Gearing up for the race was a little different than usual… this time, my husband was running with me! He’s run one 5K at Walt Disney World before… but running really isn’t his thing. Someone’s gotta watch the kids, right?

The race was scheduled to start at 8 PM, which is totally different and was honestly a nice change. We spent the morning in the parks and after a quick rest at our hotel, made our way to the corrals!

We were staying at Sequoia Lodge on Disneyland property, and the walk was quick and easy. The races all start and finish in relatively the same area, right near the expo, so it was very easy and convenient to find where we were going.

I really liked the course, and then I really didn’t like the course. Looking back, I am kind of “meh” about it.

I loved the fact that it was totally new to me – no matter where they sent us, I had never run through there before, so it was very exciting. Starting the race was pretty slow and congested through backstage, but pretty soon we had open space.

The first section was through Disney Village (their version of Downtown Disney), and over towards the parks. There were lots of people spectating, so it was a great way to kick it off.

We made our way over to Disneyland Park, and came in right around Phantom Manor – this was cool because that ride looks SPOOKY at night! We continued through Adventureland and then came out of Disneyland in the back around the 2K mark.

We made our way through backstage over to Walt Disney Studios, where we ran through the Backlot Ride (which we had ridden earlier in the day), and then got to run through the set of the stunt show… which was actually pretty cool. We spent a lot of time in this park, getting to run through Toy Story and right past the Ratatouille ride as well.

One of the coolest features of runDisney Paris races… the finish line was actually IN the park! Once we turned that last corner – Mickey and Minnie were waiting!

Once we were finished, the volunteers gave us our medals, and we walked through the finish chute!

There were tons of different snacks and drinks offered at the finish line, which was a pretty cool change… there was water, a fruit drink, AND chocolate milk. We got bananas, chips, and the good ol’ runDisney Snack box.

The course… was pretty good.

The characters… were cool, but not for us.

The company… was perfect.

Can’t wait to come back and do it again next year!!!

When I really start to think about it – 10K races may be my favorite distance. It’s just long enough that you really feel like you put in a decent amount of effort, you get a lot of time out on the course, but it’s not something that is a *huge* commitment to run.

You can take it as seriously or as non-seriously as you want! Recently, most of my 10Ks have been full of on-course shenanigans, and this race was no different.

This race was one that began in the morning, so it was a lot more like races at home! I laid out my “flat runner” outfit the night before, opting to advertise how my life is pretty much just one long vacation…

I do have to say I was nervous about timing. How early did I need to be in my corral? Was it going to be busier or easier than the night before? Would I run into anyone that I knew… or was I going to be all by myself?

I stopped at the coffee machine (more on that later) and picked up some espresso… and made the march over to the corrals. It was very similar, pretty much exactly the same, as the night before.

The pre-race entertainment was the same as the night before, and I still think it was very well done.

My ONLY issue before this race, other than the fact I was stupid early (my fault)… was HOW COLD IT WAS. I mean, I guess that’s also my fault because I could have paid better attention… but I was absolutely freezing waiting to start this race.

Since I was running on my own this race, I went up into my assigned corral… B. I still appreciated the information they provided for the opening/closing times of the corrals, I just should have taken them better to heart. People in France aren’t as crazy as people in Florida… you don’t have to be the first person in the corral to get a good spot to wait.

So, the race started out the same way that the 5K did and it was, challenging. A pretty small funnel of people with no place to really run. Luckily that didn’t last long and as soon as you hit the Disney Village you had plenty of room to take off.

One of my runners did an awesome job of snapping pictures of each kilometer marker!
You guys know. me, and “taking off” really isn’t my thing, so I just hung back and enjoyed myself. I had set my little interval timer and was looking forward to an easy 10K… I couldn’t wait to see what characters were out, and what cool parts of the parks I would get to see.

Well… almost immediately into this race I ran into two of my favorite people – Pamela and Jen.

Pamela is the one who designed the shirts Brandon and I wore the night before (and she’s actually designed a ton of shirts I wear regularly… just sayin’.) Jen is another friend who is responsible for my fabric and running skirt obsession… more on both of them at a later date!

I was so thrilled to run into them, we started talking and decided to all run together – and boy am I glad that we did!

Pamela’s husband was running ahead and scoring a spot in the character lines so we could all take a photo together… and we got some really great pictures!!

There wasn’t anything too special about this finish line, other than the fact I got to finish with some of my favorite people. Itis a pretty unique experience getting to finish the race inside the actual park, not something you get to do in the states!

The process was exactly the same as the night before… cross the line, get your medal, get your drinks, get your snacks, and head out of there! You end up leaving right outside of Walt Disney Studios, and it’s an easy walk over to Disney Village to head back to your hotel.

The snack box was pretty similar to the box we had the night before, I think there was one different snack – some type of rice cake with chocolate on it. I was too hungry and forgot to take a picture of those!

I will admit I wasn’t completely sold on Paris being that big of a deal after the 5K. However, the 10K sold me. I was SO impressed with the characters, and the course spent so much time in the parks… it was a total blast.

Here we go – the big one! The whole reason for this trip, 13.1 miles throughout Disneyland Paris and the surrounding countryside… all waiting for me!

I remember the first conversation I had about this race with my team over at runDisney… one of my contacts had just returned from Paris after getting a chance to ride through the course and he could not stop talking about how beautiful it was. Now, I don’t know if there have been many course changes since the first year… but the race I ran… he was right!

