Allright, lets see how fast I can type this before anyone comes in at work-
The Race. FINALLY. The Race.
I last left you with a 10pm time. And a HERE WE GO
..
Only, I didnt really go anywhere as I was not an elite runner in Corral A. So while we are waiting for me to start
lets get a look at our course:
Pretty nice set up- running through 3 parks.
The corrals were being released about every 2 minutes for the first few, then every 5 minutes after that. I was in Corral G so that put me about a 10:20 start. They kept right on time for the most part & each and every corral got fireworks which I thought was nice. As the corral in front of you left, the whole herd moved forward. This picture is several corrals ahead of me fireworks since I had put my camera away by the time I got up there
Finally it was my time & off I went. The first three miles were on roads leading into the Animal Kingdom. It was a flat course & not too difficult. The biggest obstacle were the crowds of runners & the humidity at this point. There were two character stops within this first three mile stretch and they were both good ones- I am bummed they were so early because I didnt want to stop that early.
They were all the Country Bears with a cool backdrop & Fantasia characters. There were also music, TV screens & lots of porta-potties (probably a block every mile of the race). There was water/watered-down Gatorade every 1.5-2 miles as well. Neither water or potties were lacking in this race!
Running on the roads (this may have been later actaully-but you get the idea)
As I was hitting the 2 mile mark (see map), The first runner was heading back on his 7th mile. Yes
already at the 7th mile. I had not even hit 2. It was Anton
his shirt was off
and he was flying!!!! A CAR was pacing in front of him. We all cheered so loudly for him! GO ANTON!!!! As I approached 2 and on, more elites came through
cheered for them too!
Right before I hit Animal Kingdom- I needed to take care of two pieces of business- ditch the tutu
it was getting in my way and annoying me. And use the bathroom.. I had drank A LOT OF WATER the last two days. In all my brilliance and need for speed (HA), I was so focused on getting in and out.. I forgot to lock the porta door. You are welcome Disney Runners
because yes, OF COURSE, someone opened it. Thankfully there are 15,000 of you & whoever saw me probably will never see me again. Or maybe they did & just will secretly laugh and me and point
but never tell me to my face. Regardless
I put on a nice peep show. Because thats how things roll for me
..
We approached Animal Kingdom all lit up & it was SO COOL. Running through the parks at night is so very, very awesome!
It was very congested around the park, but since I was not in it for any timed personal record, I went with the flow..it didnt bother me. It will also be noted that I realized at this point, my headache was GONE. GONE. GONE!!!! FINALLY. Woo!!!!!
We continued through Animal Kingdom & past Everest. They had these cool light up fangs? on a bridge we ran through-
There were 3 characters out I think in Animal Kingdom- Turk, Timon & ???- Cant remember the third. Passed all of them as they didnt do anything for me. Finally, back out to the parking lot where we ran loops. I watched the others coming into the park as I was exiting. I heard the music before I saw the next stop. I rounded the corner and Boom- A PIRATE SHIP.
And Capt Jack. Um. Race, what race? I will ALWAYS stop for some Capt Jack Sparrow. ALWAYS. Swoon. So I got in the long line of other admirers for a picture. And actually looking at it
he was a pretty good looking Jack Sparrow. I mean not as good looking as the REAL Jack Sparrow.. but decent enough. He gave me some grief for being a cat in a race. And off I went
Thats right where I passed the 6.2 mile mark. The next 2.5 miles were all roads & overpasses. There were some hills in here & those were hard. There was entertainment & I saw the Balloon Ladies on the other side entering Animal Kingdome at that point. That meant I was about 3.1 miles ahead of the pacers.
Drank more water & very watered down Gatorade. They passed out Gels (I think they were BLOCK) around Mile 8. I know they were not GU as I use GU. Oh ,that rhymes. It was also right after that I started feeling sick to my stomach. I found out later a lot of people were sick because of the watered down Gatorade & the gel they handed out. I should have stuck to the GU I brought instead of using theirs as I have never tested it.
Around Mile 8 I started getting real tired. But Lilo and Stitch were there & they are a favorite of mine- Stitch, in particular.. so I had to stop for a picture there as well. Apparently there were Green Army Men right before them, but I totally didnt see them.
And then, we were entering the final stretch- Hollywood Studios!!! We ran in the back way by Tower of Terror (see it behind me?)
