Dinner was HOW MUCH?! Don’t tell your Dad!-A Princess Half Marathon Trip!-Newx2 11/21

[disneyhorselover]

JESS, THAT'S TOTALLY ME IN YOUR MILE 8 PICTURE!!! We practically had an on course DIS meet!!!!! That was the girl I was talking about in my TR who ran the whole race with a basket that she was keeping her camera in, lol!

Ok full comments coming, but I can't believe you got this picture of us! I think I must be standing just out of the frame to Emily's left. We must have been together through this whole stretch, because I totally recognize costumes that I remember seeing that day, and I have a picture with that mile 10 marker that is only a few seconds clock time later....so crazy haha

 

[courtneybelle]

Ugh, running through MK must be so unbelievably amazing. That's a perfect selfie with the Mickey & Minnie topiaries and the castle in the background.

THAT IS THE COOLEST MICKEY COSTUME I HAVE EVER SEEN! You definitely made the right call waiting in line, that is amazing!

I love that Genie has the magic carpet in the background.

It's Emily!! Haha that is so cool that you got a picture of her. Small world!

Sarge is the best

 

[jdd]

JESS, THAT'S TOTALLY ME IN YOUR MILE 8 PICTURE!!! We practically had an on course DIS meet!!!!!

Too funny - I just posted on your report about this picture! Should have realized you were reading along with this one

Jess - fantastic report on the race. You have so much detail, and so many pictures!!! Reading these reports REALLY makes me want to do the half next year - I need to train hard and figure out if I can pull it off. You're very inspiring!!

 

[JessM]

Ahhh! It's like being right back there reading it.

I keep looking for myself in your photos, I'm almost sure we were in MK at the same time, based on the time on your mileage pic at mile 6!

You got so many fabulous photos and SPARKLESISTER!! That's a Sparkleskirt, right?

haha...I just read the next update...you passed me somewhere after the MK! You must be speedy b/c even with stops for photos you were 15 minutes ahead of me by mile 10! Those last three were so hard, BUT, I liked them better than 6-10! I got my second wind as we headed up towards Sarge (I'm a hill girl too, they don't bother me) and my knee actually felt better going UP than Down!

Ahhh I know it's been so fun recapping it. Take me back!

Haha we probably were! I felt like I was in the MK forever, it was fabulous

Yes yes it is! Love love love sparkleshirts, so comfy and so much cargo space!

Such a bummer that your knee wasn't behaving for you that day. Hopefully next year it will be in tip top shape and pain free! I liked the characters in miles 6-10 but the last 3 were nice in that it felt like the course spread out a bit again and wasn't so narrow.

So close to the finish!! That's amazing how you were able to stop for so many characters and photo ops - running through MK looks like a dream.

Running through the Magic Kingdom totally exceeded my expectations, it was fabulous! I wasn't coming all the way down and spending all that money to not stop a almost every character

Jess, I have to ask, where do the photos of you running come from? But not the ones on your camera. I assume there's photographers, but what I find really interesting (and curious), is how you find the pictures of you given there are so many runners.

Wow, Mickey and Minnie look so awesome!!! What a special picture to have.

Honestly, I think Let It Go would really get the blood flowing.

I love all the character meets along the course, especially since they add in a bit of a themed backdrop. Really cool.

Really good call on waiting for the Pirate meet. Clearly that was a good choice.

Also a good call on skipping Sofia. She'll consume your soul. I'm convinced of it.

There's a company called Marathonfoto that takes pictures at big races all over the country. The photographers were along the course and a lot of the character stops are marathonfoto pictures. It's really cool they actually identify all the pictures by bib number, so all you have to do is go on their site and put in the race, your name and your bib and all your pictures will pop up. They have an unidentified section for pictures where the bib number is covered but all of mine were in my account when I looked... at least I think they were haha.

I think Mickey and Minnie should meet dressed like that all the time. Those pants on Mickey were too funny and cute!

Let it Go was awesome, that's such a fabulous song it was a great addition to the race!

