Disclaimer: This is a very overdue blog post. I had started this last September when I came back from my trip and then things came up like planning my best friend’s shower and a whole bunch of life events and I forgot to finish this up. But better late than never, right?
I haven’t ran any races since the NYC Marathon in fall of 2023. The only ones I signed up for 2024 was the Disneyland Halloween Half because duh, Halloween! Being my favorite holiday and the Nightmare Before Christmas (my favorite Halloween movie) being part of the theming, how could I not? Plus it was an opportunity to go back to California, Disneyland and attend another Oogie Boogie Bash! I attended one 3 years ago (you can read about it on this old blog post) and I absolutely loved it. Plus Disneyland really does do Halloween parties better and let’s be real, I just wanted to go back and see Ernesto de la Cruz again because damn, he is so dreamy. So of course, I signed myself up for this.
This race weekend was my first Disneyland race weekend but also the first Halloween themed one ever for Disney. It was similar in structure to all the other half marathon weekends; consisting of a sunrise yoga, a 5k, a 10k and a half so 4 days in total of events. There were some similarities and differences, as well as pros and cons. And of course, I signed up for all 4 events. Oh yeah, there were also kid races, which obviously is the only event I did not participate in because obviously not a kid, lol. Well, physically, that is.
SUNRISE YOGA
I signed up for the sunrise yoga because I always love doing this before the start of a race weekend, even if it is an overpriced early morning event. I still love it. There’s something so calming and special about it right before the race weekend ramps up. And this time I got to experience it at Sleeping Beauty’s castle. Their check-in process for some reason felt a little inefficient with their one line system, because despite lining up at 3am (when it opened), it took much longer to finally get our wristbands and actually get in to the park. By the time I was able to get in, unfortunately the front spots near the castle were all taken up so we ended up with spots on Main street instead. It was still a nice view, but it would have been nice to get a castle view. Yoga began on time at 5am and lasted for about an hour. I liked that at this one, they had a few instructors placed at several points throughout the event, instead of one instructor leading the entire group and you had to depend on looking around the crowd to see if you had the pose down correctly like at Disney World. After yoga ends, there’s always a mad rush to the front of the castle for the stereotypical castle picture, and of course, I am JUST LIKE ALL THE OTHER GIRLS, lol. We grabbed some quick photos around the Mickey pumpkin too and then went back to our room to relax for a little bit since the park doesn’t officially open till 8am anyway.
That same day was also the first day of the fitness expo and bib pick up. We grabbed breakfast in the park, did some rides and photos and then headed over to the expo around noon to grab my bibs before retiring to the room for a nice afternoon nap since LA was in the middle of a heatwave that week (of course, great timing, a heat wave during a race weekend🙃). The temps peaked at 106°F so I figured it was safest to rest in our rooms during that time instead. We came back out for dinner later that evening when it was much cooler and there was more shade so it was much more bearable. I did some more rides before calling it a somewhat early night because I had to be up the next 3 mornings at 3am for all the races.
Luckily, despite the heat wave, the races start at 5am when the temps are much more bearable in the 70s. There was one con though, for some reason, the humidity was at an all time high, despite California usually being desert weather, and ironically this humidity went away during the day but then you had to fight the rising temps so there was just no winning.
The 5K
This ended up being my favorite course to run this weekend! And that’s not because the distance was short, lol. This was the first time I ever started a race INSIDE the park. Disney World has all their races starting in the Epcot parking lot for logistical reasons since their number of runners is so high, I imagine. At first I wonder how they were going to pack us all in there but it worked out. Security went smoothly and I was in the parks, with even a moment to spare for a photo at the Mickey pumpkin before getting into my corral fairly quickly. I assume the number of 5k participants are much less than a Disney World race to be able to get us all in Main Street for the start. The start line was at the hub, and went through a lot of the parks - you even got to run through the castle, no streets, and minimal backstage areas but even those were very fun to run through and see. And then we got to finish inside the park as well, and at the other park so you got to run through both! And my absolute favorite part happened right near the end, when I saw Luca and Alberto as a character stop with a short and very manageable line that moved quickly so I allowed myself to stop for a cute quick photo. I usually don’t stop for these photos because the lines can get insanely long and I don’t like to stop for too long and risk my legs locking up and also losing time. But the 5ks aren’t timed and I was already near the end. I got lucky because the photo came out super cute too. Oh yeah, that’s another great difference between Disneyland and Disney World races. All your race photos were included complimentary for this race weekend, whereas in Disney World you have to purchase Memory Maker, which is usually an additional $200 cost. So you KNOW I hammed it up and took advantage of every photopass I could spot and passed on the course.
