last year, but the middle and end of the race is spectacular. I loved running through the Epcot World Showcase and Boardwalk area. The views were gorgeous! Of course running through Epcot’s future world to the finish was fun as well. I’m excited to get to run the Enchanted 10K and to not be held back by the thought that I have to run a half marathon the next day. I won’t feel the need to keep reminding myself to take it easy and like my dear Elsa, I will be able to LET IT GOOOOO if I want to!

BRFs Celebrating with Mary Poppins after the Glass Slipper Challenge last year! 

I don’t know about you all, but this running princess is looking forward to another Run Disney Princess Weekend! Who else will be there? What races do you plan to run? See all you princesses in February!