runDisney's Walt Disney World 5K

The morning of runDisney's Marathon Weekend 5K was COLD and I felt rather Dopey waking up at 3 a.m. to run it!

For a full recap of our WDW Marathon Weekend experience, check out these links below:

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Expo & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 5K & Vlog
• Walt Disney World 10K & Vlog
• Kids Races (100 m Dash) & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Half Marathon & Vlog
• Walt Disney World Full Marathon & Vlog

When my friend Melissa and I decided to run Dopey Challenge, we knew we wanted to dress for each day of the race. For the 5K, we decided to go as Mousketeers as that costume was relatively easy to put together for both of us!

I laid everything out the night before so I wouldn't have trouble with it on race morning. We were also given two Dopey Challenge bibs for this race with specific instructions - the lime green one was to be worn for the 5K and 10K and the white one for the Half and Full. Melissa and I were both placed in corral C for the 5K and 10K which worked out great for us!

Feels like what in Orlando?! This was when I knew that the term "Dopey" seriously applied to us!

I decided to be "smart" and not arrive at the resort bust stop until 4 a.m. Well, I think everyone else at Port Orleans Riverside had the SAME idea. This line took 4 buses before it went down! You cant even see the end of the line in my picture - it continued into the lobby of the resort!

It didn't take long before we were at the starting area of the race. While waiting around for Melissa, I heard my name - it was Jennalyn and her sister Jill! Somehow we have managed to see each other at every race since Princess this year!

After standing around the heaters as long as possible, we managed to pull ourselves away to make the short trip to the corrals. 

By this point, I was freezing and seriously questioning my sanity for agreeing to this crazy experience!

Although you can't really tell, I had several layers on - I was wearing two long sleeve dry fit shirts, my Mousketeer shirt, Legend Compression socks, and ankle length tights. I also had on a pair of gloves and ear warmers as well as Hot Hands hand warmers!

As soon as the race began though, my excitement level kicked up an extra notch and I was ready to run!

This 5K route was the typical EPCOT one where runners spent a little time on the highway, then ran through World Showcase, out by the International Gateway, then into Future World before crossing the finish line in the EPCOT parking lot.

We passed Jiminy Cricket as his line was a little long, but stopped for Genie when we saw his line was a little shorter!  The kid behind us in line was SO cute....he was dressed as Genie and was so excited for this character stop! It made me even more excited for the day when I can experience something like this with Brayden!

These mile markers were all Pluto/dog themed.

We both had to stop to see Koda and Kenai! While waiting, Melissa and I discovered that we'd both seen Brother Bear while out on a date with our current spouses back in 2005/2006! So cute!

It was strange to finish this race in the dark, but EPCOT was beautiful as always!

After crossing the finish line, we grabbed our medals and made sure to pick up a mylar blanket. I had plans to use mine for the start of the race the following day!

We also received water, Powerade, a banana, and the traditional runDisney food box which included the ever popular chips and cheese dip! 

 Before we knew it, 3.1 miles of our Dopey Challenge adventure was over!

I found myself not being able to think about the challenge as a whole as my brain would go into panic mode. Instead, I had to take this overall challenge race by race. As one race was over, I would look only to the next day's race and so on. Although I was trained and ready, I was still scared and nervous and worried about the task of it all. So, instead of thinking about the 45.5 miles we still had to go, I mentally prepared for the 10K the following morning which was totally doable in my mind...only 6.2 miles! With that mindset, I was ready to go!

The remainder of our day was spent at EPCOT where I started off with Starbucks to help warm me up!

Stay tuned for more from our Dopey Challenge weekend! Thanks for following along with our truly Dopey adventure!