The 10K
The 10K was also an amazing route! The first mile was running through the streets and by the second mile we were in the parks up til mile 5. Honestly, just the first and last mile was outside the parks and I’m not mad about it. I love that they had the mayor and his car stationed along the route too. This route didn’t seem grueling at all since so much of it is spent running through the parks. I really love this aspect of Disneyland races versus Disney World 10ks which can feel long because a lot of it is on the road after leaving Epcot before getting to Hollywood and then trying to get back to Epcot. The 10k starts and finishes in the same spot, outside of the park and ends just in time for the parks to open up. After the 10k, I took a nap and relaxed for the rest of the day. I got up around late afternoon to do a quick group shoot with Crowned Athletics before getting early dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen and settling in for the night. I laid out my outfit and packed everything else up that night since we had a flight to catch right after the half.
The Half Marathon
The half started and finished in the same place as the 10k. Luckily the hotel I chose was litterally a block away so it was very easy to get to and getting through security was easy peasy. Even getting into my corral was straightforward and quick, as opposed to Disney World where the start corrals are nearly a mile away from where the buses drop you off in the parking lot. Because of this ease of access to the corrals and starting areas, I didn’t have to rush or worry about transportation logistics like how you have to worry about getting on an early bus to get to Epcot on time. The hotel I chose in proximity to the start line and to the parks, was also very affordable, albeit being a no frills hotel.
This was the first runDisney race event in which I was in the last corral to start. I was a little worried but in the end, it wasn’t too bad. I made sure I was at the front of the corral, I trusted my training and ran as much as I could, but still slowed down and took a more conservative approach due to the heatwave. I ran through the parks continuously to give myself as much of a buffer from the balloon ladies and slowed down for a few walk breaks for the last few miles through the streets. After mile 5, everything was basically through the neighborhoods and streets which wasn’t as exciting but there were still a decent amount of cheer spots along the route. We got to run though Angel stadium, which was cool, although it would’ve been cool if they allowed spectators in to fill the stadium to cheer us on. The heat made it very hard to keep going as the sun crept up higher on the horizon on us but I remembered Jeff Galloway’s advice on keeping one foot right in front of the other and kept trudging on til the finish line was in sight. I was so happy to finally be at the end and dump water all over myself. Luckily they had plenty of cooling towels at the ready for everyone.
I grabbed my medals, made my way over the front gates of the parks to take quick medal photos as fast as I could before heading back to my hotel to shower and beeline it to the airport. I wish I had more time to stay an extra day and spend it in the parks for finisher photos but alas, PTO time is scarce and flights are expensive. If it wasn’t an issue, you know I would’ve stayed longer like I usually do post race.
Would I do this again? I would definitely love to come back and run Disneyland again, especially for Halloween. Unfortunately a trip to the West Coast requires more time and days off from work, and the flight itself is also cumbersome since heading home takes an entire day. For right now, I’m taking a break from running like I said in my last post, but when I’m ready to come back, I definitely would love to do Disneyland again.
I know I also said I’m retired from full marathons and it’s true, I am, but I also played with the idea of maybe going after another Dopey for my 40th birthday if I’m feeling ambitious. Who knows. I have the United Half on the horizon for 2027 if I can remember to do the qualifiers next year when they open up. I definitely do miss races as I watch all my friends crush it this year and I can’t wait to get back to them when I have more time and money.
