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
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