Sunday Runday was off to an early start—we headed over the the start line area to meet up with everyone and get a few pre-race pictures before the race started. Then we were off to our corrals to wait for the race to start. After the national anthem and other announcements, the runner's were on their way. The waves seemed to be going rather quickly and before I knew it, it was time for us to start.
Our plan going into Sunday was to have all the fun. The course for this race was new and I was looking forward to it—this was my fourth runDisney half marathon at Disneyland and every course has been different so far. Shortly after mile one, we came up to the first photo stop and the line was short! What?! This never happens so we took a quick picture, took a bathroom break and continued on our way. Then we came up to the next photo stop and again, a short line!
I’m not sure why all the lines were short, but the longest wait we had for a photo was about seven minutes. Maybe people took all their pictures at the 5K and 10K—it’s the same characters, but we still wanted all the pictures.
After mile four, we headed out of the parks and into Anaheim. If I’m being honest, the most exciting thing in Anaheim is Disneyland, but the crowd support makes this race worth it. At mile six, we came upon the Sparkle Athletic cheer station, complete with the Sparkle unicorns. We then continued on and before I knew it, we were entering Angels Stadium. In the past, the course routed you through the back entrances and you didn’t see the completed stadium. This course brought you through the front and I saw the Angels helmets that I had never seen before.
The crowd support near the stadium was awesome. My favorite part of any runDisney event has been the group dressed in vintage military uniforms, complete with a dance floor and dancers. I was excited to see them out there again. Once we left the stadium, a cosplay group cheered us on for about half a mile. Before I knew it, we were at mile ten with only a 5K left to go.
I struggled the last three miles. I don’t know if it was a combination of running two races the days before and spending time in the parks, but my legs were not happy with me. I was getting cramps in my legs and my feet were screaming at me to stop. I was grateful to have Stephanie, Toni and John with me to help keep me going.
Finally we found the finish line! I’m not sure that I’ve ever been so happy to cross a finish line. After getting our medals, snack boxes and taking a few pictures, we headed to the stage area to meet up with the rest of our friends. I decided I needed to keep moving, so I headed back to the hotel to get ready for the rest of the day in the parks. (I think I may have been having some shoe issues during the race because as soon as my shoes came off, my legs felt so much better!)
After the 10K on Saturday, I was a little concerned about the hydration stops along the course, but they had so many. The crowd support was awesome and we loved getting shout outs on our Princess Superhero costumes—we even had some people take pictures with us because they loved our shields! The new course? Amazing! I loved this change and I hope runDisney sticks with it.
It was another great runDisney Avengers Superheroes weekend and I can’t wait until next year! Maybe I’ll actually watch the movies before then.
Until next time, happy running.
Jenn13.1
No comments:
Post a Comment