Monday, September 9, 2013

2013 Disneyland 10K

If you missed my recaps of the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Expo, check them out here:

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Despite the fact that my feet were still aching from the day before, I woke up on Saturday morning ready to run a 10K! (I loved that I didn’t have to wake up quite as early as a WDW race…and I walked to the start line – no busses! Yay!)

My outfit was ready to go and I brewed a cup of tea while I got dressed. Thankfully, I brought along a few bags of tea because the Grand Californian did not include tea with their coffee selection as the Wilderness Lodge had in January.

Disneyland 10K 1Disneyland 10K

Ready to run a 10K!

I met up with Team runDisney and Scott (my Coast 2 Coast running buddy) outside the Disneyland Hotel before the race.

Team runDisney Disneyland 10K

After a quick TrD photo (which came out way dark…bummer), we made our way to the family reunion area, where I ran into this girl…

Karen and Jen

It’s Jen from Hello Fitness…We Meet Again! I was excited to see her again as we also ran into each other at the Expo the day before.

We said our goodbyes and good lucks, then continued on our journey to our corral.

Before long, we came to a dead stop. When I say dead stop, I mean…not a soul was moving.

Disneyland 10K 3

Thousands of runners were bottlenecked into one area, with metal guards holding us from walking to the corrals. We found out that the 5K started later than expected, so there were issues with getting runners where they needed to go. As time drew closer for the race start, people grew quite unhappy. Some even became angry with the security guards who would not let us through the gates. Others chose to jump the gates or open up an area to walk through. Thankfully (with only 15 minutes to spare), someone finally opened up the gates and let us all through. It was as if the flood gates opened, everyone making a mad dash to their corrals. I’m still not quite sure the reasoning behind holding us for so long, but it happened. I made it to my corral on time and I hope everyone else did as well.

Karen and Heather

On our walk to the corral, look who I ran into! It’s Heather from Heather’s Looking Glass! Our hello, good luck, and good bye was rushed because we were attempting to make it into our corrals on time.

Disneyland 10K Corral

Whew. We made it with only moments to spare (they were singing the National Anthem as we walked in)!

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…and they’re off!

The start of the race brought us outside of the Disneyland area, where we passed several Good-Neighbor hotels.

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Disneyland 10K Twerking Miley Sign

Best. Race. Sign. Ever. Seriously loved this guy!!

Disneyland 10K Mile 2

Mile 2 brought us around the “backstage area” of California Adventure.

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The backside of Radiator Springs Racers!

Disneyland 10K Cars Land

We ran through Cars Land…

Disneyland 10K Cars Land 2

…then out into California Adventure Park.

Disneyland 10K California Adventure

I loved that the water/lights of World of Color were on for us! So much fun!

Disneyland 10K Woody and Jessie

Back in the Paradise Pier area of CA, we ran into Woody and Jessie! Hi friends! :0)

Disneyland 10K Paradise Pier Area

Running through Paradise Pier.

Disneyland 10K Characters

In The Golden After….I mean Morning, we found a few flowers to say hello to! It WAS a Wonderland theme, after all! :0)

Disneyland 10K California Adventure 2

We reached Mile 3 after running through the Golden State area near Grizzly River Run.

Disneyland 10K Mile 3

More flowers at Mile 3! :0)

Disneyland 10K California Adventure 3

Our next stop was the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, where we said hello to a few friends…

Disneyland 10K Costumes

This dude’s Russell costume was perfect! He was a good sport for pictures, too!

Disneyland 10K Monsters University

Kitty! The line to see the Monster’s U characters was the longest line by far, but it passed quickly and before we knew it, we were led out of California Adventure and back into the backstage area.

Disneyland 10K California Adventure 5

I laughed at this “hill” because I didn’t run beach or hill workouts with my running group this year like I should have. Oh well. I made it down and back up the “hill”. (Btw, anything that isn’t perfectly flat is a hill to me…it’s the curse of living where there are no hills at all!)

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 1

After running through more backstage area, we approached the entrance to Disneyland Park.

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park

Love this!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 2

Hello Main Street!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 4

I was shocked to hear Main Street so quiet and open! I guess I’m used to WDW where crowds line the street…and cramped quarters because of so many runners. I didn’t like the quiet, but I did like the openness of the street!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 5

Had to stop for a picture with the Partners Statue and Castle!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 6

As we reached Mile 4, we approached Tomorrowland and the Matterhorn.