I loved the extra touch of the backdrops!

I had never met Jack Sparrow before and Pirates of the Caribbean is a favorite movie franchise of mine so I'm so glad I stopped!

Bahahaha, she is a little creepy isn't she?

So many amazing pictures! I love all the pictures of you in action. Being in the MK must have been wonderful Love all your character pictures, of course! The costumes on Mickey & Minnie are so wonderful!

Thank you! This is one of the few races I've actually gotten some good action shots, I was actually happy to be there haha. The MK was fabulous, it exceeded my expectations how fun it was to run through. Mickey and Minnie were to cute!

 

[JessM]

Love the updates and all your pictures! Thanks for telling how long the wait was for Mickey and Minnie. I've passed them by both times I've run the marathon because I've been worried about time. Hopefully we will be able to pull it off next year in one of the races.

Thank you!

No problem, it looked long and it went fast. I also noticed a couple minutes after I got in line a third character attendant headed out to the end to give an estimated wait time which I thought was great!

I hope you get a chance to meet them they are so adorable!

wow - that picture with Mickey and Minnie in their royal garb is amazing ... totally worth the wait!

Running down Main St. as the castle emerges from the fog must have been such an unbelievable feeling!

Judging by other people in some of the photos, you were definitely not the only person sweating

ok, big-headed Sofia the First hanging out on the grassy knoll is kinda creepy

I can definitely understand people's mood changing a bit after leaving MK as it could feel like "the best is over" but still ... a princess always has to act like a princess

Those pants on Mickey he looks so cute and should be out in them more often!

It was such a cool feeling. Easily the best part of the race, I think Main Street was even better than running through the castle.

Haha yeah I know, it just seemed foreign to me coming from the horrible Maine winter we'd been having.

Ok I'm glad I'm not the only one who was creeped out by her haha.

Haha I agree and I was still happy to be running but a few Princesses were definitely not haha.

JESS, THAT'S TOTALLY ME IN YOUR MILE 8 PICTURE!!! We practically had an on course DIS meet!!!!! That was the girl I was talking about in my TR who ran the whole race with a basket that she was keeping her camera in, lol!

Now onto my regularly scheduled comments...

The Eel is totally freaky. Something about the black eyes, and the texture of his skin weirds me out.

Your pepperoni pizza looks so good!

I love all your marathon photos! They all came out so cute, and fairly 'mist' free. I'm definitely jealous that I didn't stop for the villains because your picture looks great. I'm also loving your picture with Minnie and Mickey. Considering your outfits match (as you said) that one was totally worth stopping for!

OMG IT IS! How cool is that?! We were doing some serious trip twinning that weekend! Haha I remember reading about her in your trip report and thinking that's weird I saw someone doing that too

Yeah eels are cool but creepy at the same time. We totally have eels in the lake near my parent's house so as much as they creep me out I still think their cool haha.

I want more of that pizza right now

Aww thank you! It was definitely a challenge to take them and be able to see anything. I couldn't get over the fog that morning! You can literally see the condensation on my hair in some of the pics.

I highly recommend stopping for the Villians and Mickey and Minnie, they were kind of long waits but they were so worth it!

Haha!! That's so cool!!

That was SO awesome!

Ok full comments coming, but I can't believe you got this picture of us! I think I must be standing just out of the frame to Emily's left. We must have been together through this whole stretch, because I totally recognize costumes that I remember seeing that day, and I have a picture with that mile 10 marker that is only a few seconds clock time later....so crazy haha

I can't believe it either what are the odds with over 25k people racing!? Haha that is so funny that we were running around each other and didn't even know it.

Ugh, running through MK must be so unbelievably amazing. That's a perfect selfie with the Mickey & Minnie topiaries and the castle in the background.

THAT IS THE COOLEST MICKEY COSTUME I HAVE EVER SEEN! You definitely made the right call waiting in line, that is amazing!

I love that Genie has the magic carpet in the background.

It's Emily!! Haha that is so cool that you got a picture of her. Small world!

