Run Like it's Almost Midnight

Disney races are for everyone. Whether you’re fast, “slow”, or don’t consider yourself a runner at all, you’ll find your place at Disney. Before anyone gives up on that idea or this post about running, I hope you can hear me out. I’ll start by giving you a very brief history about my running journey. My relationship with running did not start off as love at first sight. In fact, for the first 18 years of my life the truest form of punishment was telling me to run a mile. But as a broke college kid looking for a cheap way to workout, running entered my life. Not only could you do it just about anywhere, you didn’t even have to be “good” at it to participate! Over the next 16 years I fell completely in love with it. I loved that on my worst day it could improve my mood, on a great day I could push myself to see a faster pace, and when I became a mom, I loved that running was still just for me. I am not a fast runner and I’ve always felt a little bit like a running fraud. I tell you all of this because it’s easy to decide not to register for a large, destination race out of fear of a poor race day. Believe me when I say I know that all too well. But fear not, my friends, because RunDisney events are made for everyone. I hope my experience inspires you to consider signing up for one!

A few years ago my good friend Kristin (another crazy Disney lover) convinced me to sign up to run the Dopey Challenge. The Dopey is a four-day challenge that consists of a 5k, 10k, a half marathon, and a full marathon on consecutive days. I think the discussion consisted of, “it would be really fun if we did this together.” Obviously putting me in an impossible position to say no. We were so excited for race weekend but like everything else in 2020, COVID ended that. When registration day came again, and I only had the vacation time for the marathon, I was a little disappointed. But Kristin assured me the marathon would still be a magical experience. In her words, “this isn’t a regular marathon, it’s a fun marathon.” Are you laughing? I bet you’re laughing. Anyway, after we both made it through registration day, which is a challenge in it of itself, we began planning our weekend. What would we wear, where would we stay, what would we do on the course? These are all very important aspects to a successful race day at Disney. First things first, outfits at Disney races are everything. People dress up as princesses, characters, or theme park staples (there is a family that runs the 5k as the monorail). If costumes aren’t your thing, do not fear, you’ll still have a blast in your favorite race day outfit. If you do decide to run in a costume though, you’re going to want to try it out ahead of time. I promise you; you do not want to find out that your outfit causes chaffing on mile 2. Kristin and I ultimately decided on the Incredibles. It was easy enough to put together and we could adjust our outfits for the weather.

Next up was determining where we’d stay. I was meeting my parents for a rare weekend away so I was looking to try a resort I might not otherwise with 4 kids. Kristin was not only doing the Dopey Challenge but going as part of a family vacation (yeah, she’s pretty much a rockstar). I decided to stay at the Boardwalk Villas and Kristin and her crew were staying at All-Star Sports. Since each resort provides transportation to the start of the race it really doesn’t matter where you stay. I was naïve to believe by staying at the Boardwalk I could walk to the start which you absolutely cannot do. However, it was nice to be able to walk back to the resort after the race, so long as you have a park pass. After figuring out race day attire and booking our resort, there was only one thing left to do; train and plan our stops! Fast-forward through the months of outdoor training while making race day plans (as many character stops as possible, at least one ride, and finishing with a margarita) to Friday January 7th, 2022. I was on the very first flight out to Orlando, FL.

Once I arrived at my resort, I dropped my bag and headed off to the expo which is located at ESPN Wide World of Sport complex. The Expo for Marathon weekend begins on Wednesday and goes through Saturday, although the merchandise goes quickly so if you decide to do a Disney race and want some apparel, you should plan to get there early on Wednesday. First, I was off to get my bib and see what was left for merchandise. Then off to take a couple of pictures. What’s a race weekend if you don’t document it, right? Once I checked both those things off my to-do list, I grabbed a drink and walked around the complex, taking in the excitement filled atmosphere.

Saturday was spent walking around at Disney Springs and relaxing poolside. I made sure to drown myself with my water intake and load up on the right kind of carbs and protein. As hard as I tried on Saturday, I struggled to fall asleep early. I could hear the fireworks going off at EPCOT and it seemed like an impossible task to forget about the race I had ahead of me in the morning. At some point I did fall asleep and all too quickly my alarm went off at 2 AM. Each Disney resort will have signs up reminding you to get to your bus early on race day; they start running at 2:30 and suggest you’re on a bus by 3AM. Naturally my anxiety got the best of me, so I was on the bus at 2:45 AM and on my way to EPCOT.

As I sat and waited for Kristin, I took in the beauty of Spaceship Earth. I stretched, drank water, ate my breakfast, and realized it wasn’t even 4 AM and it felt warm, it was going to be a hot race day. After a little while, Kristin (and another friend of hers) arrived and we walked to our corrals. As they were lining us up we realized they were concerned about a heat advisory and started sending groups off one right after the other. Typically they wait a bit between corrals but today was going to be hot and humid. Soon our group was up. The countdown started and soon the fireworks were going off to indicate it was our turn.

My stomach had butterflies, and I thought “I’m going to crush this thing.” HAHAHA! Oh sweet, delusional, Stefanie! I wasn’t prepared for the heat in the slightest. Marathon Weekend is the first weekend in January. In Wisconsin that means you’re happy if the temperatures are above zero. In Orlando it can be 90 and sunny. There was no amount of treadmill running in my basement that prepared me for the humidity we faced that day. A word to the wise, if you live in a cold weather state and decide to run a race in a warm weather state, try to do a few longer runs, toward the end, inside. It’s boring, so freaking boring, but you’ll be better off for having conditioned your body a little for a hot and humid race day. The run should have been miserable, I should have been angry at every mile because my pace absolutely sucked but Kristin was right. That race IS magical. The course is filled with grown adults having fun. They’re dressed in costumes, they’re supporting each other, they’re taking pictures with their favorite characters, and you’re running through each of the Disney parks (except don’t let them fool you for a second about running through the Blizzard Beach – you run in a circle in the parking lot). It also helped that I had an incredible friend who meant it when she said she didn’t care what our pace was, only that we had fun and finished. I almost cried as we ran down Main Street USA and I’m not sure there is a more beautiful place on Disney’s property than Animal Kingdom at dawn. My race day pace was awful. I was cramping up, overheated, and slow as molasses but I’ve never had a better time on a racecourse. We stopped for characters, Kristin rode Tower of Terror (I lost sight of her in the sea of runners as she got into line and I kept going), we ate the chocolate bars they handed out at Hollywood Studios (that’s a bad idea – don’t do that), and we finished with margaritas in hand for her birthday! As we rounded the corner in EPCOT and heard the high school choir singing; I was sad we were almost done. The finish line was bittersweet, I was excited to have finished and sad the experience was over. So when I got my mickey ears and medal I turned to Kristin and told her, “I have to come back next year. This is the most fun I’ve ever had on a course.”

In fact, I’m already signed up to run the Marathon again next year (so is she) and if everything goes right, I’ll be bringing my daughter to run the 10k for Princess weekend in February. Unlike other races, a Disney race you measure your PR by how many character stops you make, how many rides you got on, and how many food and drink stops you made in EPCOT. And I think maybe that’s the reason Disney races are so magical. At every major race I’ve been a part of I’m in the group of runners that look like total rookies. Sometimes I feel like I don’t even belong there but I didn’t feel like that for a second at a RunDisney event. It really is a marathon for everyone. Whether it’s your very first one or your 50th, you can find your people here. In the next few months Kristin and I will again begin our Marathon training for Disney. I even got my mom to sign up for the 5k and 10k with me. I’m looking forward to sharing that journey with you. Let me know if you have a favorite Disney race or are looking forward to trying one!