2017 Tinker Bell Half Marathon Recap

Happy Thursday! I hope you all had a great Memorial Day Holiday! I was off work and had the chance to spend the entire day with Brayden. He was a nap rebel that morning so needless to say, he was kind of cranky by the time evening rolled around. On the good side, that meant he went to sleep a little earlier that evening which left me with a little more down time than normal!

Today, I'm back with another recap from our Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend - the half itself!

If you've missed other recaps, you can catch them here:

• Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend Expo & VLOG
• Neverland 10K Recap & VLOG
• Tinker Bell Half Marathon Recap & VLOG
• Captain Hook Costume Tutorial

On the  morning of the half, we woke up about 4 a.m. to begin getting ready. I might have giggled a little bit at my reflection in the mirror once the entire costume was pieced together! I didn't have a chance to piece the entire thing together at home before leaving for Disneyland as I had a few of the costume pieces and my friend had the rest. We decided we couldn't run the Tinker Bell half marathon without fairy wings....so, when you can't beat them, join them!

We left the Disneyland Hotel around 4:45 a.m. and had no issues with security at all. After I returned home, I read reports about crazy security lines and I was shocked - thankfully, we never encountered any issues before either of the races!

Before long, we were in Corral B and ready to go!

After standing around in our corral for a few minutes, I noticed a familiar shirt. I tapped her on the shoulder and sure enough, it was my new friend Jennalyn that I met at Princess!

It was so much fun to see her again!

While waiting on the race to start, the race hosts had an amazing idea - they asked all the runners to hold their phones in the air with their flashlights turned on! I got this on video but sadly I don't have a picture, so stay tuned for my Tinker Bell Half Marathon vlog for that! It was REALLY cool to see! 

Before long, we were off and running! My friend and I decided we would take our time with the beginning of the race and just enjoy the parks since we knew the parks part of the race was first.

 

Toontown was first and we stopped for several photos on our way through.

Friendly cast members were around to snap a few pictures for us!

As we were about to exit the Toontown area, I ran into Kimberly! Hi Kimberly!

Mile 1 was just before Small World and we (of course) stopped for a  photo at Small World.

The castle didn't disappoint as it wasn't crowded and we passed through with ease!

When wearing fairy wings and running through Disneyland, a jumping castle picture is a must!

It was fun running a similar course from the 10K the day before!

Along the way, we did spot several characters,but they were all the same as the ones we stopped for the day before (Pirate Chip and Dale, Pirate Donald, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, etc).

Looping through California Adventure was fun, too!

I noticed that not only was the carousel moving, but lost boys were along for a ride! Too funny!

The sun began to rise as we excited California Adventure, which made for a beautiful view off the lake!

I couldn't pass this statue by without a picture. I also have one here from the Disneyland Half in 2013 and needed another! :)

The same cast member that took our photo the day before was here again (I remembered him because he was wearing the blue legacy CM badge).

We looped back into Disneyland once again and around to Pixie Hollow.

I secretly wished that Tink would be around the corner, and she WAS!

This ended up being the only character we stopped for during the half. She told us our outfits were cute! :) Tink approved!

This tunnel was neat because where paw prints existed the day before...

...Tink was there on Sunday, sprinkling "pixie dust" on runners as they passed by! I thought this was a neat feature!

And just like that, we were out of the parks onto the streets of Anaheim!

Along the way, I also ran into Jennalyn's sister, Jill! So much fun seeing her again, too!

By this point, we'd made it to mile 6 and were looping around Downtown Disney.

As we approached the Cliff tables, I noticed something strange - no workers! These tables were "abandoned" and kind of a "self serve" area if you will...

One of my favorite non park parts of this race was the Mouse Planet people! They had a ton of energy...and Red Vines! YUM!

I even posed with the "Red Vine Fairy" wings! Fun fun!

I enjoyed a little different course this time around - we didn't run through Angels Stadium like the Disneyland Half.

...and just like that, we were at Mile 12!

After taking the Mile 12 picture, I noticed a familiar face! It was Emily! We met (and kept running into each other again and again) during the Disneyland Half in 2013 and I haven't seen her again since. We had to snap a picture, of course!

With just a few steps to go, we crossed the finish line with our hands in the air and a smile on our face! My dream of "one day" running Tink and owning that pink Coast to Coast medal had finally come true!

We had a couple of stops to make before obtaining our medals - first Pixie Dust, then Coast to Coast!

It was SO much fun running these races with a friend, too!

Leaving the finish area and returning to the Disneyland Hotel was the only spot where we encountered a bit of a hiccup - we had to walk through Downtown Disney to get back where we needed to go and the security line was CRAZY! After a few minutes, a "runners only" line opened up and we were able to squeeze our way through.

Breakfast was again a delicious plate of Mickey waffles, chocolate milk, and fruit! Yum!

Aren't these medals gorgeous? I absolutely could not pick a favorite!

After a shower and a quick goodbye to the Disneyland Hotel, I was off to the airport and just like that, my Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend was over! Thankfully, there were no plane or travel delays and I was home by that evening! 

Stay tuned to my YouTube channel for a few video recaps of the weekend headed your way! :) Thanks for following along in my journey! Have a great day!

Have you ever run the Tinker Bell Half Marathon? If so, what was your favorite part of the race?