Registration:
Signing up via Active, registration for the Disneyland Half Weekend events is more difficult than running the event itself! Selling out in minutes, it’s wise to organise a reminder or alarm for the on sale time to avoid disappointment.

Expo:
RunDisney certainly know how to put on an expo, with a range of exhibitors selling clothing, sparkle skirts, shoes, race food - in fact, anything you can think of. The packet pickup was located underneath the Disneyland Hotel Convention Centre and then followed back upstairs straight to the T-Shirt pickup.

New Balance shoes were certainly a drawcard at the expo this year, and runners were encouraged to sign up online for Thursday/Friday purchases and walk ins were accommodated on the Saturday.

RunDisney Ambassadors were also scheduled to give hourly talks at the main stage, which separated the expo with the RunDisney Merchandise booth.

Swag:
Included in the race cost was a t-shirt. For the 5K it was a unisex plain cotton tee with Stitch on the front and the Disneyland 5K logo. For the 10K, Half and Dumbo Double Dare shirts they were gender specific Champion technical tees - true to size and feel amazing on! The colours and images were great this year and definitely something that I would wear again.

Course:
The 10K course was again outside the Disneyland Hotel, however continued down to the Convention Centre, looped around and back behind the Tower of Terror, through Cars Land and around Paradise Bay. The course itself is rather flat until you run in the secret tunnel connecting the two parks, there is a slight incline but nothing to be too concerned about. This way avoids the main plaza, which you do run through in the 5K and the Half. As you follow the park around Tomorrowland, through backstage and back down Toontown to Fantasyland and through the castle. There were enough parade floats, and Disney employees cheering you on backstage to pass that time. You do need to ensure your footing is steady as there appeared to be sections of the path that were lifting up causing some trouble to some runners.

There were 3 water stations on the course and a medical station as you ran into Disneyland (helpful if you forget the Body Glide!)

Once out of Disneyland the course again ran through Downtown Disney, which did cause dilemmas to those who had finished and were waiting for the crowd switchbacks to flow through.

Post Run:
Once finished, the run is really organised - medals are collected immediately and then runners are filtered off to Coast to Coast collection (Half), Dumbo Double Dare wristband/medal collection (10K/Half) or straight through to the Finisher’s photos. The further you walked down the chute, the less of a line there was for pictures the whole weekend. At the end of the Half there is a couple of backgrounds for Dumbo Double Dare finishers.

Once pictures are done you walk through to collect your sealed runner’s food box and banana. Finally you walk through bag check (which was next to no line) before being spat out at the main holding area - with streaming of the finish line.

All walkways back around the resort were well marked, and volunteers were able to advise the route to walk. Downtown Disney is really only affected after the 5K and the 10K, while it is clear for the Half (as runners are directed behind Paradise Pier hotel).

This has to be one of my favourite local races and was back, bigger and better in 2014!
Packet Pickup had changed location this year to the finish line, and while I turned up early (as did a few people) the volunteers were awesome enough to open early - I happily collected my bib & t-shirt and was in and out in a small amount of time. There was no expo, but the local running store was set up again - with a vast array of merchandise.
This year's t-shirt was an improvement on last year, the cotton was amazingly soft and definitely one that will be worn again.

The course followed the same as in 2013, with the aid stops starting again at the 3K mark. This year on-course photographers were sign marked, so you had time to prepare and smile as you run past. The course is a flat terrain, there are a few small hills - but overall it's an easy course for all abilities.
I was game enough this year to try the half course (and had signed up for it) but unfortunately I had to go back to the 12K. This was easy done, with no issues with the registration team.

There were far more fun runners this year than in 2013 - which is awesome to see! Again, the half marathoners started half an hour prior to our race start, and were coming back through when the 12K horn went off. To avoid the 12K runners baring down on the half marathoners, they split the course over the bridge - we were directed down the main traffic bridge, while the half marathon participants headed down the pedestrian bridge.

Again, there was on-course entertainment at the 1K to go mark, and really got you in the mood to finish!

The weather was cool and windy when we began, and being close to the open water on the Bay didn't help (but made for an awesome view at sunrise!), it did warm up as we made our way down the course - however as soon as the route found the open water again, the wind picked up and it cooled right down! A tip for next year is to dress warm!

At the finish area, there was sponsors swag to collect, as well as plenty of food & drink options. The finishing chute was different this year and funnelled the runners through the supplied fruit and water before spilling out to the friends and family area. This was a great improvement from 2013. Again, the bag collection area was well distinguished and the volunteers were on the lookout for your race number as you walked up (and had your bag ready to go).

This is such a great local event - and it seems to be getting bigger and better year on year!

The Nike She Runs team certainly took on board the suggestions from last year and changed the event for the better in 2014. The race itself has quite a smaller time between sign up to race - about 2 months - in which the 6000 spots sold out. The popularity of this race is growing so the tip is to sign on as soon as the registration gets announced.

For 2014 packet pick-up was available in 6 different locations around Sydney. If interstate or regional NSW then they mailed it out to you. I did opt to pick up in the city - this was 2 weeks before the event (optional shoe packs were picked up early April from Bondi) - and the location was easy to find.