Sarge is the best

Its definitely the best part of the race. I wanted to pinch myself I couldn't believe I was actually there! Haha thank you, I was a little bummed there were no volunteers over there so I settled for the selfie.

I know right?! Those pants and that hat, SO cute!

Genie was the best! I wish he had been out the day before though when I was dressed as Jasmine!

So funny that I managed to catch her in a photo!

Talking Sarge should be out in HS all the time!

 

[HBGdancermom]

Loving your trip report!!! Planning on running next February and this is getting me so excited!!!

 

[JessM]

Loving your trip report!!! Planning on running next February and this is getting me so excited!!!

Thank you!

I'm excited for you! The Princess Half is an amazing experience, you will have a blast!

 

[JessM]

The Finish!

Bear with me this update, I’m not sure if a lot of these pictures are in the correct order but I’m going to do my best.

The course entered Epcot backstage and there was one final waterstop here
The course emerged in Future World somewhere near Spaceship Earth

The course time in Epcot is super short, you basically go past the Fountain down to where WS starts and then turn around and come back and exit on the opposite side of Spaceship earth where you come in.

I really wish that wand wasn’t in these pictures

Apparently I got tired of the waving pose haha

I stopped for one last photo with the Fairy Godmother before kicking it to the finish

The Gospel Choir was out just before Mile 13

Then it was time to kick it into high gear to the finish

The finish line is so electric, it was amazing.

I got a high five for Jester Goofy before crossing that finish line!

Just like that the race was over!

I finished in 2:36:06 a personal worst that I was actually extremely proud of considering how many lines I waited in.

Once you cross the finish line you are immediately funneled away from the finish

First I got pixie dusted by a lovely fair godmother in training, and then moved onto to receiving a cooling towel and finally my medal!

A little way down the shoot they had a ton of water and powerade. They gave us purple drawstring backpacks so I loaded up on water and powerade. The bags were a phenomenal idea since I was juggling so much stuff at that point.

I continued on and Got my GSC challenge medal and the posed for my finisher’s photo!

After the finisher’s photo you are funneled through the food tent area where I grabbed a food box and a banana.

From here you past through the bag check tents and into the reunion area.
I called my Mom and told her I was done, she was so bummed she missed me!

I told her where to meet me and I immediately jumped in line to see Rapunzel before it got too long.

They were giving out the winner’s awards while I was in line

Princess Minnie was doing the honors

Finally it was my turn to meet the lovely Rapunzel!

She was hands down the best friend of Rapunzel I had ever met. She talked to me about my outfit and Pascal, it was great. She spent so much time with me I almost felt guilty holding the line up!

She asked me if I was going to give one of my medal’s to Pascal since he completed the course too and I was like “no I’m keeping both” She seemed a little surprised I didn’t want to share haha.

Next I headed over to the one of the Princess Half Signs for a photo op

The same DJ from the early morning was still up there jamming.

I debated waiting in line to meet Ariel but it was pretty long and I figured knowing my luck she’d switch with Belle when I got to the front (I had seen Belle the day before)

So I decided to just find my Mom and head out.

It took awhile but I finally found her. She had brought me a bag with a clean shirt and my other medal so I could grab a pic with all three

After that we decided to head out from the race. We debated grabbing a bus, the lines weren’t huge but I was feeling pretty stiff and Epcot was open so we opted to just walk back.

Half Marathon Thoughts:

Overall I loved loved loved this race.

Much like the day before the race ran like a well oiled machine. The busses worked out perfectly, bag check was smooth and I really liked the staging area/reunion area. Being able to grab a coffee pre-race was so convenient and I really enjoyed the DJ.

I have two complaints: The porta potties line were a bit long for my taste and I wish they’d put porta potties closer to the corrals or even in the corrals.

I loved the announcers entertaining pre-race and the fireworks at each start were fabulous.

Overall I enjoyed the course as well. Yes, there is a lot of highway running but between the characters and the costumes other runners had on I was never bored. Running through the MK was magical. I do think I want to try the Wine and Dine half at some point though because you get to run through Epcot, HS and AK as well as the Boardwalk area and in park miles are definitely the best miles.

