Princess Half Marathon 2019 Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge

We did it! Both Melissa and I ran our very first runDisney challenge at the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. It's called the Fairy Tale Challenge and includes running the 10k and half marathon on Princess Weekend. So after returning to our rooms for a shower, we decided to hit the parks to celebrate! Woohoo!

After getting Mulan to sign our 10k medal, we had to try and catch the other two princesses. Luckily, you can meet both Jasmine and Aurora in Epcot. Jasmine had quite a short line and her cue and meet area are air conditioned which is a bonus on hot days. She was quite sweet and very impressed with our medals.

We both promised to come visit Agrabah some time. Jasmine said she could arrange a flying carpet tour so we could rest our legs. Too bad Carpet wasn't around to give us a lift that day!

We got to Aurora early and waited for her. She had quite a long line, much longer than either Mulan or Jasmine. The photographer and assisting cast member were super organized and kept everybody moving but we didn't really get much character interaction-just photos and our medals signed. If you really want a great character interaction with your medal signing, I'd recommend going on a day other than that of the race where they'll probably be a shorter line or going to a less popular meet and greet area like we did with Donald for Marathon weekend if you can meet the character in more than one park.

I definitely need to go meet Aurora another time when she is not quite so swamped with fans! We grabbed lunch in Epcot as well. Melissa and I are both trying to eat at places we've never eaten at before so we decided to stop at Germany for some brauts and chips. I tried sauerkraut for the first time. I don't think the kraut they had was particularly strong but I actually kind of liked it. Maybe now I won't be so scared of German food.

Then we headed off to the Magic Kingdom for some medal photos with the castle. So magical! I will say that it's pretty annoying walking around wearing more than one medal so I recommend just wearing one at a time and taking the rest out for photos. Whatever finish they used on the Aurora medal scratched really easily so the Jasmine challenge medal was the one I decided to wear in the park.

We ended the day with some really great fastpasses. Despite it being race weekend, I didn't feel like the parks were overly crowded. It's definitely possible to get in some good park time during a runDisney weekend and I actually like having to walk around after a long race. I think it really helps with my recovery.

Speaking of recovery, this weekend really exhaused me so I was glad to have called off of work on Monday to have a day to recuperate at home... and wash all of my stinky running clothes. I know not every one has the option to take that extra recover day, but if you can, I recommend it especially if you run more than one race in a weekend. That's a wrap for Princess weekend but don't worry because Star Wars Rival Run Weekend is just around the corner!

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Princess Half Marathon 2019:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k Race Recap
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge Race Recap-You are here.

Princess Half Marathon 2019 Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap

Sunday started out early, really early. And not because my alarm went off but because I woke up with a splitting headache in the middle of the night. Luckily, I always carry my migraine meds with me. After taking some, I took another shower and did actually manage to fall asleep for a few more hours. I was feeling much better when my alarm did finally go off and Melissa and I both got ready for the half pretty quickly. We were able to make it to the start area early and take advantage of the short character lines.

There were some character repeats from the 10k but we did get Anna, Elsa, Merida and Pocahontas. The start corrals for the half are a good half mile away so once we finished photos and grab some water, we headed out. We made it to the corrals with plenty of time to spare and grabbed a great spot near the front. I did get to see some crazy stuff while we waited including some corral jumpers and one person who was trying to argue their way into a better corral. Please just go to the corral assigned to you! And if you are running late, just join a later corral.

Unlike the 10k, we definitely had a time goal for the half. We had to check out of our Airbnb by 11:30 am so we needed to make decent time during the half. After the heat and humidity on Saturday, we decided to not stop for characters before Magic Kingdom so we could focus on getting in as many miles as possible before the sun came up. Thankfully, it felt much less humid. I also saved my cooling towel from the 10k to use during the half and decided to drink two glasses of water at each water station instead of one.

The one shot we really wanted to get was a castle shot. There are always several photographers down in front of the castle, just off of the course. They don't usually have a long line especially if you go to one further down.

