If you had not heard, the race was first delayed an hour and then shortened due to the threat of severe weather. Instead of 13.1 miles, the race ended up being just shy of 7 miles.

Saturday morning, I parked at the Pop Century and hopped the bus over to the expo. My room wouldn’t be ready for a couple hours, but I wanted the freedom to hop on the Disney buses to kill some time till the room was ready

I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into the HP field house for packet pickup that it was fairly empty with no lines. I had seen photos from Friday and it was a much different story

After picking up my packet, I stopped to get my complementary Run Disney photo. In exchange for following Run Disney on Instagram, you can stop and get a free green screen photo themed for the event. It’s a nice photo, though I need to see if I can hide the ugly sweat marks with Photoshop.

Once I picked up my race number, I headed over to the main expo area in the Jostens Center to pick up my race shirt and peruse the expo.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the expo, but there really wasn’t anything in particular I was looking for. The expo was smallish, but a few of the vendors such as New Balance and Fit to Run had large areas which made it feel bigger. I did notice that the official merchandise area was fairly picked over with most of the limited items long sold out. If you were looking for one of those items, you had to go on Friday, or I’m sure many will be for sale on eBay with a hefty premium.

I did get a free CD of Irish music courtesy of Raglan Road. There was a booth at the expo showcasing some of the new venues opened or coming soon to Disney Springs. I have been a big fan of Irish music for years and have many rousing Irish drinking songs on my running playlists, so this made me happy. The other thing I was glad to find was one of the coveted souvenirs at the expo, the refillable Run Disney beer cup. I had a PR Pilsner by Concrete Brewery brewed specially for Run Disney. It was a halfway decent beer with a strong citrus flavor, almost like Blue Moon

I was in and out of the expo before Noon. I was getting hungry and still had a few hours to kill, so I decided to hop a bus to the beach club and walked over to Epcot.

I stopped into one of my favorite counter service restaurants in Epcot, the Tangerine Cafe in the Morocco Pavilion. They serve a variety of Mediterranean dishes. My favorite is the Chicken Shawarma Platter. It includes Rotisserie Chicken, Naan bread, hummus, tabbouleh, and a couscous salad. It was delicious as always and I knew it would give me energy and be safe on the stomach

As I was finishing up lunch, I got the email notification that my room was ready, so I headed back to the hotel to unpack and get some rest before the night’s festivities.

The buses from the host hotels for Wine and Dine run for a single hour from 7pm to 8pm. I knew if I got to the bus stop after 7, there would be a long line, so I went ahead and got there at 645 , but not before first having to run back to my room when I realized I forgot my gear check bag with all my stuff for after the run.

The first stop when you reach the start area is through security to have your bags checked. The security at the race is just like any of the parks. If you don’t have any bags, you are directed through a separate line and waved right through. Once through security, the first stop was bag check to dropoff my post-race bag

The last time my wife and I did the race, we skipped the after party. This time, she had deferred so it was just me. I really wanted to enjoy the after party, so I read several blog posts to determine what I needed in my bag. Here is what I packed in my bag which worked well

Clean clothes including fresh underwear – who wants to party late into the night in stinky sweaty run clothes
Towel – you’ll want to dry off to avoid any blister or chafing issues
Spray deodorant – so at least you don’t smell horrible
Sandals or flip flops – You’ll want to air your feet out in your most comfy open footwear.
Ziploc bag, garbage bag, or some other plastic bag for your stinky clothes.
Drawstring bag big enough for all your stuff – The supplied gear check bag is flimsy and doesn’t transport well. A good drawstring bag can be folded up in the gear check bag and is much easier to haul around Epcot
Wet wipes – the one thing I didn’t have which I wish I did have
Once I dropped off my bag, I wanted to hit the photo ops. All of the lines were a little long, and Mickey was clearly the longest. I decided on the Goofy line since I’d be doing the Goofy Challege in January and well I am kinda goofy myself. It took about 30 minutes to move through the line and around 8 I got my picture. As I was waiting in line, I could see lightning off in the distance. There was no thunder, but it definitely wasn’t too far off.

