Sure…this story had a happy ending. But the beginning was rather ominous.
Not something you want to see the day before you’re about to run 13.1 miles. It was so hot I couldn’t even use my park ticket and spent the majority of the day before the half marathon in my hotel room resting my legs. They had just gone 6.2 miles in the Disneyland 10K that morning and 2.14 miles the day before at the DPB runDisney Fun Run.
Was this going to be a runDisney theme for 2013? I’d already melted at the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend and sweat-fested my way through the Princess Half. Heck…we couldn’t even catch a breeze at the Expedition Everest Challenge. Mother Nature…you cruel, cruel hussy.
How could I be in a bad mood waking up with these two rays of sunshine?
Wake up was around 3:30am for this race. I felt surprisingly good. I hugged my roomies and headed downstairs to make my way to the meeting point where I would join up with Sarah and Ashley, two of the gals I had run with the day before.
Everything went smoothly and runners filed politely into their start corrals.
This girl was just about to start half marathon number nine.
Time to run! Just a lil bit out on the streets of Anaheim and then into Disney California Adventure we went!
World of Color is pretty spectacular, but pair it with the sunrise and you’ve got pastel perfection.
Mile 2. Done. 11.1 miles to go.
So much beauty! Sunrise over the Tower of Terror.
and then a glorious Neon Moonlit run through Cars Land.
From this point we headed into the esplanade on our way over to Disneyland park. There was a gal with a “May the Course Be with You” sign that I wanted to get a picture of, but my desire to avoid being trampled over ruled.
Down Main Street. To Sleeping Beauty Castle….and Beyond!
Time to head out of the parks and back onto the streets of Anaheim. This is the point where I kind of hit a mental block. Like 4 miles into the thing. I did not want to leave the parks. Couldn’t we just do three of the same loops? I had to push through. I didn’t say anything to the girls but I was struggling.
Lots to see out in the city!
and some not so pretty parts as well…
My running partners could always tell about 15 minutes after I took each one of my GUs cause I would just get silly. Although we shared a lot of laughs, I have to be honest. This run was hard. Especially through Anaheim. This is what I remember 90% of the race looking like… Just blinding sun right in our eyes.
It was pretty miserable. I kind of wish I had been doing the Tinker Bell Half course. I don’t remember any blinding sun and the temperatures were like 30 degrees cooler. Just when you thought you’d seen the last of the blinding sun in your face, you’d turn a corner and there it would be again. Am I spoiled? Have I been ruined by Walt Disney World Half Marathons where we run them entirely on Disney property?
Thanks lady. No more walking. It’s time to run!
Classic cars for miles and miles! Finally…something besides the sun to look at and loads of ::high fives:: Reminded me of the Walt Disney World Speedway portion of the Walt Disney World Marathon.
Honda Center…Hot. Gravel. Ugly dried up canal-side run. Ashley says, “When was there water in this canal? In the times of the dinosaurs?” Gravel in my shoes. Sweat. Run. Walk. Sweat. Shantytown under the overpass.
…smelt like urine. And then…ANGELS!
Lots of angels. Misting angels. Medical angels. Cliff Shot angels and more high fiving girl and boy scout angels than I could count!
My spirits started to soar again as I made that lap!
and on the outside of that stadium…Mile 10! Just a 5K left to go everyone!
Shade and water…more heaven! At this point I was really starting to slow down and walk more. It was “Animal Kingdom” hot out there. I got to see a lot of my girlfriends’ behinds. Yes ladies…I’m right behind you. Coming. I’m almost ready to run again.
See the gal in the pink above. She’s a Heffalump. My friend Sarah talked to her as I serenaded her with a bit from Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party HalloWishes. “Beware! Beware! Pink elephants on parade, here they come, hippity hoppity. They’re here. They’re there. Pink elephants everywhere. Pink elephants on parade!”
Just like the ‘Twerking Miley’ sign from the Disneyland 10K the day before, we had wittiness from the half marathon spectators as well.
Look! It’s Richard Simmons!
Look! It’s Mile 13!
Look! WE FINISHED!!!!!!
Half Marathon #9 in the sweaty sweaty bag!
I was happy to see the finish line…but I was sad because my Dumbo Double Dare weekend had come to a close. I hugged both my girls and headed back to Paradise Pier for a shower and to hop on the Disneyland Resort Express to SNA. I had a plane to catch back to Orlando at 1pm!
Was the heat intense? Yes. Was I a bit miserable at times? Yes. Did I have a good time overall? Yes. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat.
“Hello. My name is Amanda Tinney and I am a runDisney addict”… THE END
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.
How do you go about getting a free entry in exchange for a blog post?
Animal Kingdom hot is an understatement! Great seeing you this weekend and lets both please pray that the next race we do is COOLER!
I wrote passionately about the company for free for four years and I guess they took notice =)
ToT…I think that one might be Animal Kingdom hot as well. See you at Wine & Dine my friend!
Awesome recap!
Thanks for reading and commenting K!
This was my first runDisney half and YES IT WAS HOT. I’ve been running since 1973 and NEVER experienced such heat/humidity, but in the end it was an AWESOME experience & I’d do again in a heartbeat. Angel Stadium was the best part for me. Thanks for sharing these photo’s/recap Amanda.