Star Wars Rival Run 2019 Part 6: Kessel Run Challenge

Star Wars weekend includes a special challenge. Back when they had runDisney races at Disneyland, there was a light side weekend at Disneyland to match the dark side weekend at Disneyworld and you could earn the Kessel Run Challenge for running the half at each weekend. After the Disneyland races were canceled, they added a virtual half marathon so the Kessel Run could continue. I've already written all about the Virtual Half Marathon and the Rival Run Half Marathon.

So after the Rival Run Half Marathon, I got the coveted Millennium Falcon medal. Seriously, it's a beautiful medal. It's a bit thinner than I was expecting but it's still plenty heavy. The Kessel Run merchandise sold out really fast this year so I bet everyone else thought it was cool too.

We had to go share our medals with Chewie! He was so excited to see our medals! You can't really see in the picture but he's holding our Kessel medals.

I really enjoyed this challenge. I had a 14 mile run in my Rival Run Challenge training plan so it really was a no brainer. It was $70 on top of the Rival Run Half Marathon or Challenge for the Kessel Run Challenge which included the virtual and half medal plus a special gift when you pick up your virtual half medal at the expo. (This year it was a mini medal pin of the virutal medal.)

You do have to register through the Kessel Run Challenge and not through the Rival Run weekend page. There was mass confusion over this this year and they might change it for next year but make sure you read all the fine print before registering.

The one downside to this challenge is that the medal is pretty similar year to year. The ribbon changes a lot but the base medals look very similar. If you aren't a huge Star Wars fan, you may not want to do it more than once. Ditto if you aren't a huge fan of virtual races. But I did really enjoy it and I could see myself running it again in the future. I love Star Wars!

For me, this challenge really was the cherry on top of the race weekend! Doing the Kessel Run Challenge is the only way to go home with 6 medals from a Star Wars weekend unless you do Dopey. (Star Wars weekend 5k, 10k, Half Marathon, Challenge, Virtual Half Marathon, Kessel Run Challenge)

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Star Wars Rival Run Posts:

Part 1: Expo
Part 2: Joyful Miles Meet Up

Part 3: 10k
Part 4: Half Marathon
Part 5: Rival Run Challenge
Part 6: Kessel Run Challenge-You are here.

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.

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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

Star Wars Rival Run 2019 Part 1: Expo

Finally, Star Wars Rival Run Weekend arrived! We headed out bright and early to hit up the expo on Friday. We arrived around 9:30 am which left us plenty of time to park and get in line for bib pickup before the expo officially opened at 10 am. Since we were running both the Rival Run Challenge and the Kessel Run Challenge, we had to stop at two pick up stations. First, we got our Rival Run bib and then had our challenge photo taken. For the challenges, runDisney uses a photo taken at the expo to verify your id after the half (or marathon if you run Dopey or Goofy). Then we stopped by the Kessel booth to get our wristband and our virtual medal.

I was really excited to get the R2D2 virtual medal. It was the one I was most looking forward to getting. It's so cute! And inside the virtual medal box was a surprise gift-a mini medal replica pin! I love the medal pins and I was really excited to get one for the virtual race. I immediately put on my medal to wear at the expo.

They moved the bib pickup to the same building as the runDisney official merchandise and the bib area exited right onto the merchandise floor. I really enjoyed this set up as I was really excited to check out all of the Star Wars goodies! We ran into several friends from the Joyful Miles Facebook group at the expo. I've really loved getting to know so many wonderful people through runDisney. My running friends are the best!

I ended up picking up just a few things. I grabbed mini medal replica pins from the 10k, half and challenge. They had sold out of the Kessel mini medal replica pin on Thursday so I skipped that one. I also picked up another baseball cap. I've really fallen in love with running in ball caps! And there were several options available during this weekend. I ended up picking the challenge one. It has a tie fighter and x-wing on it. I decided to skip magnets for this weekend. I didn't love any of the designs and with all of the free passholder magnets I've been getting, my magnet collection is already getting a bit out of hand! No Dooney and Bourke purse this year either but that made my wallet happy.

We also stopped for some character photos outside the runDisney merchandise area. Boba Fett wasn't out yet (the characters have limited hours during the expo) but we did get a great shot with the Han Solo in carbonite background. It was so much fun!

And the other character was R2D2 which was perfect for a medal photo with our virtual half medals. The R2 was one owned by a 501st member and he was beautiful! The 501st really knock Star Wars cosplay out of the park and I love that they were here for the weekend!

Then we headed over to the main expo area for shirts and to check out the vendors. I ran into an issue with my shirts. I had originally ordered a women's small but like for Princess and Marathon weekends, they were too big. But they didn't have any XS available! Ah! I did check back later and was able to get a set of XS shirts but if you think you might need a shirt at either end of the size range, order the one on the end as it's easier to exchange for sizes in the middle.

I didn't end up getting anything from the vendors this time which ended up being a good thing as I ended up picking up a few more Disney things during the rest of the trip. I love going to the Dress Shop in Disney Springs to try on the new Disney dresses. I ended up falling in love with the Captain Marvel dress! I didn't really know anything about Captain Marvel before seeing the movie but I loved Vers/Carol Danvers! (Don't worry! Proper outfit photos to follow!)

And I also finally jumped on the Loungefly backpack bandwagon and got the matching Captain Marvel backpack. I might have gone a bit overboard.... but the runDisney virtual summer series is Marvel themed and there is a Captain Marvel one. :D

And the inside has a really cool Marvel print fabric! I love fun design details like that.

