Star Wars Rival Run 2019 Part 4: Half Marathon

On Sunday, the buses started even earlier than for the 10k so we got up at 2 am with plans on being on the first bus out at 3 am. I really appreciated having a much simpler costume for the half marathon. It definitely made getting ready so much easier! We did make it on the first bus and our bus was one of the first ones to the start area.

The character lines were really short and we were able to get so many photos! We opted to skip Darth Vader since we caught him at the 10k but we got through all of the other lines really quickly. If you want to get lots of character photos before the race, plan on getting to the start area early.

We decided to hang around the main stage area. I've never really watch the preshow but we found a group of Joyful Milers and ended up in a prerace dance party. It was really fun hanging out with my friends and rocking out to some music.

Once we got into the corrals, the preshow entertainment continued. I really liked not having a hike to the corrals for the half like I did for Marathon and Princess weekend but there's a lot of repeat material between the 10k and half marathon preshows in the corrals. Will and I each decided to run this race for time so he went up to corral C and I went to E. Soon we were headed out to the start line and the race began.

The first four miles or so of the course were along the highway in the dark. runDisny had two sections of the course with lazers, lights and sound effects to make it more interesting. One was Darth Vader dark breathing noises and the other was the battle of Endor sound effects. It definitely made this section of the course more interesting but it was dark and I was a bit nervous about injuring myself. I wish some of the course could have had better lighting.

Around mile 3, I had to take my hat off. It was just way to hot so I carried it for most of the race. I wore it for photopass photographers and when I ran through the water stops so I could have two hands free. My hat was definitely not a tech hat and it was just too hot for this race.

My goal for this race was to beat my Marathon weekend half time which was my first half so I decided before hand not to stop for photos unless I was really struggling and knew I was past all hope of hitting my goal time. Rey was out again and there were also a bunch of 501st members along the highway section of the course. I would also have loved to stop for the Hoth and trash compactor photo ops but they had super long lines!

I ran into fellow Joyful Miler Leslie outside of Animal Kingdom and we ran together for a bit. Just inside Animal Kingdom, we ran into Kimberly in Africa but I was still on track so I just waved and kept going. I really wanted to make it to Pandora in the dark because it was going to be beautiful and with the projected high, I wanted to get a lot of the course done in the dark.

I did enjoy running in Pandora in the dark but it seemed less glowy than when I've been there at night during normal park hours. It was also wet and tight through this area so it's a good place to slow down a bit and watch your footing. It wasn't as exciting as Magic Kingdom in the dark during Marathon weekend, but Animal Kingdom was definitely a high light of the course for me.

Then it was out into the Animal Kingdom parking lot and out towards Hollywood Studio. I was in corral E which had a 2:30 and 2:45 pace group. Since my goal was to hit a 2:45 half, I planned on staying in front of the 2:45 pace group and joining them if I started struggling and they caught up to me. I had been safely ahead of them but after Animal Kingdom, they kept catching up with me at the water stops when I slowed down to get water.

I ended up joining the 2:45 pace group in the stretch into Hollywood Studios. I was really struggling with the heat and humidity and having run a 10k the day before. The pace group was using a 30:30 interval (mine was 60:30) so running with the felt like a break due to all the extra walking. My body got a bit of a rest and I was able to stay on pace. If I had been on my own, I probably would have slowed down a lot more and lost quite a bit of time.

I started feeling better in Hollywood Studios so I put my hat on, pulled away from the pace group, and put on my happy face for the photopass photographers. I love the candid shots from these races and runDisney really stuff the photopass photographers inside of the parks!

Once I exited Hollywood Studios, I knew that the race was almost over. I've walked from Hollywood Studios to Epcot enough times to feel really confident in handling that distance. It was a bit crowded along that narrow stretch but I took the opportunities to pass people when I could and slowed down a bit when there was less space. Once I hit the Boardwalk, there was plenty of space. I also ran into my friend Audrey in this area but we were both trying to hit tough time goals so we just said hi and kept on with our own intervals.

I entered World Showcase near the UK and made my way around the world. There were more character stops and photopass photographers in this stretch but I just kept moving. Then it was a straight shot out of Epcot and into the finish chute. Just like for the 10k, there were more 501st members just outside of Epcot with very short character lines but I was rocking my time so I skipped these photo ops too.

In the final stretch, I saw Will cheering for me and yelling at me to skip my walk intervals. Which I did to sprint across the finish line. I didn't have my official time by my phone time indicated that I crushed my PR. Whoohoo!

I made it down to the challenge area to get my two challenge medals. It was really cool to get the extra medals! After stopping for an I did it photo, I met up with Will and some Joyful Milers to chill and see how everyone's race went. It was a really rough race for a lot of people which made me even more excited about my half PR. I'm hoping to get an even better time in the fall once the weather cools off again.

Having run one runDisney half race for photos, one mostly for time but with a few photos and one completely for time but with no photos, I can definitely say that each strategy gives the race a really different feel. For me personally, I think I prefer not stopping for every photo because waiting in too many lines and getting passed makes me feel anxious, but not stopping for no photos because there are always a few really short lines that make for some great photos.

The runDisney race weekends are pretty much spread equally out over the best running weather in Florida so that limits my opportunities to PR a longer race like a half so I think that if I continue to run several race weekends at Disney every year, I'll probably pick one to run for time and run the rest with a few spontaneous photos. So you can definitely PR at Disney but it's all about figuring out what you want out of your race and making the most of that experience.

******

Star Wars Rival Run Posts:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up
Part 3: 10k
Part 4: Half Marathon-you are here.
Part 5: Rival Run Challenge
Part 6: Kessel Run Challenge