Disneyland 10K Mile 4

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 7

I told Scott it would have been cool if the Matterhorn or California Screaming were in operation – then he could say he had a TRUE Coast 2 Coast experience! (He rode Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom during the WDW Full Marathon back in January.)

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 8

It’s a Small World! (I always hear Stacey’s voice from the WDW Must Do Disney channel when I see Small World….sorry if that’s stuck in your head now, too!)

Disneyland 10K Wonderland Cards

As we passed Small World, we stopped for pictures with a few Cards from Alice In Wonderland. Thankfully, they didn’t make us march…or pain the roses red! When we left them, the Red Heart said, “Win the Race!” I laughed and said…“Yeah, cause I’m trying so hard!” Hah!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 9

The conductor of this train waved to us as we passed!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 10

Whoops…

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 11

Parade floats were set up in the backstage area of Disneyland.

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 12

They even had a Christmas float, complete with music! :0) Happy day for me!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 13

I loved that the custodians were lining the street to cheer us on! So sweet of them!!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 14

As we ran back into Disneyland park, we passed into Toon Town.

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 15

Daisy and Clarice were there to say hello, and I got in trouble by Daisy for not standing on the curb….as in, she got out of line to come shoo me onto the curb! Hilarious!!

Disneyland 10K Daisy and Clarice

Too cute!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 16

Couldn’t miss a photo with Dumbo…I was running Dumbo’s Challenge after all!

Disneyland 10K Alice and Mad Hatter

Alice and the Mad Hatter were at Mile 5 and they didn’t even offer us a spot of tea…or wish us a very merry un-birthday!

I spotted two lovely ladies as we were waiting in another character line….Mary and Crystal!

Disneyland 10K Mary and Crystal

Funny story about them – during the WDW Half in January, I spotted them twice on the course (which is insane because there were so many people). At the DL Expo, I told both of them that I would see them somewhere during the race and we all laughed as in “yeah right”. Well, it happened….although their bright clothing made it a little easier to see! Haha!

Disneyland 10K Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were up to their usual shenanigans!

We ran through the castle (which was so fast I don’t have pictures of) and out to Frontierland. 

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 18

We saw Chip and Dale but didn’t stop for a photo because the line was growing long and we were ready to finish this race.

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 19

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 20

The course led us through Fronteirland and out to the backstage area once again.

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 21

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 23

I loved that so many Cast Members were out to cheer us on!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 22

After crossing through the front entry area of the park, we were in Downtown Disney.

I spotted Jason before he spotted me!

Disneyland 10K Finish Line

Almost finished….

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 24

…and done! I think our official time was 1 hour and 34 minutes but I can’t remember exactly. We both run a little faster than that on our own, but as you can see above – we played around most of this race. I love Disney and Characters so much, I have a very hard time taking Disney races seriously! :0) Scott is such a good sport, he doesn’t seem to mind my character obsession!

Disneyland 10K Disneyland Park 25

Looks as if Joey finished right before us!

Disneyland 10K Wrist Bands

After receiving a 10K medal, all Dumbo participants were asked to stop by the Dumbo tent for a wrist band. This wristband allowed workers the following day (after the half) to know that participants completed both races. It was more or less a honor thing – they didn’t want to give out Dumbo medals to those who didn’t actually earn them. Completely understandable! :0)

We received our medals, wrist bands, and food, then met up with Jason at the staging area for a few pictures!

Disneyland 10K Staging Area

Scott and I had to take a medal photo for our running group - they were all cheering us on back at home!

Disneyland 10K Medals

On our walk back to the hotel, I stopped by Mile 6 for a “spot of tea”. :0)

Disneyland 10K Mile 6

The food box contained a few different items than the snack box we received in January, but I liked it!

Disneyland 10K Food Box

I especially enjoyed the blueberry snack package! So yummy!