In the week leading up to the race, I was checking the hourly forecast a couple times a day. It seemed like the weather reports went back on whether there would be thunderstorms that night. By race day, that chance had gone down to about 30%.

I decided to settle into the runners only staging area to wait out being allowed into our corrals. I found a open spot on the pavement and tried to relax while waiting to be allowed in the corrals. It continued to lightning in the distance, but there still was rain and no thunder.

Just before 9, runners began to assemble at the exit point from the staging areas into the corrals. At 9, the crowd began moving out of the staging area and into the corral area. While many of us thought we we being led to our corrals, it turned out we were actually being evacuated back to the safety of the main ESPN WWOS complex. At this point we weren’t sure what the plan would be.

After a quick stop at one of the nice clean bathrooms, I settled into a spot against the wall with a view to the outside. For an hour we sat and waited. Outside, there was no rain, no lightning, we didn’t know what was going on. Just after 10, there was the first sign we might get to run the race: a mass exodus of Run Disney volunteers. A few minutes later we were officially given the all clear and allowed to walk back to the staging area. Following along on twitter, the rumors were swirling that we’d be running a shortened course, but it wasn’t until 10:30 we got the first official word that the course would be modified

Having looked at the course map, I had a pretty good idea of what the course would be and my hunch turned out to be right.

Once out of the Wide World of Sports, the original course heads down Oceola Parkway into the Animal Kingdom Park. The course then exits the park back onto Osceola until you reach World Drive just shy of mile 7. The new course, officially measured at 6.72 miles, would omit the Animal kingdom and make a right onto World Drive and head towards Hollywood Studios. While I was sad the course was being shortened, I completely understood and was just happy to be running the race at all. The first corral went off around 11pm and it would be another 45 minutes before our corral, corral K took off.

After being evacuated indoors due to the threat of severe weather and a hour delay, the race finally started around 11pm. 45 minutes later, my corral, the second to the last was sent off.

Originally, my plan for this race was it would be another long training run for the upcoming Space Coast Marathon. I was going to work on maintaining as steady a pace as possible for 13 miles and maintain my 45 second run / 30 second walk intervals.

After the delays and the shortened course, the plans went quickly out the window. For the first 5 minutes or so, I ran the whole way just to try and make it through some of the crowds. I tried my best to get back into the pattern, but it often ended up being 2 minutes run / 30 seconds walk just so I could get around the hoards of walkers. That was alright for the shorter distance, but for the marathon, there’s no way I’ll be able to keep up that pacing.

The first mile of the race takes you out of the ESPN WWOS and onto Osceola Parkway. The first half mile down Victory is constrained to a single lane so I did much bobbing and weaving to make it through the crowds. Once you turn onto Osceola Parkway the course opens up a bit with two lanes. There was plenty of entertainment over the first 2 1/2 miles leading up to Hollywood Studios. It included a DJ, Lilo and Stitch, and one of my favorites, two of the army men from Toy Story. I debated stopping for photos, but wanted to bank some time until I got into Hollywood Studios hoping for Star Wars photo-ops

At mile 2.5 I saw a familiar site, the Hollywood Hotel from the Tower of Terror Ride. I was excited to be heading into Hollywood Studios, which would be the real bright spot in the shortened race. After passing the Tower of Terror, you’ll pass by the giant guitar for Aerosmith’s Rockin Roller coaster, one of Disney World’s best rides. One of the greatest sites was turning onto the main drag of Hollywood Studios and seeing the Replica of the Chinese Theater in all it’s glory. I was never a big fan of the Sorcerer’s Hat and was glad to see it go.

After running past the Toy Story Midway ride, where many stopped for a photo-op with Woody and Buzz, we headed into the disco tunnel. With all the changes coming to Hollywood Studios, I expect this may be the last year for the disco tunnel. This tunnel was previously part of the studio back lot tour tram ride. The disco tunnel is like a run through dance club which includes lasers, fog machines, and a DJ spinning tunes. When I ran through it, they were playing a techno version of “Let it Go” from Frozen.

