Tinker Bell Half Marathon

This past weekend I got the exciting opportunity to run a Disney race. I have seen advertisements for various Disney races each month in the Runner's World magazine and I would think how fun it would be to get to do one. Months ago I noticed the date of a new Disney race. Tinker Bell Half Marathon - Jan. 29th. It was a date around the same time we were planning a family Disneyland vacation. I talked to various family members and we decided to plan our vacation around this run. I also called my friend in California, who is a runner, and recruited her and her dad down as well. Hey, everyone likes a Disney vacation right?

When it came time to register me and my sister Stacey were right on it. My friend and her dad were right on it. My dad however, well he wasn't right on it. He was busy with work and just didn't commit. The race filled up quickly and within days it was closed. My dad actually missing the deadline turned out to be a good thing because a work commitment ended up being on the same weekend as the race.

I was already in the beginning stages of training for the Ogden Marathon but Stacey was just beginning to train when she realized she had some unusual back pain. After various doctor visits it was decided she couldn't run the half. But instead of giving up the large registration fee, her husband Mike decided to run it for her. Mike is a much faster runner than I am and I didn't know if I would be running with my friend and her dad because I didn't know if our pace was similar. I thought I would be running this fun run solo but then Mike said he didn't want to run it fast and offered to pace me. So I set out for a sub 2:00 goal.

RACE DAY:

The race was set to begin at 5:45am. My earliest race ever! My alarm went off at 3:00am. Luckily our hotel was directly across the street from Disneyland so we didn't have far to go. I was in the hotel lobby at 3:30 eating a yogurt and by 4:15 we were over in the staging area. At 5:00 we made a long walk to the corrals.

Bright and early in the staging area

Announcers getting everyone pumped

Ava made me good luck wings so I could fly! Luv her!

That sub 2:00 goal lasted until we got to the starting line. I was assigned to corral A but my sister was assigned to corral B. You can go back but not forwards so I was going to go back to B. But then they announced that all guys had to be in at least corral C (it went to corral E)(this was a women's focused event). We were told that there were 22,000 registrations but I read in articles that there were 17,000 runners. I'm not sure of the real numbers but it was a ton of people. After talking to a few seasoned Disney runners we realized that it was going to be tough keeping our goal pace at the beginning because of the number of people and also that they have a lot of entertainment along the course so people will stop and take photos. At that moment I knew I didn't really want to go for a PR. I wanted to enjoy this race and have fun. So instead of packing my camera in a belt I decided to carry it on my wrist and have fun along the way.

While in the corrals they had huge jumbotrons to watch and the announcers announced two celebrity runners in our midst. Megyn Price from Rules of Engagement (jer and i love that show) and Sean Astin from Goonies, Rudy & Lord of the Rings. Jer actually watched Megyn Price give an interview the day before. But anyways...I thought that was pretty cool.

In our corral passing the time

Walking forward as they release each corral

Finally the start time came and went and they released corral A. Then corral B. Then it was our turn.

Tinker Bell made an appearance to send everyone on their way

And then she was gone

And we were off!

Now remember some of the pics are going to be blurry. It is a race you know!

They had a ton of things to look at along the way. In the parks they had characters and parade floats where you could stop and have a professional actually take your picture. I never waited in any lines for a picture but did snap a few as I ran by. This is the Tangled float.

Making our way up Main Street in Disneyland.

At the medical tent (mile 9ish). I desperately needed Vaseline for my underarms. Dang Tinker Bell outfit.

Running on the streets of Anaheim. Making our way back to California Adventure. The streets were lined with tons of spectators, cheerleaders and bands from various high schools, a military band and other dance groups. It definitely helped to keep you moving.

I'm all smiles now, but after mile 9 I started to feel fatigue. At the start of the race we were running about a 11 to 12 minute pace because of all the people. Plus I kept stopping for pictures. And a few bathroom breaks. But by midway Mike realizes we might be able to make up time if I pick up the pace. Uh OK. A few times I realized we were running in the 7's but he mostly kept me at 8:35. At one point Mike said, "If we go all out for the last few miles we might have a shot of getting close to your goal." I laughed and said, "I'm already going all out!" After mile 10 I just couldn't do that pace much longer. Plus I knew it would be really hard to get under 2 and I didn't want to kill over. So you will see my smile disappear.

Running the streets of California Adventure. I don't really remember much of it. :) I was tired.

Looking for that finish

Mike easily ran ahead of me to get his picture taken. He ran this run like he was sleeping. UGH! I wanted to slap him at times. He was a great pacer keeping me motivated and taking care of me.

Look at that crowd! It was amazing to see so many spectators that far back from the finish line.

Goofy and Pluto were cheering me on at the finish line!

Ahhh I did it. Looks like I'm gonna say the F word, but I didn't. :)

I don't even think Mike broke a sweat

Even though I didn't make my initial goal....hey with 17,000 runners to zig zag around, 2 bathroom breaks, 1 medical tent stop, I think my time was pretty darn good. Oh and having Mike around was great. Not only was he a great pacer, he was my own personal photographer along the way. Thanks Mike for all the great pics!

Oh and my friend and her dad that I recruited from my old town in California? I didn't see them at all. They did really good though. Their finish time was just a minute after ours.