We got some amazing candid shots from Magic Kingdom. I don't know if they just have more photographers out since Princess has more daylight than Marathon Weekend or if I just missed all of the photographers Marathon Weekend but I'm so happy with the shots! Right before one photographer, Melissa told me she was going to jump so I jumped too and the photographer managed to capture us! Yay jump shots!

There's a water stop just outside of Magic Kingdom, before you hit cone alley and this is where I started taking electrolytes. I knew that I had really failed on electrolytes during the 10k and, not wanting to have powerade for the first time during a race, I brought table salt packets to dissolve in water on course. It didn't taste that great but it didn't upset my stomach either. I also started grabbing a third up of water to drench my cooling towel in. It felt amazing on my neck!

Right after the water station, we ran into Laura of Joyful Miles and some other Joyful Milers so we had to stop for a selfie! And further on down in cone alley, we bumped into a few more Joyful Milers. It's been so great to make some runDisney friends and get to run into them on course! Cone alley usually also features the groomsmen with Cinderella's glass slipper but this race they were replaced by bridesmaids. There was literally no on in line to see them so we had to stop!

After the crowding of cone alley, I was ready for the wide open spaces of the highway to head back towards Epcot. Just like Saturday, it was still overcast when we made it to this part of the course which was amazing because there is basically no shade! It can be pretty brutal when the Florida sun is out. I wish they had more character stops out here but usually it's just Jack Sparrow. Pro tip: If the line for Jack is too long on the way out to Magic Kingdom, you'll have another shot on the way back to Epcot. While Melissa waited in line for the photo with Jack, I made a mad dash to the port-o-potties across the way. I usually don't have to use the bathroom during races but sometimes you've got to go. But I had plenty of time to get back in line for the photo.

Towards the end of the highway section, there are a series of "hills"-one on ramp and a few overpasses. If I'm feeling strong, I like to continue my intervals up them or walk if I'm feeling tired. I was still feeling pretty strong so I ran most of them.

Finally, we were back at Epcot! There are heaps of photopass photographers out so put your happy running face on! I also stopped for a posed photo with the ball in the background. The Epcot section for this race was really short so before we knew it, we were headed out to the finish line! Woohoo! Then it was medal time! We got our Aurora medal and then headed back to the challenge tent for our Jasmine Fairy Tale Challenge medal. Such beautiful bling! And then it was snack boxes and the obligatory "I did it" photo.

Princess Half Marathon

Time: 3:05:50

Pace: 14:11 min/mi

Despite the unfavorable weather conditions and frequent stops, my time was only about 15 mins slower than my marathon weekend PR. I was quite happy with that and we were doing good on time so we finished our snack boxes and grabbed a photo with Tiana.

We hit a snag when we went to leave the parking lot. The traffic was really bad and we sat for about half an hour with out moving at all. All of the incoming traffic was blocking outgoing traffic and they didn't have the traffic people out there soon enough to direct every one. And then once we got moving, we took a wrong turn which totally messed up the GPS which ate up even more time. So there was going to be no napping today. We did manage to shower, get presentable and pack up on time but it was a bit stressful!

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Princess Half Marathon 2019:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k Race Recap
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap-You are here.
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge Race Recap

Emerald City 5k Race Recap

March started out, quite literally, with a race. Will and I ran the Emerald City 5k on March 1. It's a Wizard of Oz themed race that benefits Promise of Brevard, a nonprofit dedicated to helping homeless families find permanent housing. Fun Fact: I was in a production of Wizard of Oz in high school. I really love races with a strong theme because other people will show up in costume so I don't have to be the only one dressed up like some random character.

They had a really fun tornado display out as well as quite a few local vendors with booths out before and after the race. The church that was hosting the race gave out gym towels, which I thought was a nice touch. One of the big sponsors was a jewelry store and they were giving away an emerald necklace but (spoiler alert) I didn't win. Fun Fact: Emerald is my birth stone. The shirt design for the race was actually pretty cute, but, per usual, I ordered the smallest size (youth medium) and it was comically huge. Like the shoulder seams hanging over an inch off of each shoulder. There were a lot of youths running this race and I don't think I saw a single one that would have filled out that shirt. I have had very poor luck with shirt sizes at local races so I usually only keep my runDisney race shirts.

