Although we had a lot of fun, this experience was quite different from our last 100m dash (from January of 2018). I have a very cautious kid who likes to see things before he's convinced that it's ok. Although I felt as if I prepared him well for this race experience by watching the video recap from 2018, he got a little confused as to what was going on mid-dash...but more on that later.
The runDisney Kids Races are held at the Track & Field Complex at ESPN's Wide World of Sports. The races follow a schedule and you'll see the various race times noted in your event guide. Also, the races almost always begin with the 100m dash and go from there.
We picked up his bib the day before when we visited the Expo for our Wine & Dine races. He was super sleepy when we visited the Expo and not in the mood for pictures!
We arrived at the Track & Field complex a few minutes early and headed straight for the "corral" area. I loved that they had cups of water available for the kids to drink while waiting!
A perk to arriving early and hanging out near the corral area is the crowd. You definitely get an early jump on getting in line and being one of the first ones to finish the race.
This is the crowd that was in front of us (maybe 2 waves of runners)...
...and this is the crowd that was lined up behind us...
Also, please note that there are activities going on this entire time for kids to play so you don't HAVE to stand in this line. One thing that Carissa (the announcer) kept encouraging parents to do was go play with their kids, then return once the line died down a bit. I believe there's at least an hour time frame for the 100m dash and it does go fairly quickly.
Now, here is where I made my mistake. Because we had friends waiting on us at one of the parks, we knew we were a little strapped for time and wanted to get in and out fairly quickly. We were stationed in line where we were not able to watch any of the runners/kids from waves ahead of us and that's what I should have done differently. Oh well, I know better now for next time!
We lined up on the yellow line and before we knew it, it was time to run!
Brayden did GREAT running at the start, but midway down the track, he got a little scared and maybe a little confused as to what was going on and he wanted to hold my hand the remainder of the way. (Not a problem with me, I'm just sharing our race experience.) Once I pointed Mickey out to him though, he let go of my hand and ran right over to him for a high five!
Priceless and definitely the highlight of the race!
Next time, I'm going to let him actually watch other kids running down the track before we line up for his race. Don't get me wrong, he did not have a bad experience at all, he wasn't screaming or crying, etc...I just think a little preparation ahead of time will help him better understand what's going on and prevent any scared feelings or confusion on his part.
So, if you have a cautious kid like mine, that's my tip - let them actually see what's going on before they get on the track to run for themselves.
After the finish line, kids are handed their medals as well as a banana and other goodies!
Brayden LOVED wearing his medal the rest of the day!
After the race, we didn't hang out long and said goodbye to another 100m dash!
For Princess, I'm going to take my own advice with the line up on the day of the race and see if it makes a difference in our running experience! I'll keep y'all posted...
Have your kids ever participated in a runDisney Kids Race event? If so, which one? What were your thoughts?
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