The swag included a drawstring bag, an event singlet/t-shirt (which had to be worn on the night), the pace group band, the shoe timing chip and miscellaneous sponsor products. It's unfortunate that this year Nike didn't create any She Runs 10K merchandise, it certainly was cold enough for them to sell out a crazy number of hoodies! (Plus this year I was keen to get a branded hoodie).

The course was set up differently to 2013, was incredibly well lit and started 1 hour earlier at 6pm. Clear instructions were made to be at the event site by 5:30pm for a 6pm start - family and friends aren't allowed to enter until an hour after the race starts, however they had clear view of the start, 3km mark (yes, we had to run past the village entrance) and finish. Inside it seemed that there was clear synergy between the AU event and the US ones - giant She Runs letters with competitors names, massage lounge, giant Nike store and volunteers walking around offering hair ties, face wipes and perfume (perhaps needed more after the race then before. Additionally there were more portaloos than you can poke a stick at!

What was also different was the giant inflatable jumping space in the middle of the village. Overall, the set up was fantastic, and this year by anticipating the traffic troubles experienced in 2013, getting in (and out) of the area was a breeze.

Unfortunately it was the coldest day of 2014 (so far) so it was a blessing that the marshals were rolling through the groups to start, there was no delays and I was able to run comfortably across the start line.

The entertainment along the route was fantastic - drummers, cheerleaders, marching bands - as was the aid stations - well stocked with water and Gatorade.

This year the course didn't seem to be as uphill as last year, it certainly was more favourable to all abilities and much more enjoyable and wide course. There was only one part of the course which, although I didn't have trouble with, people had mentioned they didn't really enjoy, which was the disco section complete with spinning lights.

The finish is lit up with a giant Nike Swoosh logo, and there were plenty of people still cheering while I crossed the line. For post-race entertainment, Australian singer Guy Sebastian kept the crowd moving by playing his well-known songs.

This time I did spend more time in the village, eating after the event from one of the food trucks - and huddled around the gas heaters that were located around the space. Finishers received a She Runs branded metal drink bottle, and after last year's debacle of people taking more than what they were meant to, volunteers marked off your pace band as they handed the prize over.

Overall the Nike She Runs event in 2014 was a complete improvement over the 2013 event, and I look forward to participating in 2015!

This series of races is certainly a not-so-hidden gem in Sydney, and the latest series took place on a fine but chilly Easter Monday morning at Sydney's Centennial Park. Three distances were contested on a cross-country course, the 21.1K, 7K and 4K.

You can pre-register through the Sri Chinmoy Sydney Series website, or there are on the day registrations available. Bib pickup is simple and straight forward - just make sure to get there before 7:55am. First race begins at 8am and generally starts with the longer distance first. This is not a road race, the park is still open to other runners, cyclists and cars during the event. You are running across grass, sand and dirt - which makes for an interesting race! The course itself is flatish - there are a couple of inclines but nothing too difficult. The scenery is fantastic, you are running around one of the largest parklands in Sydney - although you wouldn't realise it.

Aid stations are plentiful along the course and supply both electrolytes and water, at the finish there is a drink station and enough fruit for everyone. A bonus is the pancakes that they cook up ready for the finish. It makes the run worth it!

There was a great cross section of runners, young and old plus all abilities. All volunteers are extremely friendly at the event and make you feel very welcome.

Overall the Sri Chinmoy Sydney series is a fantastic event to add to your running schedule and I can't wait to do it again!

The NewRun Festival of Running is certainly gaining more popularity - there were 1500 starters in the 10K event. This year they added the Marathon to the event (first time Newcastle has had one in 26 years) and 270 people lined up for that one.

Not being from Newcastle, I had to investigate parking options - the city has great on street parking however with the road closures I wanted to find a parking station. Luckily there was one only 1.2km from the finish, and 1km from the busses to take you to the start line. This wasn't too bad early in the morning, but proved to be a horrible walk at the end in the rain.

Race communications prior to the event changed, 2 weeks out (and at online sign up) it stated that packet pick up was available on both Saturday and Sunday; an email 2 days out from the event suggested that pick up was Saturday with emergencies & late entries on Sunday. There was no trouble picking up me packet on Sunday, I arrived with plenty of time and found the area quite easily. Additionally an announcement at the start mentioned that you would be disqualified if you were to run with headphones - something that hadn't previously been pointed out.

There was a free shirt provided with entry, but for $10 more you were able to upgrade to a technical running tee - both men's and women's sizes were available.

The start location was amazing, next to the beach and at that stage was sunny and warm. Looking up the course showed an immediate uphill for the first 1.5K - this really was the only uphill on the course, the rest was downhill or flat as you followed the beach, out on the sea wall break and back along the harbour. Unfortunately a storm came across around halfway through the 10K and the run out on the wall break wasn't as enjoyable as you battled the elements with no shelter.

Upon the finish, there was no medal option for those running the 10K (although with running through the storm I thought we definitely deserved one!) and unfortunately the storm affected the equipment so results will be posted in a couple of days.

I think with clear instructions provided at sign on (or earlier email) involving the packet pickup & running with headphones will help the organisers (and racers) in the future. This is definitely a fantastic event for the scenery and I highly recommend it!