I participated in the Milky Way 26K race, which involved running the 5K and then immediately starting a half marathon. I was anxious going into this race since I had never completed a racing challenge before, and was unsure of how to go about pacing. The day before the race I stayed at the Dearborn Inn and visited the expo to collect their bib and shirt. I was pleasantly surprised with how professional the Expo was for a smaller "home-town" marathon. The day of the race it was absolutely poring so I stole a trash bag from the Dearborn Inn to wear to attempt to stay dry. I ended up taking a Lyft to the start line for the 5k, where it was raining heavily. While we waited they had participants take cover under a few tents and a playground, I hid under the playground slide. The start was challenging as walkers ended up near the front, and runners ended up near the back due to the pace signs falling apart (cause they were soaked by the rain). But I ended up finishing the 5K in 31:58.9. There was still some time before the half marathon so I hid in the port-a-potty to avoid the rain (sorry to anyone that needed to us it). When it came time to rejoin the half-marathon, it was a gorgeous route around downtown Dearborn. Despite the rain, I still ran my PB of 2:01:14.

See the full review at duffrunstough

I signed up for the Snowmans Half as part of the Winter Warrior Series. For three races it was only $100 dollars and you get a pint glass with every race. The day of the race, there was little direction to where the start line was. Thankfully, when I got there (15mins before) there was a giant finish banner (also the start). The first two miles you run around CMU's football stadium which was nice. Right after mile 2, however, you turn onto the dirt roads for the next 9ish miles. I was so happy when I saw the dirt roads. I live out in the boonies and train on dirt roads constantly. Never before did I think I would be able to use this as a benefit. The first 8 miles I felt amazing. I had negative splits (starting at 10 and going down to 8:43). At mile 8 though, I stopped to walk. When I started back up again I had an INSANE amount of pain in my left foot. Turned out that I had dislocated my cuboid. I walked all of mile 8, ran miles 9 and 10, then walked the rest of the way. I had an old boot in my car from the last time I sprained my ankle (the main issue with running on dirt roads so much) so I stopped at my car that was parked near mile 12.5. I put the boot on and ran the rest of the way to the finish line. Surprisingly, I still ran under a 2:30 (and ended up coming 3rd in my age group).. After the race, you had to go into O'Kelley's to claim your medal and use your drink ticket. The medal will combine with the other two in the series to make a full circle. I can't wait until the next race in a week.

You can read a more detailed review here: https://byairandland.com/2018/01/29/marathon-monday-snowmans-half/

Overall, I loved my experience at my first runDisney event. I had an incredible time running with my mother and pushing her to her full potential. The course was well thought out and the cast members did a phenomenal job cheering us on. I heard many a “Go Judy!” or “love the costume” as we would run through the parks. It may not seem like much, but it does wonders for your motivation. I would recommend this marathon to any runner, as it is “first-time marathon friendly” with the finish time as seven hours. Although, I won’t do the Disney marathon next year (because of cost); I am already thinking about running the 10th Anniversary of the Dopey Challenge in 5 years. That is when you run the 5K, 10K, Half, and Full back-to-back four days in a row. I will see how I feel about it then. As for now, I have my next marathon in May and my next half in one week. Happy running!

Read more at: https://byairandland.com/2018/01/15/marathon-monday-wdw-marathon-recap/