For a full recap of the weekend, check out the additional links below:
Today's recap is all about the Princess 10K which was actually my favorite race from this year's Princess weekend!
The weather on the morning of the 10K was super hot and sticky. I'd checked the weather forecast ahead of time, so I was definitely well prepared.
For this race, I decided to wear a Raw Threads shirt, and although Disneyland races are currently on the DL, it was still fitting! This was my first Princess race after having earned the pink Coast to Coast medal from Tink a couple of years ago!
After waking up at an insane hour of the morning, we headed to the bus stop. A bus was waiting, so it didn't take us long to get on and out to the start line.
We milled around the start line for a few minutes because I had plans to meet up with a blogger friend, Lesley!
It took a second, but we found each other! It was so nice to finally meet her in person!
Jason registered for the 10K as well!
We walked around for a few minutes and I realized how hungry I still was (because just my granola bar didn't cut it), so I bought a banana.
Before long, Jason and I said our goodbyes and headed to our corrals.
I ended up in the second wave of my corral and landed right near the front!
It made for a cool picture of the start line, at least!
When the announcers called go, I loved it because I was able to run at a pretty quick pace for a good little while - that is, until we hit the back of the previous wave of corrals. No worries, though...I was just having fun with this race anyway!
Around a half mile, we spotted Pocahontas on top of the overpass!
I loved seeing this road sign, too!
The line for the very first character stop we approached was INSANE. It was both Belle and Beast with a cute backdrop...but that line, y'all. Just wait till you see the video recap! (Coming soon, I promise.)
It was then and there that I decided if I had a picture with that character in the past and the line was long, I was going to skip it.
Imagine my complete and utter surprise when the next character along the way was Elvis Stitch! I seriously almost went into heart palpitations! Y'all know how much I love Lilo and Stitch, so this was perfect. Seriously, if I didn't see any other characters for the remainder of the races, I would have been 100% ok with it after this one.
Next along the way was vacation Donald and the line was rather short. Since Jason's a huge Donald fan, I had to get a picture with the #1 Duck!
Another exciting character spotting for me was Sadness and Joy! I missed this photo opportunity during the Marathon last year, so this was a must-stop for me!
After winding on the highway for a while, we made our way into Epcot. This is one of my favorite parts of this race because I LOVE Epcot and it's just simply a magical moment!
These guys were out in Norway, so I had to jump in for a quick picture!
A selfie with the EPCOT ball is also a must!
I somehow managed to snag a photo pass picture without a million runners around! Score!
By this point, I think the humidity had gotten to my brain, and I waited quite a while in line for a picture with Pinocchio - which broke my rule of "don't wait if you already have it". Honestly, I think I knew my time in Epcot for this race was coming to an end, so I just wanted to make it last as long as possible! Also, you can see how absolutely drenched I was here!
A little view from the runners perspective. :)
After leaving World Showcase, we looped around to the Boardwalk and Beach Club area resorts. Goofy, in his baseball gear, was waiting out along the Boardwalk with a relatively short line, so I jumped in!
Mile 5 was out in front of the Yacht Club, and I knew the finish line wasn't much further. Jason was somewhere around, so I kept trying to find him but I never did.
The final character stop along the course was classic Mickey, and I waited in a ridiculously long line for two reasons...number one, it was classic Mickey...and number two, it was the final character stop for the 10K and I was sad the race was almost over. Sad times.
Anyway, after a seriously 15ish minute wait, I was off and running again towards the finish line. It was around this time that Jason sent a text that he was finished with the race.
Mile six!
Although there wasn't a gospel choir here for the 10K, they did have these drummers who were doing a great job!
...and just like that, the 10K was over!
At the finish line, they were handing out the usual boxes of food, water, gatorade, and bananas, but they also gave us these really awesome cooling towels since it was so dang hot out there!
You can see how drenched I was from this race. It blows my mind how race weekend weather has been all over the place over the years - from seriously freezing to ridiculous heat and humidity.
We did it!! You can see the cooling towels I mentioned around our necks. They were serious life savers for sure!
Despite the weather (which is totally out of Disney's control...shocker, I know), this was such a fun race and definitely turned out to be my favorite of the weekend!
Thanks again for being patient with me, y'all! More recaps (blog and video) are to come!
If you ran the Princess 10K this year, what were your thoughts on the race?
Do you have a hard time starting running again after waiting in line for the character pictures? I've never done a Disney race and wonder how that would feel - but the pictures are such a huge feature of the race that you kind of have to do them!
ReplyDeleteI don't have a hard time getting moving again for the 10K or half, but towards the end of the full, yes I do. You definitely stiffen up a little after standing for so long!
DeleteI don't remember seeing Sadness and Joy, or Mickey at all. I was trying to remember if Goofy was the last character on the course. He was the last one I saw.
ReplyDeleteAww bummer! Mickey was at the entrance to World Showcase and I waited in a ridiculously long line for a picture with him!
DeleteThe flowers were fresh and bright.
ReplyDelete