I didn't have any specific goals in mind for this race since I had just finished Princess weekend the prior weekend. I was just going to listen to my body and go with what I felt. The course was mostly on a wide sidewalk out and back in a pretty section of town. It was also my first evening race which was a new feeling for me. I almost always run before the sun is up!

I felt good and recovered by this point in the week so I went out strong. My first mile was a 10:10 min/mi which was way slower than the 9:35 min/mi I started my last 5k at. I had to do quite a bit of weaving but after running at Disney, the crowds at this race were nothing! I slowed down a bit in mile 2 to 10:30 min/mi. By mile 3, I was definitely feeling tired but I kept pushing. One thing I love about the Galloway method is that I only have to run for one minute at a time before I get a walk break. I can do just about anything for a minute.

This was my first race where I tried to keep pace with a random runner on the course. Every time I hit a run interval, I tried to catch up to the same guy. I managed to stay with him for most of the race but when we neared the finish line and both started sprinting, he totally creamed me. I guess he had a lot more energy left than me! Oh, well. I still managed to beat myself coming in with another PR.

Emerald City 5k

Time: 32:23

Pace: 10:26 min/mi

PR: -1:17

I really loved the medal for this race. It featured Dorothy's house and the Wicked Witch of the East's legs on the yellow brick road. The ribbon was a really pretty orange with gold bits woven through it. I ended up enjoying this 5k a lot more than the last one, mostly because I had a better race strategy. I still don't really like 5ks that much but I'll probably sign up for more in the future.

Will also did great and even placed in his age group! We are both moving up an age group at our next birthday so we took the opportunity to scope out the next age group up. We're both in trouble! I don't know if there aren't many 25-29 year old who run or if the slow people just stop running after 30 but the 30-34 age group is so fast! Guess I'll just have to stick to racing myself.

Princess Half Marathon 2019 Part 2: 10k Race Recap

The morning of the Princess 10k, Melissa and I woke up dark and early at 2 am. I didn't sleep super well but a bit of tea helped me wake up and get excited about racing. We stayed off property for this race and we wanted to make sure that we had plenty of time to drive in to Epcot. Which we did since we actually arrived before they opened the race area to runners. Oh, well. The upside was that we got in to meet characters really early! And we got so many character photos.

Before the race, we say Aurora, Mulan, Elena and Cinderella. There were four character lines. Princess Minnie was by herself but the other princesses were paired and swapped out. Cinderella/Snow White, Aurora/Mulan, Elena/Ariel. We were also able to catch Princess Minnie and Ariel afterwards but the Snow White line was crazy long so we missed her. Surprisingly, Princess Minnie's line was crazy long before hand but short after so it's worth a shot to try and get character pictures after the race too.

Melissa and I both decided to dress up as Mulan for this race. I went with the before makeover Mulan and she was the after makeover look. It was really fun to get dressed up together, especially considering that we had only three weeks to pull costumes together. I think they both turned out really cute! And everything is more fun in costume.


This was my first Disney race where I had a proof of time to submit so I was in corral C for the 10k. Melissa is much faster than me but she came back to C so we could run together. The 10k corrals are right in the Epcot parking lot, unlike the half corrals which are a hike from the start area. The weather was feeling pretty nice at that time and I was close enough to the big screen to get to watch the preshow. It was kind of fun and definitely helped pass the time until it was time to walk to the start line.

The 10k is definitely a bit more low key than the half. Mulan came out for a bit to say hi and then they started sending people off. There was a small firework send off for each corral and then we were off to the highway in the dark. One thing I like about the 10k course is that the first 3 miles are in the dark on the highway but the second 3 miles is in Epcot and the Boardwalk area.

Our plan was to take the 10k easy and stop for characters so we could have energy for the half the next day. Melissa had run her very first marathon the weekend before and I PR'd my 10k the weekend prior at the Eye of the Dragon 10k. Plus, as soon as we started running, I could really feel the humidity. It was going to be a hot and sticky race.

