Man, I'm not even a huge Disney fan, but after running this half—my first Disney event—in 2017 I truly do understand the hype!
I ran this race as part of a check-in during my training for Mountains 2 Beach marathon. I intended to run it for fun, going more based on feel than pace. That said, the easy (flat and fast!!) course meant I was feeling stronger than I could have expected, and picked up my pace significantly at mile 5, sustaining my faster pace for the duration of the event. I finished with an unintentional half marathon PR, no complaints there!

The course itself is a lot of fun and never boring—characters on the course and running through parks keeps your energy up. The expo was easy to navigate and had lots to offer. The medal was cute, as was the shirt (though a little too pink/girly for me to want to wear, but a nice keepsake for a future quilt). Coming from San Francisco, I found the course elevation profile a piece of cake—we never train on anything that flat— though the humidity and heat were definitely new for me.

Another bonus is that if you're a middle packer in most races, you'll be in the lead pack at Disney. My official finish time was 1:47:26 yet I was the 155th woman out of 18505. At any other race, I would be much deeper into the mid or even back of the pack, so I appreciated the small ego boost. My friend (who had not trained as well as she had hoped and also felt sick during the race) finished around 2:45—a time that would be back of the pack at many races, if not dead last, and was solidly mid-pack in this one. For this reason, it's a good choice for newer runners who are worried about being left behind by more competitive fields at other races.

One gripe: at this cost for a race, I wish Disney would at least offer discounted entry into the parks. Why you gotta be so stingy, Disney?