Saturday, August 30, 2014

Disneyland 10K Recap

This morning I ran the first leg of the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge - the Disneyland 10K.


I had decided on my Russell from UP costume a while back, but was SOOOOO excited when my friend I was running with said she would dress up like Kevin!!



Obviously running in a costume is so much more fun, but what is even more amazing is running in a costume that the spectators are stoked on too. I can't tell you how many comments, cheers, and all around joy we saw while running through the Disneyland Resort and around Anaheim. (By far, my favorite is that everyone would say "Kevin's a girl?!" - it was PERFECT!)


The race itself was great, but honestly it is the memories, miles, and magic that MAKE it what it is! It's a race in late August (Labor Day Weekend), so the weather is a bit on the toasty side. Unfortunately we have been experiencing some wacky weather lately - including HIGH humidity. It seemed like while we were waiting for the start of the race the temps were on the cooler side (thank goodness), but who knows if it was just because it was 5am ;) We did get pretty sticky and sweaty within the first mile, but if there is one thing runDisney can't control it's the weather.

A BIG THANKS to the Sparkle Athletic ladies for this action shot
of us running through Downtown Disney towards the end of the race.

Rachyl didn't think she was "trained" for the 10K (although I told her she would ROCK IT), so the game plan was to just have as much fun as possible and stop along the way for as many pictures as we could (I mean I should probably save my legs for tomorrow's half, right?!). We were in Corral A, which was GREAT because it means there were less folks on the course (we were the first corral to be released for the race) and the lines are much shorter at the characters, but the bummer part is it's still DARK. My iPhone is pretty craptastic anyway (it is a hand me down, hand me down - originally it was my hubby's dad's, then it became my hubby's, and now it is mine), but having an old phone AND taking pictures in the dark, you can imagine they aren't the best... SORRY IN ADVANCE. I am hoping that the "professional" pictures turned out a bit better and maybe I will order a couple for Rachyl and I.

No sun in sight... And this was around mile 2-3...

I think they caught me in mid-word or something...

Chip & Dale? Cops and robbers? Elvis? WHO KNOWS!

Lilo and Stitch

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed with the number of characters on the course. I feel like last year's course had so many more photo ops (check out the recap here - complete with #AllThePictures). Even though the characters might have been lacking, the enthusiasm from the voluntEARS was NOT. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how pumped they are. At times it actually makes me a bit teary-eyed. I mean, they are out there with the sole purpose of making sure we have a great race... HOW WONDERFUL IS THAT?!

Being someone who LOVES my social media (and wants to share what I am doing with the world... seeing as everyone cares, right?!), something else stood out to me. I WISH they would do a better job to set up pictures. Because the races start so early, you know it will be dark. Why not set up a light so that you can actually see the people in the pictures when you are standing in front of something lit up? I mean, it could only help spread the word... The better the picture quality, the more likely you will share it. The more likely you will share it, the more likely someone else will see it. The more likely someone else will see it, the more likely someone else will want to do it because they see how awesome-sauce it is. And the more likely someone else will want to do it the more money the race makes ;)

runDisney events are a GREAT place to meet up with some AMAZING runners IRL (in real life). I saw so many folks while we were waiting to run and out of the course that Rachyl actually mentioned she thought I was famous. (It's pretty fan-freakin'-tastic on how amaze-balls the running community is!) Although I saw lots of friends on the course, I didn't grab pictures with many of them (sorry everyone - we will DEFINITELY get a shot together tomorrow - just remind me :) [I'll be a Tweedle Dee]).

My San Diego buddy, Henry, and I in the Family Reunion
Area (flag was backwards - FAIL)
Thanks for the picture Henry!

We just happened to find Danielle from Live. Run. Grow. and her hubby
 in the corral! They were The Mighty Ducks - TERRIFIC!
Thanks for the picture Danielle!

All-in-all, the race was decent, but would have loved to see more (and BETTER) photo ops along the course (especially when dropping the big bucks for the race). Because the Disneyland Half is my "race-iversary", I hope to continue doing it year after year as part of a little tradition. If that is the case, I would probably throw in the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge (because why not get extra bling?!). With that being said, I'd love to see some future improvements on the 10K.


Do you stop for pictures during a race? What about mid-run selfies?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Love it! Glad you got some good pictures!

Carlee McDot said...

Thanks Smitha!! You should definitely try a runDisney race :) I bet the kids would LOVE it!

Diana B said...

Your costume rocked! And your friend as Kevin was just awesome!!

Mer @ Scoot a Doot said...

Kevin's a GIRL? I love it so much! ;)

I totally can understand what you're saying about setting up photo opportunities. I've been in earlier corrals and that's definitely an issue and one that's easily fixable. On the flip side, I kicked back to the last corral both day so it was sunny by the time I started. Which was weird! And hot. And humid. ;)

Loved reading this! Hopping over to the half now.