This race was the very first run that I had run with someone else and it was really fun. We did get separated at the first water stop because it was crazy but we got caught up with each other and made a plan to meet at the next mile marker if we got separated again. Princess was definitely a crowded race weekend but that's how runDisney races go. The first character stop we passed was Belle and the Beast but the line was crazy long so we skipped. We both kind of regret not stopping but it was early in the race and neither of us had run a race for photos before.

None of the other characters in the first half of the race really spoke to us but we saw Joy and Sadness right outside of Epcot and we had to stop. The line looked long but it actually moved really fast. It feels odd seeing so many people run past you but we only ended up waiting a few minutes and we got a really cute photo. On the course, there are no character interactions or autographs. You just jump in, get your shot and move on. Most characters have a photopass photographer but they will also usually take a photo on your phone if you want to. We also stopped for Mr and Mrs Incredible shortly after Joy and Sadness but that photo never showed up.

Once inside Epcot, I had so much fun running! We came in behind Test Track and ran through the World Showcase. I love World Showcase! It was so beautiful and there were tons of photo opportunities and characters out. The one we absolutely had to stop for was Jasmine and Aladdin in Morocco. You can meet both of them in Magic Kingdom but Aladdin is usually in his street rat outfit. It was a real treat to see him in his Prince Ali outfit.

After France, we headed out to the Boardwalk. That area is so pretty and it was fun to run through it. You get to run by the Boardwalk, the Swan and Dolphin, the Yacht Club and the Beach Club. Most of the hills on this course were in this area. If you ever stay on property and want a nice place to run, this loop is really nice. We also got to run back through the Skyliner construction area on our way back into the World Showcase.

I was feeling really good once we got back into Epcot so I picked up the pace a bit. That would end up being a bit of a mistake. We were able to get some really nice photos including stopping for a posed photo in front of Spaceship Earth. I had felt cheated on running through Epcot during the WDW Marathon half marathon since we were barely in the park but I got all of my Epcot miles in during this race. Soon we were passed the ball and hit mile marker 6.

It was still hot and humid but overcast so we decided to run from mile 6 to the finish line instead of continuing doing my run walk intervals. But I forgot two things, A) a 10k has 0.2 miles to go after the last mile marker unlike the half marathon is 0.1 miles and B) the finish line is actually a decent distance from the park entrance. I was not feeling so great during that stretch and I ended up getting really bad side stitches within sight of the finish line. It was hard but I had to take a walk break until the pain subsided a bit.

Luckily, I was able to muster the energy to run over the finish line. And, of course, I put on my photopass photographer face. Smile like you're having fun people! It felt really great to get my 10k medal. It was a hot and hard race for me. It took a lot more out of me that I was expecting, but I did it!

After the race, we munched on our snack boxes and got a few more character photos. Then it was off to our room to shower and nap. I definitely recommend planning a nap if you are doing multiple races in a weekend. I really needed one. After the nap, we headed out to the Boardwalk for the Joyful Miles meet up. Melissa and I didn't stay long because neither of us had had any real food yet that day. Lunch was at Sunshine Seasons. I had a chicken salad and a vegan cupcake because I wanted veggies and sugar.

Our next mission was to have Mulan sign our medals. She was really great and impressed that we had run that morning. If you can, I highly recommend meeting the character on your medal. So much fun! We ended the day at Hollywood Studios for a few rides before heading back to our room to get to bed early. We had another 2 am wake up call for the half!

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Princess Half Marathon 2019:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: 10k Race Recap-You are here.
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge Race Recap

February Running Recap

So I was hoping that February would be a quieter month on the running front, just a quiet ramp up towards Star Wars weekend at the beginning of April. But, no, I did a lot of running this month!

I kicked off February with a 1 mile + 5k challenge at the Super Hero 5k. It had been over a year since I ran my last 5k. Since my half marathon pace was faster than that last 5k time, I was pretty sure I would blow my PR out of the water. I was successful but the race didn't go as planned as I got bad side stitches at mile 2. 5ks are hard! I much prefer longer races.