Luckily, I got a lot more sleep before this race than I did the 10K. Not a ton, but enough were I felt like I was at least a human being and not a crazy jet-lagged zombie!

Training for this race was kind of non-existent. Once I start training for the Dopey Challenge … all other races just kind of get squeezed into that schedule. I had recently run a good solid 10-mile training run, so I knew I was good but didn’t know what the end result of this race would be!

The race started in the same place as the others, so the walk from our resort over to the corral was quick and easy. It was almost second nature at this point!

I had decided during the 10K that races with friends are absolutely way more fun than races alone… so knew I’d be meeting up with Jen and Pamela again. I, of course, was ridiculously early. I got to the corral and sat down to wait for my friends.

In Orlando, it can be extremely difficult to maneuver yourself up to the front of a corral to find your friends. People get annoyed that you’re even trying since everyone is jammed in there like sardines. In Paris, it’s no big deal. A quick “I’m sitting on the left side by a guy standing in a sorcerer mickey hat” was all she needed to find me in less than 5 minutes.

The corral timing was similar to the times of the 10K – and posted very easily to follow. I never felt too crowded or rushed in our corral, which was a nice change of pace.

They had the same pre-race entertainment, including the warm-up by Genie (which I am 99% sure was the exact same video as the morning before…). By this time, while I was still impressed with the quality of the pre-race stuff… I was kinda over it. Definitely appreciated it, but couldn’t understand what they were saying and had friends to chat with… sooo…

Looking at the map I was dreading pretty much most of everything from Mile 8 on. How lame does that look? It looks so lame. I WAS WRONG – IT IS NOT LAME – IT IS AWESOME.

This race can be broken up into three main sections… the parks, the countryside, and the resorts. You start off with the pretty typical run through the parks with LOADS of characters. Seriously there’s a ton there and it is awesome… I really appreciate how well the course creators keep you in the parks for as long as they do!

The second section is the countryside… now, for people who live in Paris, they’re probably like “we are running through a random neighborhood this sucks…” but for us foreigners, it’s more like “THIS IS THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE. I AM RUNNING THROUGH THE FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE. LOOK AT THAT LITTLE SUPERMARKET! THOSE LITTLE APARTMENTS ARE ADORABLE!”

Sorry for the shouty capitals but guys I was a little bonkers when we were out there… it was so cool.

Once you get back over towards Disneyland you get to the third section, running through the resorts. This was exceptionally cool for me as I had yet to see these resorts… Disney’s Hotel Santa Fe and Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne hosted the last few miles. They are both adorably themed… and I think one of my favorite parts was running through the Hotel Cheyenne! The very end of the race you run by Disney’s Hotel New York (currently under construction to become The Art of Marvel), Disney’s Sequoia Lodge, and Disney’s Newport Bay Club.

We finished the race in the same area, and followed the same procedure, as the 5K and the 10K. We crossed the line (arm in arm, actually, totally being “those people” and loving every minute of it)… and then collected our half marathon medals.

Going through the chute, we got water and snacks… but there was a very different process to collect the challenge medals! They do not have the same process as they do in Orlando – you have to go all the way back to the expo building to get your challenge bling!

The 31K Challenge is a challenge that’s best known to runDisney folk… running the 10K and the Half Marathon in the same weekend.

The 31K Challenge medal features Aladdin and it’s really a pretty cool medal, but it pales in comparison to the 36K challenge!

I’m not sure why runDisney offers this challenge for this race and not for the others… perhaps it’s their own version of the Dopey Challenge? But if you register for the 36K Challenge – you run the 5K, 10K, and Half… and you get the 31K Challenge medal AND a medal for the 36K Challenge! It’s kind of how when you run Dopey you technically run Goofy too…

So I was able to also pick up the Genie-inspired 36K Challenge Medal at the expo as well. This one may be one of my favorites with the stained glass look of the medal… it’s really well done!

So, once you are in the expo you are able to pick up any and all challenge medals that you qualify for. It’s also important to note that you have to register for each of these challenges in order to get the bling. Registering for the 5K, 10K, and Half separately doesn’t mean that you get the challenge bling… so be sure you know exactly what you’re signing up for!

I was also able to pick up the Castle to Chateau medal… which signifies that I ran a Half or Full (in my case… both…) in Florida, and then the half in Paris! I have been wanting to add this medal to my collection for YEARS… and it was quite a moment when I got to put it around my neck!!

It was slightly annoying to have to go to a different place to get the challenge medals – but really with the area available at the finish line, there was no other option. One nice perk to this was being able to see what other little “extras” runDisney Paris had to offer…

Like…

FREE MASSAGES.

Now, I was ready to get back to my room and see my husband, so I chose not to wait in the line… but I very much appreciated the runDisney Recovery Crew and think it’s something that should be brought over to Florida!

Really, this race lived up to my expectations.

I knew that they weren’t as organized as they are at home, so I kept my patient pants on. Luckily, we didn’t have any issues with our race registration.

They have a little bit of work to do with the characters and pictures… but I feel like I’m going to have a better recap of that once our pictures are loaded (which will take a few weeks… yeah…)

The course was beautiful, the cast members were so encouraging, and the finish line was organized and easy to navigate.

Overall, I really enjoyed my race experience and cannot wait to go back!