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!

I ran the Tinkerbell 10k as part of the Pixie Dust Challenge (10k on Saturday and half-marathon on Sunday) and did the 10k with my youngest sister. It was her first 10k and while we were planning the run the full race, we knew we would be taking advantage of a couple of the famed photo stops on the course.

This is a pricey race, as all runDisney races are, however it takes place almost entirely in the park and has excellent course support and entertainment. This female-focused weekend is a great opportunity for a girl getaway and since it was Mother's Day weekend, both my sisters as well as my mom and aunt made the trip with me.

Registration: Disney races can fill up rather quickly, so you will want to register on the day and time it opens.

Expo: You have to pick up your own bib, you cannot have someone else do it for you. The expo is large and opens on Thursday to accommodate those who come in early as well as those running the 5k on Friday morning. Plan on picking up your bib and taking awhile to roam what is one of the larger expos I have experienced. If you want official race merchandise, plan on being there Thursday morning as they are apparently collectors items and eBay sellers like to show up early and buy everything,

Pre-Race: Due to the large number of participants, you will want to get there early. The corrals are monitored carefully. There will be music and hosts entertaining you at least 30 minutes before the official start.

Course: This year's course started running three freeway overpasses. It was a terrible way to get moving after standing in the corral for so long. But a little after a mile you turn back on to Disney property and the remainder of the race is through the parks and behind the scenes.

There are many people who run these races for time, but I wouldn't recommend focusing solely on speed. You are bound to get frustrated with people who don't know race etiquette and walk multiple people together or stop suddenly for photos. We ran the race at a slower-than-normal pace and took advantage of various Disney characters to pose with. It was a fun timed run for us and we absolutely enjoyed it and didn't let the crowds get to us.

Post-race: Disney is usually great about handing out fabulous medals and snack boxes. This year there was a snafu with the snacks but it was otherwise a well-managed finish.

This is a pricey race, ranking below a Disney half but above just about every other race I have paid for. And unlike a Disney race, the course support and entertainment for this special edition Diva race leaves a lot to be desired.

Starting and finishing in a picturesque winery, this is billed as a race for women. It's a smaller event however it still had a significant number of newer runners who were unfamiliar with race etiquette like moving towards the back of the unseeded start if you are a bit slower. So the start was clustered and crowded with people wedged between bathrooms and gear check trying to figure out what was going on.

The course was originally billed as "California flat" and made mention of only one incline. I have heard the course description was altered post-race to be more accurate. This is hilly wine country and definitely isn't flat with a good portion of the second half of the race taking place on an out-and-back dirt road. The course is relatively deserted save for the aid stations an a DJ or two on the out-and-back. The majority of participants, including myself, were caught off-guard by the number of hills based on the course description. Now that I know, I would do more hill work and would be okay with it.

The aid stations do not supply any gus at any point, so be prepared to carry your own nutrition. And they had yellow Gatorade but never described in any pre-race instruction what electrolyte they would have so people could train using it. This included email and Facebook inquiries that went unanswered. But again, I brought my own so it wasn't a huge deal. However, after running the Disney Princess Half the weekend before without needing my own hydration belt, I was a tad disappointed to strap it on over my running skirt for this race.

The shirts this year were basic black with a sparkly gold logo on the chest and the tutus were cute. The medal was big and heavy. I hear next year will get jackets and an LED tutu so I guess the swag game will be amped up.

Overall it was a fine half marathon. The location makes it great for a weekend with friends. I wouldn't avoid this race but I just don't think I can justify the price again when there are so many races out there with awesome communication pre-race at lower costs.

A great community event! Packet pick-up occurs over a number of days. Having volunteered with parking the day before the race, I would recommend not waiting to pick up your bib and long-sleeve tech shirt!

It's a giant community event and lots of people will only complete this race each year. The majority run the 5k but I opted to run the 10k with friends. A great course around downtown and through the Rose Garden neighborhoods, similar course up and down the Alameda as many races held downtown.

We finished the 10k as the winner of the 5k was coming through the finish line. Excellent crowd support and a relatively flat course. My current 10k PR so I may be a bit biased but I will be back!!!

I live along this course and cheered and volunteered in previous years but decided in 2014 it would be my Fall "A race" because I knew the course and how great the community support is. I was not disappointed!

Keep your eyes peeled for sales as the Rock and Roll race series has plenty of sales throughout the year for registration deals.

The expo is easy to navigate and large compared to many expos for races in the area. Lots of great deals for both local and national vendors.

Corrals are easy to navigate and it's easy to make a change at registration. I brought them a new POT and they gave me a corral change sticker for my bib.

Ran with the 2:15 pacers for the majority of the course. Excellent communication and aside from the crowded start, it was an easy course to navigate. Relatively flat with the exception of a couple of underpasses.

Good aid station support and adequately spaced. Like a lot of big races, there were race novices who don't know codes of behavior for things like hydration stations. However that aside, the community involvement was excellent.

Course is my current PR and if I wasn't training for my first full, I would run it again this year. Great swag and they even offered a 5k challenge this past year (run the 5k on Saturday and half on Sunday) which earned an extra medal. The 5k was small and a lot of fun. A great warm-up for the next day!