Once you exit the disco tunnel, you run about a mile through the service roads in the back of the park. This is where I had an unfortunate incident. Just shy of mile 4, I encountered a pack of walkers taking up most of the road. I attempted to pass them via an opening on the right and found out the hard way that the pavement was uneven there. As I moved to the right, I rolled my left ankle on the uneven pavement. It wasn’t really a curb, but more like when one side of the road was an expansion and the two sides didn’t line up. What I didn’t understand was that there was a volunteer standing there just saying be careful, but nothing specific. There was no recorded announcement announcing the uneven pavement, there was no spray paint or cone marking the spot, it was poorly lit, and the volunteer was not specific as to an obstacle to avoid.

I was so upset. I walked to where there was a good place to stop and stretched out and tried to determine how bad it was. Luckily, I’ve got good at balancing and avoiding sprains from running trails. I tested running and was surprised that I was still able to run without pain. Later on I would have some minor pain, but noting that stopped me from running.

I was quickly able to get back up to speed and from there headed towards the highlight of the night, the Osborne Family Christmas Lights. Sadly, this will be the last year of the lights, so I was glad to be able to run through them one last time. They are truly a spectacular site, and if you have a chance to see them before they are taken down, you shouldn’t miss it.

I made a quick stop at one of the bathrooms before we exited the park. Exiting the park, I was surprised at the lack of any Star Wars photo ops such as Darth Vader or Storm Troopers. That would have been the one photo-op I would have waited for no matter how long.

From here the race course follows the path between Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Other then running by the water treatment plant in the marathon, this is one of my least favorite parts of all Run Disney courses. For a about 3/4 of a mile, the course runs down a narrow sidewalk the runs along the waterway for the Epcot resort boats. This makes it difficult to impossible to pass anyone and I often found myself with no other option but to join the herd and walk. Once you get to the Dolphin & Swan Hotels, things open up from there. Running past the Yacht and Beach Club resorts, there were actually several spectators out with signs cheering on runners. The course then crosses Epcot behind Spaceship Earth and then finishes in the parking lot just outside the park

Once finished, I was glad to be done. My ankle felt good, but I was afraid how it felt in the morning. Once I received my medal, gear check bag, and one free beer, I headed into the park to change and get something to eat. One tip I was glad I read prior to the race was to skip the changing tents and change in one of the bathrooms inside the park. I chose the first one inside the park since there was no line for the men’s room. Ladies may want to go further in since they had a line.

It was still hot and steamy and the first few lines for food were pretty long. I stopped in Germany since the line wasn’t too long grabbed a brat, a beer and a bottle of water. I could tell I was overheating and needed to get more water in me. I felt much better once I had some food in me and made it through the bottle of water. I stopped in America for a beer flight, slider and a yummy piece of carrot cake. When I finished there, I was exhausted, so I headed back and called it a night.

When I first finished the race, I was of the feeling I would never sign up for another Run Disney race, after I finished those I’ve already signed up for. While I agree 100% with the weather decisions they made I have real issues with the course and course congestion. After having time to think about it, I will certainly be limiting the number of Disney races I do, but I won’t completely stop doing their races. If anyone asked, I would certainly recommend these races, especially for first timers. I just won’t be rushing to sign up for every Disney race. There are many half and full marathons here in Florida within a couple hours drive I really want to try out.

I’ve realized that part of the magic in the past wasn’t just the race, but the whole race weekend vacation. Now that we live here locally and the race isn’t a vacation like it used to be, it loses some of it’s magic.

MM#6820

Fun race with on course entertainment and a giant after party with free beer. Even though it rained off and on, this was a great race. The only thing I didn't like was the cotton t-shirt. Next time, I'd also hit the corrals a little earlier, because it can be a bit of a cluster just before the start. MM#6820