You would think it would take some experienced hackers to take down the entire Disney Parks Blog right? The runDisney twitter account hinted that a “sign up” post for the 2013 Princess Half Marathon Meet Up would hit the blog on Friday, February 15th and on that Friday, the Disney Parks Blog went DOWN. Too much runDisney traffic apparently crashed the server. Curious…I’d say there were a lot of runners F5ing the blog that day waiting to nab one of the coveted spots. The Meet Ups after all are pretty amazing! Celebrities, an intimate run thru the parks before opening, food, giveaways, Disney character meets and more! Who WOULDN’T clamour for one of those spots?
This Meet Up surely became a very fond memory for the runDisney enthusiasts who made it in. The event took place at Epcot on Friday morning, the first day of Princess Marathon Weekend. Attendees met up with fellow runners, Jeff Galloway (official runDisney consultant), Tara Gidus (runDisney Nutritionist), Sean Astin (Goonies, Rudy and Lord of the Rings), Ali Vincent (The Biggest Loser) , April Holmes (three-time paralympian) and members of the runDisney Team for the first part of the Meet Up which is the 3ish mile fun run. The group has the option of either a non-stop run or a run-walk-run. One day I will be able to go with the non-stop group but this wasn’t that day. =) We run-walk-runners waited patiently as the straight run group headed out under Spaceship Earth.
Then it was time for our run-walk-run to begin. We headed straight thru Future World and then hooked a left at Mexico making our way to the International Gateway. Once there, we exited the park and runners made the loop around the Boardwalk Resort Area and then back into Epcot via the International Gateway. Once inside the park again, we hooked another left in the UK and followed the World Showcase path back around finally ending at Germany. Here are some shots of the run
Once the running portion of the Meet Up was complete, guests entered Germany’s Biergarten restaurant for a light breakfast and special presentation.
Possibly one of my favorite pieces of information came from Faron Kelley (Director of Marketing and Communications for Disney Sports) who told us that WOMEN are driving the runDisney movement! #GirlPower Makes sense actually, considering Walt Disney World just hosted its first marathon where the ladies outnumbered the men.
Another treat. This little firecracker is four time runDisney Half Marathon winner Rachel Booth. She got up and talked a little bit about her training and fielded questions from the crowd.


If you’d like to participate in a runDisney Meet Up please keep your eyes on the Disney Parks Blog which is where the events are announced. You can also follow runDisney on facebook and twitter where teasers are often announced before the event sign up post goes live! You can follow DisneyEveryDay on facebook as well as instagram for more runDisney and Disney fun.
I was invited to this event as media for DisneyEveryDay.com. I was not required to write this post and all opinions are my own.
Fabulous!! Added to the list 😀
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj50RdVMRqNmdF8zRWFTNXJNdHI5a2dxZlAzNnlZd1E&usp=sharing
Great recap of the meetup! I was at the Tink meetup in January; it’s always nice to read other people’s experiences. Thanks so much for sharing!
Awesome recap of the Princess Half Meetup- sounds like you had a blast! I thinking about planning an extra day into my next Disney run vacation in hopes to make it into the meet up!
Congrats on making it into the Tink MeetUp! Thanks for your comment =)
Great idea! Never a bad thing to add a day onto your Disney racecation!
Wasn’t it just a MAGICAL morning! I love running through the parks when everything is quiet!
Truly a treat!