I didn’t find the character lines to be too long at all. The most I waited was 15 mins for Minnie and Mickey, most characters only had a handful of people in line and they went fast.

I also purchased the Marathonfoto package for both races and I was really pleased with all the shots I got.

The finish line for the half was fabulous. So much water and powerade, a bag to carry it all and great character photo ops. I loved it!

Quick Real Life Update:

I’m glad I made it though the half marathon portion of this trip report but I probably won’t have another update for awhile. I’m closing on my very first home today! I bought myself a little 2-bedroom condo and I couldn’t be more excited! It needs a little TLC but I can’t wait to get in there and make it my own!

Thank you again everyone for following along and commenting it means the world to me that so many of you are following along.

Stay tuned the park fun is just about to begin!​

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

Well done for completing the PHM
What a lovely added extra by getting fairy dusted once crossing the finish line!
What a shame your mum missed you cross the finish line, but I love that you got a photo with all three medals!
Well done again, and good luck with your new home

 

[ZellyB]

Great conclusion to the race and more wonderful pictures!

Congratulations on buying your first home!!!

 

[elphie101]

Hooray for finishing! Those are some fantastic photos.

Congrats on your condo! Enjoy owning your first home

 

[Credit Man]

Congratulations on running a great half, and your new home! How exciting!!!

 

[missangelalexis]

SO awesome! You look great with those medals, congratulations to you Glad you were able to get that pic with Rapunzel too!

I'm glad it was a great experience for you and that you loved it!

CONGRATS on the new home! Best of luck to you!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Great job finishing the race and having so much fun! And congrats on closing on the condo too!

That is so great about the photographers and that you got so many good shots, and just to not have to worry about trying to get selfies during the race or anything!

 

[extremesoccermom]

I have a question. I googled some videos of the 1/2 marathon and was wondering about the music. I heard quite a bit of background music. I understand it will be in the parks but was there much music when you were running on the streets. I really like having music when I run but I did not want to mess with earphones and my own music if I would be turning if off and on.

 

[emmysmommy]

Congratulations on your new house purchase!! How exciting!

I read through the entire report and the one thing I have to say is that you don't look like you are running a 1/2 or a 10K since:
a. You look completely fabulous (loved the Jasmine and Rapunzel outfits)
b. Seriously do you even take a deep breathe? You look like you are taking a stroll and this is nothing!
c. I'm going back to a for this one. You make this look way too easy.

GREAT JOB! You did awesome! Love the medals for the GSC. This is something to be very proud of.

You are really inspiring me to run more. The last few weeks have been so busy that I've not run much and now I feel like going out and running a few miles but since it's 10pm probably not going to happen.

Thanks for sharing all the details. I've really enjoyed reading.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I can't go any further without remarking on the fact that you actually captured a fellow DISer in a photo. This is one of those eternal questions asked constantly about TR's and people wondering if they might see themselves in someone's photos. That is so freaking seriously cool!!!!!!

Oh and also, thanks for the clarification of the photos. Of course the bib number!!! It just never procured to me. I was leaning towards "Enchantment".

Haha, of course it would be a personal worst. I don't think other marathons have Disney characters to take pictures with, lol.

Aww how perfect to get a photo with Punzie and your well deserved medals.

And WOW, congratulations on your purchase!!!!!

 

[scottny]

Great updates and pics.

Congrats on the race.

Congrats on the new home.

 

[courtneybelle]

I love that there's a gospel choir performing! Definitely motivational.

The picture of you with both medals is SO AWESOME. Congrats on such an amazing accomplishment!

What a great meet with Rapunzel! I've always wanted to meet a character when I was dressed up as them.

Okay if the picture of two medals was awesome, the picture with three is just incredible. You go, Jess! Great job!

And congratulations on your new home! Best of luck with the move!

 

[MommaPeel]

Congrats on completing your races and on purchasing your home!