Every time I participate in a runDisney race I think to myself…”This was the best race to date. How could I ever top this experience?” Guess what? The Inaugural 2013 Disneyland 10K has stolen first place in the runDisney race series for me.
5Ks…too short (for an experienced runner). Half Marathons…a tad bit too long (for inexperienced runners). The 10K distance…JUST RIGHT. And the course equaled perfection. Those magical 6.2 miles were run almost entirely through Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks.
Here’s a recap of my race. I started out my morning with these two ladies, Sarah from Running at Disney and Sid from WDW Parkhoppers. Our plan was to stick together the entire race. We’ve done a lot of these races together. Sid actually drug me through my very first half marathon, the 2011 runDisney Wine & Dine Half.
It’s so odd to have pre-race photos taken in natural sunlight. Most runDisney events start in the wee hours of the morning before day break. This race started after 6am due to the Disneyland Family Fun Run 5K starting just before the 10K. We hopped into the start corral and were off!
If you’ve never run a race with friends you are truly missing out on a bonding experience. We ran into a large group of friends in our corral who were all dressed in costumes relating to the Disney/Pixar movie “Cars”. Here’s one of the cone heads from the group Daniel Wanderman. You should follow him on Instagram btw. Very interesting life he leads.
The course took us out onto the streets of Anaheim briefly and around the convention center before leading us backstage at Disney California Adventure.
It was here that I ran into another runDisney friend Tony Conticello. He’s the founder of the Pacebook Running Club. He has an amazing group on Facebook!
And then…hey look! It’s my Disneyland Half Weekend roomies! Mad Hatter, Alice and the Queen of Hearts….and Charles…and Aimee. If you attended the D23 Expo a few weeks ago you may recognize this area and the sinage still hanging.
After we left the convention center area we headed back onto the street and back towards Disney California Adventure.
This guy!
…and then these guys. I could smell the beer before I even made it up to them. Drinking beer and running is not as easy as it sounds. Trust me. After the Tap’n’Run Orlando…I learned my lesson.
This part of the race course provided some really interesting backstage views. Tower of Terror…the butt.
Time to head into Cars Land people!
This was our one-and-only character stop. Why? No line. This was also right by the restrooms. If you can manage waiting. The park restrooms are so much nicer then the port-o-potty’s out on the city streets. One of the perks of being familiar with the parks.
Sid and Sarah usually run at a slightly faster pace then I do so while they made a “pit stop’ behind Flo’s. I ran ahead. They would catch up to me in just a lil bit.
Hercules and Meg…
Sweaty Cars Land selfie.
After exiting Cars Land the course took us around Paradise Pier. As I entered the Paradise Pier loop, I took a shot of runners exiting the loop over at The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.
I’m sure this looked spectacular for the 5K’ers running before us in the dark.
I then caught up to Dumbo. He ran the entire 10K with this on his head. I had run into him the day before at the Expo. You can see the front of this head piece on my Instagram.
At this point I was still chugging along solo so I took a World of Color selfie near the California Screamin’ coaster launch chute.
On the back side of the pier I ran into another one of my runDisney girlfriends, Ashley from Fiddle Dee Me and the Disney Parks Mom’s Panel. We ran the rest of Disney California Adventure together until Sid and Sarah caught up to us over in Disneyland. She’s one of Minnie’s Fly Girls. I had to Google it when I got home. I’m such an east-coaster.
Nothing beats that run down the middle of Main Street towards the castle! We had done it the day before during the Disneyland Half Marathon MeetUp Fun Run, but this time it held even more meaning running it with these three girls.
The course headed into Tomorrowland before winding backstage.
More great photo opps! You can’t do this unless you do a runDisney race!
My favorite part! The animals!
There were also sheep there. It was so dark during the Tinker Bell Half Marathon when we were at this point in the race that my photos didn’t turn out. This time I got some great shots!
Time to do what we all had wanted to do for so long. Run THROUGH Sleeping Beauty Castle!
After exiting the castle we had less than a mile to go…
The finish line was almost in sight…
And as quickly as it had begun…it was over.
Despite the record heat, this was a really FUN run. I think runDisney has hit a sweet spot with the 10K distance. Although I would never travel to compete in a 5K, I’d definitely travel to compete in another Disneyland 10K in a heartbeat.
I was disappointed with the fact that there was no Powerade on the course and I found myself looking for the next water stop. Even though I had a fuel belt on, I had consumed all of my water and still felt thirsty. I know I wasn’t the only one, as there were Cast Members pointing out water fountains along the course once inside the parks. If runDisney provides Powerade for a half marathon at every water stop, they should provide it for a half of a half marathon as well.
And I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed the race course. Hardly any street portions and mainly all park running. This inaugural Disneyland 10K has set a precedent for fun and I can’t wait to run it again!
Disclosure…I was provided free race entry into the Dumbo Double Dare for the purposes of writing this post. This is the first free race entry I have ever received from runDisney and I am truly grateful. All opinions are my own. If you read my blog or follow me on social media y’all know that I am pretty much Disney obsessed.
The guy with the twerking Miley sign was easily the highlight of the race!
I too am in love with the 10K distance! If they keep up with the beautiful “bling” I may never need to run a Disney half again! (Haha who am I kidding?! I will.) Im already signed up for the WnD, TInk 5K, 10K and half AND the Glass Slipper Challenge.
Looks like you guys had a great time! I totally agree, the 10k distance was awesome! I really like running half marathons, but I never want to stop for pictures, I usually just want to keep going since I know I have so much ahead of me, the 10k was fun and relaxed, but not too short like you said! Looking forward to it in January! P.S. – thanks for the Cars costume shout out! : )
I spectated once in the Magic Kingdom. It was so much fun! Now I have to run all the races. Will I ever be a spectator again?
Holy Moley. You’ve got it just as bad as I do. Keep bringing on the runDisney Kool-Aid. We’re thirsty!
Great to see you at House of Blues! Yeah. 10K = zero stress
Loved running into you guys! And I look like an idiot in the background of the pic of you and Dan, haha!