Speaking of Disney Springs, we headed over there for the Joyful Miles meet up after the expo so keep an eye out for that post coming soon!

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Star Wars Rival Run Posts:

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

March Running Recap

March turned out to be another month full of running! I ran two races and finished ramping up for Star Wars Weekend. So here we go!

On March 1, I started out my running with a bang and ran a 5k. The Emerald City 5k was a great Wizard of Oz themed race. It was my very first evening race and I had a lot of fun. Even though I had just run the Princess Challenge the weekend before, I managed to PR my 5k and earn a really cute medal.

The next weekend saw another back to back long run weekend for Star Wars Weekend. I ran 4 miles on Saturday and took the opportunity to run test my Star Wars 10k costume. It went really well except that I ran into a million people while on my run dressed up in a crazy costume. Oh, well! The next day I decided to run 13.1 miles for the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon. It was a rough, rough run and you can read all about it here.

Weekend three of March was another short 4 mile week which was great because the Tuesday before this long run, I dropped a mason jar of salsa on my big toe and banged it up pretty good. I skipped my Thursday run and it was much better by Sunday. I opted for another costume test this week and ran in my Star Wars half marathon costume.

Then came my last back to back run weekend! And I really over scheduled my social activities this weekend and it turned into a challenge weekend dry run. Friday, I hit the Orlando outlet mall and then Epcot for the evening. Saturday, I ran 5 miles and then headed out to Animal Kingdom for the day. Then it was 14 miles on Sunday plus napping. Phew, that really took it out of me! I don't recommend doing this much Disney and running in one weekend unless you are getting medals.

I didn't feel so great the Monday after my 14 miler but I thought I was just really tired, but on Tuesday, it was clear I was actually sick so I skipped my run (and work) and just walked on Thursday when I was feeling a bit better. My sinuses were still super stuffy for my long run of 4 miles that weekend, but the rest of my body felt fine so I took them very easy.

April is going to start off strong with Star Wars Rival Run Weekend but then I'll be winding down for the summer off season. I'm really looking forward to giving my body a break and getting to run just for fun.

Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon Race Recap

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there were two Disney parks with Star Wars race weekends, one light and one dark. Courageous heroes who completed races at both weekends were rewarded with the coveted Kessel Run medal. Alas, tragedy struck when one race weekend was canceled indefinitely. To preserve the honor of winning a medal featuring the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy, runDisney instituted a virtual half marathon in place of the light side race. And so, the tradition lives on.

Which is my very over the top way of saying that Will and I decided to do the Kessel Run Challenge as part of our 10 year anniversary Star Wars Weekend extravaganza. We love Star Wars but we also love getting two extra runDisney medals for $80.

A virtual race, if you've never done one before, is where you race by yourself for a specified distance. Most of them are pretty chill and encourage people to break up the distance over multiple runs if you need to. It's a great way to get some fun bling without the expense of traveling. The Kessel Run Challenge involves running the Star Wars Virtual Half Marathon as well as the Star Wars Rival Run Half Marathon or Challenge. I had a 14 mile and a 12.5 mile run in my training schedule for the challenge so it was really a no brainer for me to add on the Kessel Challenge.

So I picked a date, printed out my bib and set out. Before I go any further, I want to say a lot of things went wrong with this run. I decided to bump my 12.5 mile run up to 13.1 for the virtual since I scheduled a Disney day the day before my 14 mile run (another bad decision but more on that in my March running recap). And when that 12.5 mile day came around, we had near record breaking high temperatures. And since I needed to do back to back runs for my challenge training, I didn't have a lot of wiggle room in moving my long run to a different day. So I knew going into the run that it was not going to be the most fun.

I also had picked up some Nuun tablets to try out. During Princess weekend, I realized that I really need to work on my electrolyte strategy so I decided to try Nuun. I really like using whole foods in my nutrition but I didn't think that carrying around a bag of pickles to eat while I run sounded like a good plan. I wanted to take Nuun out with me for this run to see how I handled it. You can probably guess where this is going.

I felt ok during the beginning of the run but around mile 6, I started to feel really worn out. I used my heat racing strategy and took an extra walk break when I felt like I needed it once per mile. I also stopped into my church for a bit of ac and a refill of my water bottle. Sorry to everyone who had to see my sweaty self right before church service! I was moving more slowly but finally I was headed home.

But more issues started around mile 9. I began to feel nauseous so I switched from my 60/30 intervals to a 45/45 interval. That usually helps me keep moving and maintain a pretty good pace but it didn't help too much. I ended up walking the entire last mile and stopping several times feeling like I was going to be sick. The Nuun definitely did not agree with me!

But in the end, I made it home! This race was my slowest half marathon yet but I persevered through a lot of tough situations and learned somethings that did not work for me. What did work out great was my hat! It was such a nice shade for my face as the sun came up. I do have prescription sunglasses but I haven't figured out what to do for races where you start in the dark but then it gets sunny. I don't want to lug around two pairs of glasses for a half marathon. I hope this hat will help solve that problem!

And now for the bling! Tada!


Oh, wait, never mind. If you run just the virtual half, runDisney mails you your medal, usually after the race period is over. Since we are running the Kessel Challenge, we pick up our virtual medal at the Star Wars Rival Run Expo. Once I get my pretty R2D2 medal, I'll put up a lovely picture of it here.

Even though this run was really hard, I'm glad I did this race. It's always a good thing to push yourself to meet your goals. Plus the R2D2 medal is my favorite design of the medals for Star Wars this year. It looks so good!