Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend
Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend
( 12 reviews )-
Anaheim,
California,
United States - February
- 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon
- Road Race
- Event Website
Carol
San Jose, California, United StatesOverall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
I ran this race as part of the Pixie Dust Challenge (10k on Saturday and half on Sunday). This was the second half of the pink Coast to Coast challenge that my middle sister and I took on this year (her first two half-marathons!) by completing the runDisney Princess half in February at Walt Disney World in Florida and the Tinkerbell Half in Disneyland in May.
Race Registration: These races are pretty expensive. However they have excellent course support and entertainment. You get a whole different experience than your average race. Would I do every Disney race? No way! My pocketbook would never allow that to happen. However, this was an excellent experience to have with my sister who lives on the other side of the country. I am not sure I would do this on my own without friends to experience it with.
You also need to be ready to register when the race opens. While this half took a little while to fill, most Disney races fill up incredibly quickly. The Pixie Dust Challenge and other runDisney challenges are some of the first to fill up and you can only earn the special challenge shirt and medal by registering for the official challenge, not just running the 10k and half.
Expo: You need to pick up your own packet, so plan ahead. The Expo opens on Thursday morning and runs through Saturday. I volunteered at shirt pick-up on Saturday afternoon and the expo seemed a bit quieter then when I went to pick up my packet on Friday afternoon. Plan ahead to explore the expo as there are a lot of vendors. If you want official merchandise, plan to be there early Thursday morning to wait in line as apparently a number of eBay sellers get there early and buy up "the good stuff" (I am not a big race merchandise fan so this is relayed information).
Pre-Race: You will want to submit a proof of time (10k or longer race) by the official deadline or you will end up in an unseeded corral in the back. Both my sister and I were in the first corral, which made things a lot easier for us but I have been in further back corrals in previous Disney races and it can get really crowded on the course. Arrive early for your bathroom break and to find and enter your corral. There is pre-race music and announcers who work to get the crowds pumped up before the race starts.
The course starts the same as the 10k, with three steeper freeway overpasses than you might expect from an otherwise flat course. It was a bit jarring since we had been standing in the corral waiting for awhile, but after that first mile and a half, you are definitely warmed up. You then spend about five miles in the parks and behind the scenes before running through Downtown Disney (whoa the crowds) and past a super supportive street of women from the Red Hat Society. It gets you pumped and energized to take on the streets of Anaheim.
During those five miles in the park, there are a number of character photo stops. If you want character photos, these are your only chances to secure them as you won't see them again on the course. My sister and I already decided we weren't racing for time, something difficult to do at a Disney race with the crowds and new-to-races participants. It's not impossible to run for a PR but it just wasn't our choice to do it. So we stopped for lots of photos and ended up a little further back in the pack when we left the park area.
The streets of Anaheim include lots of community groups, bands, and random spectators. The signs are hilarious and the support from fellow runners is amazing. While this course doesn't go through Angels Stadium, it has lots of shade lined streets and a great community turnout. This is probably my favorite runDisney course!
The last mile or so runs through the back lots of California Adventure finishing in the parking lot near one of the Disney hotels. Great snacks and medals await along with screens where you can watch other finishers.
One more perk of a Disney race is wearing your shirt and/or medal in the park and finding instant companions in line to talk about the race with! Enjoy the day with friends and family. We went to brunch in Downtown Disney and then took a nap by the pool at our hotel. A great end to a wonderful race weekend!