I had another back to back challenge prep run scheduled for the next week, 2 miles and 9.5 miles. But since I registered for the Princess Half Marathon Challenge that Monday, I ended up changing my plans. I decided to run 3 miles and 11 miles instead as that was what was scheduled for the Challenge weekend and I really wanted to get a longer run in to prep for that weekend. The three miles was fine but my 11 miler I had to run in the rain! I really did not want to have to run on the treadmill again. Despite being soggy, completing that 11 miles really boosted my confidence that I would be able to complete the Fairy Tale Challenge.

And then on to taper! Whoohoo! Oh, wait. I had one more race to get through before Princess Weekend. I had already registered for the Eye of the Dragon 10k way before Princess and I was really excited to do another 10k. That's my current favorite distance and I was excited to run another local race. The weather was just about perfect. It was even overcast! I had a great race and ended up PR'ing my 10k.

And then it was Princess Weekend. I'm still recovering the whirlwind of Disney and back to back races. It was so amazing and I had such a blast. It was a really fun girls weekend and I came home with three beautiful medals and some amazing memories. I'm still working on getting those race recaps out but they should be coming soon!

Phew! What a month! Five races and five medals added to my collection. I would say that I hope March is more calm but the Star Wars Rival Run Challenge training is coming up, plus I have the Star Wars Virtual Run Half Marathon for the Kessel Run Challenge to complete in March as well. Here's to more running!

Princess Half Marathon 2019 Part 1: Expo

Princess Half Marathon weekend, the one WDW runDisney weekend I wasn't going to do, until my friend Melissa and I decided to register at the last minute because we're crazy like that. And because we're extra and we found a travel agent with bibs still available, we decided to do the challenge despite the fact that my first half was in January at the WDW Marathon Weekend and she had her first full marathon the weekend before Princess. This is why you need other crazy people in your life to push you to do crazy things.

Melissa and I went to the Expo Friday evening to pick up our bibs and go shopping. First stop was bibs. Usually, I like to check out the runDisney merchandise first since sometimes things sell out; however, we were a bit crunched for time and the bibs were the one thing we had to get that evening. Plus, I had already made piece with the fact that Princess weekend expos are the craziest and things can sell out fast, as in by Thursday afternoon fast. The upside of going Friday evening was that the expo was very chill and we didn't really have to wait in line for anything.

After getting our bibs, we went over to the main expo area to check out the vendors and get our race shirts. I was really excited about the race shirts this year. I love the fact that runDisney has been doing fun colors for the last few race weekends' participant shirts! The colors this year were not typically princess-y but I loved them! The bright, bold colors are right up my alley! And most of the runDisney merchandise was in more traditional pink and purple shades so there was plenty for people who didn't love the shirt colors.

There were also a lot of fun photo ops at the expo. runDisney has really figured out the whole Instagram free marketing stuff. Pandora had an awesome one where they would put a Disney princess shadow behind you and then give you a free print of the photo. They asked for your email so I thought they might email a digital copy too but no such luck.

Then we headed over to the runDisney merchandise area. There was a really cool photo op with Cinderella's carriage but the line was super long so we skipped. The character photo ops were also over by the time we got there but we definitely got our fill of character photos this weekend so that was ok. Since this was my first challenge, I wanted to get the magnet. I keep all of my Disney magnets on my cabinet at work and I needed a 19.3 one for my collection.

I also ended up getting the three mini medal pins. I'm not really a pin person but I plan on using the pins as Christmas ornaments. I've seen a lot of people who put their running medals on their Christmas tree and I though the mini medal pins would be perfect for this sort of thing. Plus, they are actually cheaper than buying an actual Disney Christmas ornament (especially if you add in ornament personalization!).

My last purchase was a surprise to me, a fairy tale challenge baseball cap. I am not a baseball cap kind of a girl but I've been wanting to try one for running in. One of my Star Wars weekend costumes has a hat so I need to practice running in one. Plus, I wear glasses and I haven't figured out how to handle sun protection for my eyes for runs like runDisney where you start in the dark (and I definitely need my regular glasses) but you end in the daylight (where my prescription sunglasses would be really nice). I saw this hat and thought it was really cute so it came home with me.

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Princess Half Marathon 2019:

Part 1: Expo-You are here.
Part 2: 10k Race Recap
Part 3: Half Marathon Race Recap
Part 4: Fairy Tale Challenge Race Recap