Disneyland Arrival and 10k

Hey guys! I hope you all had a relaxing Labor Day weekend. I returned Sunday night from another amazing trip to the West Coast. I participated in the 10th Anniversary of the Disneyland Half-Marathon and my third completion of the Dumbo Double Dare (including the 10k for a total of 19.3 miles) over the weekend. Let' get started with the arrival and the 10k race on Saturday!

Day 1: Arrival

We arrived shortly after 10pm on Friday night. Just a little tip, fly into the John Wayne Airport in Orange County if you can! The airport is smaller and less crowded plus it's only like 15 minutes away from Disneyland as compared to the 45-50 minutes from LAX (not including traffic). The trip was uneventful but very draining after getting up early then work followed by the airport (which had to include a running sequence to make our connecting flight in Atlanta). All nerves seemed to be calmed once we checked into the beautiful Grand Californian Hotel and made our way outside to Downtown Disney. 
 

We purchased some delicious treats, in Disney you must try the wide array of caramel apples plus how cute are the Halloween decorations?! After getting settled, it was only a few hours until the alarm went off for the 10k! My favorite West Coast running buddy, Laurie, and I had decided to do matching costumes for the weekend and today was Mouseketeer day with a 60th Anniversary twist. Laurie picked up some amazing, sparkly ears for our costumes and they were a hit!
 

Day 2: Disneyland 10k After meeting in the lobby and saying our much anticipated hellos we put on our ears and headed to the start line. That's when we noticed that actor Sean Astin (yes, Rudy himself) walking out. Of course we had to get a pic! He does lots of runDisney races and he could not be a nicer guy. I just couldn't tell him that my favorite film of his is not Rudy. Or Lord of the Rings. It is actually 50 First Dates (remember he was Drew Barrymore's bro). After our celeb encounter we made it to our corrals with ease. Getting to the start is so much easier at Disneyland races than Disney World. It literally takes maybe 10 minutes.

 

The Disneyland 10k is easily the best runDisney race. It is a shorter distance than a half but more than a 5k but easy to train for. The race is also almost completely in the parks so I feel like you get your money's worth. We were in the third corral so we got started pretty early and right away I could tell it was a bit humid. Doing these races, take your time, look at the sights and above all TAKE PICTURES! You are paying over $100 for these races, get what you paid for. There were TONS of photo opportunities and characters out at both races this year which was really impressive

 

No matter what coast, entering the park and running down main street is always magical and definitely a highlight. It makes the sweating, training and race fee seem worth it. Try to think of that when you set your sights on completing a race!

 

For as many times as we stopped, our time actually was pretty decent. If you are doing both races, do not use up all your energy on the 10k. You know you will be walking around the parks later plus running a 10k that morning equals tired legs for the half. I highly suggest the run/walk/run method and the 30/30 interval for challenge races. I LOVED the medal! So spooky and even though it didn't really go with the theme (not exactly sure what it was...) the Villains idea was a hit during the weekend!

 

After the race, we decided to hit the parks. I didn't take my own advice to rest...but hey how many times are you in Disneyland?!

 

The best part of "runcations" is you don't feel guilty about all the snacks. It's called carbo-loading, right? Yes, there is such a thing as a Churro Ice Cream Sandwich (found in Downtown Disney) and it is exactly how you would expect it to taste. Amazing.  

 

My favorite of the weekend had to be the 60th Anniversary cupcake. It was a light lemony cake with a raspberry type filling topped with buttercream frosting. I only had a few bites but it was a definite must-try! The rest of the day was spent playing in the parks, watching college football and last-minute costume details oh and not worrying about the half the next day. I wasn't worried. Ok, maybe just a little. That race recap is coming up later this week so stay tuned!

Happy Racing!

xoxo,