(yhea me either barely)
That's better-
Then by Rock n Roller Coaster.
SELFIE!
Down the streets & through the sign.
and by the hat....
(Yhea, I get it- they are bad pictures..but if I stopped too long I would never start again- so forgive them!)
Through some claustrophobic tunnel they put fog and a disco light in. The effect was dizzying
and I almost passed out. Not a good idea Disney, at mile 9- NOT A GOOD IDEA! Several characters were out- Wreck It Ralph and the Incredibles. I didnt stop for either . By this point my main focus was really getting through the course.
Osbourne Lights came next and they put pep in my step at Mile 10ish. They were BEAUTIFUL .
Bummer I had a nice selfie inthe lights but it didn't load & I'm at work. Oh well.
This is also where I spotted the orange wig & ran up to catch my Sis-in-Law. She took off quick like NOT to be outdone by her novice sis-in-law runner.
Star Wars Characters were out. I passed. And this point
was my wall. I hit it at 10, like I expected to. I had trained till 10 and thats it. And 10 is where I hit it. I can say, I really dont remember much of 10-13. It was a mental game for me to keep putting one step in front of the other. There were road blocks with runner crowds on the Boardwalk as we passed by..and unlike Animal Kingdom, it was hard to move past it because the energy was not there. There were people cheering us on at the resorts though as well.. and that as nice.
Photographers captured me at this point. Does my face say PAIN?
Nah, I look pretty happy. I wasn't.
I passed by my resort & I SO wanted to stop. But at that point I was less than a mile to finish. I pushed on, into EPCOT. And passed the ball. I hurt so bad. I felt so sick. Mile 13 came. I could see the finish. I started to cry
I ran & I cried
and
I DID IT!!!!
Oh, I did it!
The time recorded was not my time- that was time from when first runner started. I think- without looking- my time ended up being 2:49. Which is fine.
So happy. I took pictures. I held my medal.
I tried to hold it together. Both my tears & the fact I felt SO SICK. I kept moving.. as thats what they tell you to do
. I got my bag check (easy to do). I ran to the bathrooms because I thought I was going to be sick. I wasnt
not yet.
Sis-in-law and I collected our wine (in a covered cup) and I put mine right in the bag. I was focused on NOT throwing up.. there was no thoughts at all of drinking. I had some salty crackers and a banana.
We meandered back into EPCOT.
Medals ON!
And were going to ride Soarin while waiting for the Cuz. We ended up seeing her with the pacers as we passed up into Soarin. She really did keep them company.
I got into line for Soarin. Its a very, very long que. And thats when I knew I wasnt going to make it. I was going to throw up right there
. I jumped out of line & that long walk back to the bathrooms was the LONGEST EVER IN THE WHOLE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. I noticed someone behind me also jump out of the line. I dont know how I made it, but I did
. Into the bathroom to puke. And the person behind me.. .also into the bathroom to puke. And someone after that..into the bathroom to puke. Also good time to mention that I saw pukers everywhere from the time I left the finish line up till my fellow pukers in the bathroom. Reports later indicated that the higher temps than expected combined with the water down Gatorade and the gel they gave were leading causes. So my advice to future runners would be bring your own gels you trained with & stay easy on the Disney provided sports drinks. Maybe take it only 1-2 times vs every other time (which is what I was doing).
By the time I was done puking- the Cuz caught up with us..and I did make it on Soarin. Then we did Spaceship Earth. And then I declared myself totally done- It was 3:30am. I had spent 24 hours awake almost, most with a headache & run 13.1 miles. It was time to call it a day. My goal was completed. I finished my first ½. Medal in hand, I walked back to the room. I DID IT. Insert Smile.
(Also. Way to go spell check on not knowing "Vernors" )
And yay! Costumes!
We split right down the middle I guess, part of that is b/c she moved to Minneapolis in college and I stayed in St. Louis. I'm sure you care...these things are of utmost importance. 
the shorter distance and the night timing is what drew me to it as well 
. I hope it went away before the race. And those desserts look so good!
I'll do my best to keep it around 100 pages. Hahaha. And then I'll continue with my Cruise one next summer.
Thanks for joining. I see you have a TR too- I will have to go read up on it as well! Always like a new, good trip report!!! 
I earned it. 
