Last week, I had the privilege of traveling and running the Disney Half Marathon with my daughter Bianca. And like any event, we both tackle the challenges and the experience of her completing her first half. But in a very different kind of insane approach.

We arrived a day early to pick up our bid, get a few pictures, and, most importantly, take advantage of the large Runner’s Expo. A few years back, it was an impressive Expo, and this year was no different. After making a fast-moving line, we picked our bibs and found a few areas to take pictures. We walked to the expo area in a different building to pick our running shirts and walk around the booth area.

I had the opportunity to try the recovery boots from Therabody, a 20-minute session. It was really nice, as I tried the “wireless” that holds the air pump at the end near the foot. My complaint about those is that they were too heavy and had a tendency to put uncomfortable weight on your feet. But going back to the Expo, I sat for 20 minutes while Bianca was able to spend time looking around and picking up a few goodies as well as testing a few things.

We spent some time talking to the transportation help desk, and they were very helpful in discussing the different options and times that runners and expectations needed to be aware of. We decided to drive to the event and not use the buses that were available to us. That way, we were going to be able to control the timing of going to the event better, as well as heading back to the hotel since we were planning to visit the park after the event.

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From there, we also walked to the next building, where they had merchandise from Disney related to Marathon Weekend and Run Disney. Unfortunately, although they had plenty of different options when it came to size, they only had mostly XL and XXL stuff. So, there was not really anything for us to buy, which was a little bit of a bummer.

After dinner, we decided to head back to the hotel to get an early night’s sleep, given that we were going to wake very early in the morning. The weather was calling for early morning rain and wind, nothing we had not encountered on training and fun runs in the past, so we were not too concerned about it. We all had everything ready for the early 3:00 AM heading out time.

Around 8:00 PM, Bianca started to frantically text me to alert me to an email with a message regarding the event that went out to all participants. The message stated that due to the upcoming weather conditions as they transformed into thunderstorms in the early morning, a couple of critical changes to the event. 1st there a was a change to the start time about 15 minutes earlier start. No biggie, we were planning to be super early anyway. But the second one was a little bit disappointing. There were a couple of changes to the course, shortening it to only 7.1 miles, 6 miles shy of the 13.1 needed for a half marathon. This forced the new route to skip the visit to the Magic Kingdom, which is one of the iconic reasons runners do the Half or the Full Marathon at Disney.

You can imagine the disappointment, given that we were making this event her 1st iconic Half marathon for her.

NOW WHAT?

We at InsaneRunning do not let simple changes discourage us from pursuing our goals. This time, it was not going to be any difference. Since the main goal (Goal A) was to complete a half marathon, we quickly formulated a plan to head out a little bit earlier than planned. We quickly started running at the parking entrance area to cover as many of the missing miles as possible and any remaining distance. We would figure out during the event, either by backtracking every so often to try to add enough to make it so that when we cross the finish line, we will have completed the 13.1 distance to call it a half and earn that medal. Bianca was on board.

In the morning, I had a latte from Instant Espresso with hot oatmeal cereal. The event parking location is at the front entrance of Epcot, so plenty of ways to be able to zig-zag or go around. As soon as we both got out of the vehicle and with our watches already on and GPS ready, we headed out to cover as much distance as possible.

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Mile 1-6: Very uneventful easy miles. It is not necessary at a slow pace, but still at a conversational pace. The temperature was awesome; although humid, the cooler temperatures made running very pleasant. We were getting a very slight breeze that also helped us. We were running a .70-mile loop that covered the parking lot and walking area to get into the queue to the entrance to the race. So we passed a lot of other runners and spectators every loop as they headed to the start/finish area. Looking at many people dressed like the different Disney characters

We started running at a slightly faster pace than needed around the third loop but quickly adjusted and eased the pace, keeping an eye on the time and the pace. We talked to a few runners who were also trying to cover some distance before the event. Our main worry was that the crew was not going to allow us to run in the parking area due to safety, but it seems that they were used to and it was not a problem. We basically covered close to 5.25 miles on that section before we decided to start heading toward the starting corrals, with the hopes of covering the remainder .75 miles needed by backtracking while on the course.

