Disney Princess Half Marathon 2018

For years I have wanted to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon so I could run down Main Street USA. I really have no idea why but it looked like a lot of fun. So when I decided to set the goal of 40 things for my 40th year I knew the Princess Half would be one of the biggest things! A couple of things to remember - I am NOT a runner and do not enjoy running long distances. Needless to say this was by far one of the toughest things I have ever done in my life. But overall I had a blast and am already planning my next runDisney event!

The planning for the trip began last March. I asked a few of my running friends and family if they wanted to run this race with me. Lucky for me I had a few people say yes. I had good intentions to really train for this race and pretend to be a runner! 

My cousin Elizabeth said she would go with me for the weekend. Elizabeth is a runner and runs lots of races. She was prepared for the weekend. Her goal was to finish under two hours. my goal was to finish! Another running friend, Ashley from Mandeville, met us at Disney for the race. 

Elizabeth and I on our early flight ready for the weekend. 

When we got to Disney we checked into our hotel and headed to the expo to pick up our bibs. 

Then we got to meet Snow White. She kept telling us about her friend Grumpy. We must have looked Grumpy. 

In October I looked everywhere for the rose gold Minnie ears. I was excited to find them for this trip. 

We stayed at the Beach Club Resort and when we checked in we were upgraded to Club Level! (Another 40 for 40 - being upgraded!) We had turn down service and chocolates on our pillows. 

The next morning Ashley ran the 10k race and Elizabeth and I slept in. Since we were club level we had breakfast on our floor. We walked down the hall and got breakfast. Then we sat on our balcony and watched the runners run by our hotel. 

I also got this reminder!

We got ready and headed into the park. 

Teacher by day, Disney Princess by night

We spent the morning riding rides.

While we were waiting to ride Peter Pans Flight we saw Eli Manning! 

We had lunch reservations at Be Our Guest and I got to eat the best cupcake ever. 

After lunch we headed back to our resort and walked around. I got to meet one of my old Lilly customers, Crystal! She lives in Virginia and we met up at our resort! We were staying on the same floor too! So.Much.Fun

I went to bed because my alarm was set to go off at 2:15 am!

At 2:15 we got up and got ready to run some magical miles! 

We got to our corral and saw this - thousands and thousands of people. I think there was around 26,000 people running the race. 

Finally we made it to the start line. 

And a few miles later we made it to the Magic Kingdom. 

I know I am slow but this is not my real time. I started about 30 or so minutes after the first runner crossed the start line. 

I wanted to dress up as Cinderella for the race but opted for a Cinderella tee and Lilly Pulitzer skort. 

SO MANY PEOPLE

Getting closer to my dream...

And finally the ultimate 40 for 40 came true! I ran down Main Street USA in the Disney Princess Half. 

A little closer view of my 40! 

I won't lie - I cried the whole way down Main Street. 

 This was my favorite part of the race! The crowd was amazing. So many cheers and excitement. The energy was great and it was truly magical!

I need to let you know that it was HOT.  Take a look at the close up of my face in this picture. I look a little sunburned but I was just hot and sweaty. 

 I snapped this picture of the bus. This is the bus for the sweepers. If you can't stay in front of the balloon ladies you end up on this bus. They had them throughout the race. Thankfully I didn't have to ride the bus of shame. 

Okay, after I left the Magic Kingdom I was in a lot of pain. My hip was hurting and I was hot. I hadn't trained for the race like I should have. The most I had walked/ran was seven miles. I know it is not the smartest decision I have ever made but it was all I could do. It was so cold and snowy here in the mountains during my training. 

I don't have a lot of pictures from miles six - ten. The roads narrowed and there were a lot of times we were moving slow. But Disney did have entertainment to help with these boring times. I do think around mile eight or nine I cried real tears from pain. My toes, hips, and legs were hurting and it was hot! I did stop and take some Tylenol during this time. 

At mile 10 I sent this picture to my parents. I knew I just had 3.1 miles left. I cried because I knew I still had 3.1 miles to go and I could not believe that I was almost done. 

After this mile marker Disney had a wet sponge stop for all the runners. It felt so good to have that cool water. We ran up an on ramp and the Toy Story Army man was there cheering us on. I have a video but I am not sure how to upload it on here. 

And just like that I saw the Epcot ball and I knew it was really almost over!

Disney has a gospel choir singing as you get close to mile 13. They were singing praise God and I was like yes! Praise GOD. Because He had just got me through this race. 

We stopped right before the finish line and took a selfie with Minnie! 

 My finish line photo

Right after the finish line I got some pixie dust. 

And my medal

I was a happy girl! 13.1 miles completed! 

This was a big moment for me. Like I said I am not a runner and was not really ready for this race. I didn't run a lot but I finished. My time was not great but that was not my goal. My goal was to not get swept and finish a half marathon...13.1 miles. 

Selfie with my medal

I look so tired and Ashely looks like she could run 13.1 more miles!

I found the massage tent and paid for some one to stretch me out. 

Then we headed back to the resort to eat and take showers. 

 This is how I spent most of the afternoon. 

I did look through the race photos and found my castle picture....

Gary ruined my Castle picture. I guess I have to run another race to get a better picture. 

So my final thoughts - 

runDisney lies - not every mile is magical. But most of them are (Haha!)

runDisney races are great races for non-runners like me. I think they provide the opportunity for people to feel successful. 

I do plan to do another race at Disney. I need another Castle picture! ;)

I am thankful that Ashley was with me on every mile. I know I slowed her down and I feel bad about that. I kept telling her to go on and run but she didn't leave me. 

I am proud of Elizabeth! She ran her race and had a great time. I have laughed because I was only at mile seven when she finished the race. She waited a long time for me to finish the race. 

#moes40for40

xoxo, 

Aunt Moe