This was my very first runDisney event, and I had an incredible time. I had volunteered for several runDisney events in the past, but I was hesitant to register because I had never done a race this large before. I'm so thankful that I did.

Now, runDisney has quite a few fans, since their races are so large, but that also means that there's quite a few critics out there. This was the first year that the Wine & Dine Half Marathon wasn't run at night, and they had to change the course because of all the construction happening at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Maybe it was just my twitter feed, but people were not happy about that. In any event, I didn't care at all. I love running and I love Disney so I was just stoked to have the opportunity to participate in such a huge event at Walt Disney World.

There are some items that I'd like to highlight, which I really loved. First, there was a good deal of characters on the course (not that I had time to stop for any photos - I was racing this event) that you wouldn't usually see at the theme parks. Also, I think there were FOUR marching bands on the course - this was EVERYTHING. I love a good marching band. Third, it was so fun to run in a costume (even if it was pretty much running gear with some mouse ears). I loved the race shirt; such great quality. The expo was overwhelming, huge, and also fantastic. The race announcers gave me life, and the DJ at the beginning of the race totally got me in the zone (even if he didn't play Britney). Oh yeah, and I got to run through FIREWORKS. Tremendous.

There's only one item I "might change" if I could. I don't like that runDisney doesn't offer deferrals. I understand this policy for smaller races that really have to watch their spending, but I feel like runDisney could be a little more flexible here. I mean, I pay $24 for a single margarita at Epcot - they are doing just fine.

In the end, I had the time of my life, and probably the best finishing photo I'll ever take. This race was fabulous.