On the way to the starting corrals, we saw another group of runners trying to add mileage on a .2 loop. Since we had a little time left, we decided to run that loop a few times, allowing us to cover the final .75 distance needed and reducing the stress and worry of covering the missing distance during the event. We were able to complete the six missing miles before the start of the event, and we were feeling good about that.

At the corrals, we talked to a few running, and in addition to us, there were a few others who looked like they had warmed up or covered some distance prior to the event. We saw another set of runners dressed like Pooh and Tigger. Did I mention that we were also Pooh and Tigger? Olaf was ahead of us, waiting to start, perhaps hoping he would not melt. We took our gel for fuel to make sure we had the energy to cover the remainder of the distance at the event.

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Miles 7-12: Now for the official shortened event. It was phenomenal to start with the fireworks and the fantastic amount of runners. Bianca did phenomenally, running at a steady, easy pace. Moving and passing plenty of runners. It was so awesome to see all the stops and have the opportunity to take pictures with the characters. Also, listening to the High School band and cheerleaders was great. The aid stations were phenomenal; we were grabbing a couple of water and sometimes three cups. It was already a little bit warm, and with the humidity, we really needed to stay hydrated to make sure we had a great event.

There were a couple of quick turns in the adjusted course that we were able to handle easily. We started to head back to Epcot Park, and fortunately, the new route was taking us around the different country pavilions instead of the short course just around the sphere of progress, which was not part of the original course. As we were closing in on the entrance, we were still able to see the last few waves of runners heading from the starting line. They still had 7 miles to go. There is no Magic Kingdom, but it’s great to run the whole Epcot park.

Just starting the England Pavillion, we made a quick stop to snap a picture with Pooh Bear. That was one of the must-do items for us, as we did not stop at any other photo opportunities with other characters.

We started to notice the photo opportunities while running, and we tried to jump in front of as many as we could. At one time, there were two other runners who complained that we got into the frame of the picture, and it seems that they were frustrated, given the number of runners in this section, which was a little bit narrow compared to the open roads.

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Mile 13 to finish: The final stretch, a few turns; we pressed on the pace as we passed the choir that was receiving the runners as we were turning into the final stretch towards the finish line. It was amazing to finish the event with Bianca, her 1st Half Marathon. My wife and Bianca’s boyfriend Calvin were also there at the finish line to join in the huge celebration. As we celebrated and grabbed a runner’s snack box, banana, and water, the rain started to pour down.

After returning to the hotel, feeling very accomplished, we carried our medal to the Magic Kingdom for a great photo to celebrate the accomplishment. Later that day, we also celebrated Bianca’s birthday. Actually, we celebrated her birthday multiple times!!!!

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Month/Year	Event	Location	Type	Time
Jan-24	Disney Half	Fl	Half	–:–:–

Event Highlights:

Course: The original and the shortened ones were on ample roads right from the start, but with over 16k runners and the shortened distance, there was not enough distance to thin out the running crowds.

Venue: At Epcot, there were plenty of bathrooms and seating areas to rest before and after the event. At the finish line area, a few food trucks with plenty to drink and snacks. At the start, they had self-serve water stations which were phenomenal.

Expo: It was a Phenomenal Expo, but given that we were going on the third day of the expo, there were a few items missing or not in the right size. But a great variety of products and vendors.

Weather: Overcast skies, pre-dawn, so it was dark and windy. Mid 40ºs with high humidity.

Fueling:

Pre-Race: 1 serving of Hot Cereal, latte, 60 minutes before the start (The pre-run).

Race: Water and Poweraid at the aid stations and one Maurten gel prior to the start of the second stage.

Post: Some snacks.

Learning Points:

• Running with daughter when she is going after big achievements – PRICELESS!!!
• Not everything goes as planned. Always have alternatives in mind and a clear perspective of the objectives.