A few thoughts on the 1oK (staring with bad first because this was such a fun race, I want to end on a positive note!):

  • My only complaint – there were not enough water stops on this course (water was every 2 miles, and there were no gatorade stops). With the hot/humid Cali temps, there needed to be more water stops and at least one electrolyte stop. I run in that type of weather most of the year and we always have water/gatorade at least every mile and a half. Scott and I even stopped at water fountains along the course – and we noticed that some water fountain lines were as long as the lines for characters! I don’t usually drink electrolytes after I finish a race, but I drank an entire bottle after the 10K. runDisney was made aware of the water/electrolyte issue and I was told that it will be fixed for future races.
  • I absolutely LOVED this 10K course! We stayed in the parks 80% of the time and I really enjoyed seeing backstage areas of CA and DL parks.
  • runDisney placed just enough characters in the 10K to make this a super fun experience!
  • The 10K distance was the perfect amount of time to me – my feet weren’t killing me by the end of the race and I was able to take my time and enjoy seeing the parks/characters. It wasn’t over as fast as a 5K and didn’t last as long as a Half. I think it’s my new favorite Disney race distance! :0)

Please note: this was runDisney’s first EVER 10K. For that, I’d say they get a gold star! It was a fabulous race and I had a great time!! :0)

Overall, I had a fantastic experience with the Disneyland 10K and it helped make me even more excited for the Glass Slipper Challenge in February! I can’t wait to run another!! :0)

Did you run the Disneyland 10K? What were your thoughts on the race?

30 comments:

  1. Sounds awesome Karen! 10K would be a perfect distance for me too...if I didn't have the urge to do the 1/2 the following day! LOL. I'm guessing there won't be a time that I choose to JUST do the 10K, but I could be wrong. ;) LOVE all the pics, and the Alice theme. I might just have to head to DL at some point!

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    1. It was not near as bad as Goofy! Seriously...I thought, "Now THIS is doable!" :0) Disneyland is so much fun! You would love it!

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  2. Looks like a great race! My first Disney 10K wont be till the GSC in Feb!

    So odd that Disney did the 5k and 10K on the same morning ( am I understanding that correctly)?

    Kind of a shame that those participating in the Dumbo challenge didn't have the opportunity to earn that extra medal ( or should I say medallion) for the 5k too!

    Glad you had a great race! Thanks for sharing. You documented it well. I hope I am coordinated enough to take some pics in wdw while I run!

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    1. Yes they did it on the same day, but I've been told that won't be the case again. It was too crazy from what I was told! You're going to love the GSC! So much fun!!

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  3. I am pretty sure they were holding us out of the corrals because the 5k started late and there were still 5k runners going through part of the course, but I could be wrong. Great recap, glad you spotted me before the race!

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    1. That's what I heard someone say! Glad we got to meet up!

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  4. I really loved this course, too! I passed a guy in Paradise Pier drinking a can of beer! (I smelled the beer before I got to him) Was so good to see you again before the race started :)

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    1. Okkkk....wow. That's early! LOL Was great to see you as well!! :0)

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  5. Looks like an all around awesome time! Loving the pics!

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  6. That's why I take pictures, I can't remember everything like you do!! And I really thought I was losing it because I didn't remember stopping at the mile 6 sign for tea... Thanks for explaining that one.

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    1. Hahha Scott! You aren't losing it, I just take too many pictures! :0)

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  7. I love your photos, it looks like you had so much fun out there!! I ran the 10K too and generally loved the experience. The course was perfect, and I enjoyed all the photo ops they had set up. The only complaints I would really have are not enough water stops (so glad I carried my own!!) and the walk to the corrals was a zoo. Otherwise, I think runDisney did a great job with their first 10K!

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  8. What a fun race recap!
    I LOVE all the pictures!!!

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  9. “Win the Race!” - LOVE THAT! I about died when I read it.

    I didn't even think about Main Street being quiet, now that you say it, it was a little weird!

    Having the rides on would've been totally cool, I agree! Let's put that in the survey for next year :)

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    1. They were cracking me up!! I was so shocked by the quietness of it all! Still loved it and still a magical moment despite the quiet! :0)

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  10. Other than the stressful start, it sounds like an awesome race! I've never done a Disney race- but hopefully some day!

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  11. We had to do the mad dash to the start too. Even on Sunday not all the runners made it into A corral before the start. I guess maybe they were too small for the number of runners?

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    1. I heard that! I was thinking the same thing...perhaps the corrals themselves weren't large enough! Crazy!

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  12. oh my gosh...even just the snack box is amazing. seriously, though, so jealous of this whole thing!

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  13. Great that you could walk there, but crazy about the corals. With living in the flat south I consider wheel chair ramps hills. I feel your pain.

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  14. Great pics! I saw your facebook post of Joey Fatone photobombing you earlier, that is so cool!

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    1. Haha! It was funny and happened so fast! That was during the half so those pics will be up sometime this week! :0)

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  15. It was such a fun race!!! You got some great pictures!! Haha - and yes I have Stacey / it's a small world stuck in my head now! :)

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