For starters, several resorts throughout Walt Disney property offer a fun run of some sort during the week. Saratoga Springs just so happens to offer their "Derby Dash" on Thursday mornings at 8 a.m. The cost is $15 and the distance is approximately 1.44 miles. The offerings with these runs are also different for each event, so check them out if you're interested. I've participated in one other resort fun run besides this one, and it was the Beignet Dash at Port Orleans French Quarter.
During our recent Princess Half Marathon vacation, we stayed at Saratoga Springs. This was our first time to stay at this resort and to be honest, I completely forgot that they offered a fun run during the week. Also, I heard through the grapevine that these fun runs were not operational during runDisney weekends, so I never even thought twice about it. Note to self: The Derby Dash does take place on "runDisney weekends" and I don't think a Thursday is considered a "weekend" for them.
The evening before the fun run, we received a voicemail to the phone in our room, "reminding" us of the Derby Dash the following day. Although I wasn't mentally prepared to run it, I had everything I needed (this was a runDisney trip, after all) and I'm never one to pass up an opportunity like this, so I set my alarm and planned on running it the following day! I figured since I was already physically there and I had no idea if I'd have this opportunity again, I might as well run it!
The race began at the Community Hall which was super easy to find. It was quite a bit of a hike from our room (about a 12 minute walk), but I made sure to leave in plenty of time.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and in order to register, you must see a cast member inside of the Community Hall. You can pay with your magic band if it's connected to a credit card which makes things super easy.
Saratoga Springs has the perfect layout for this race because the grounds of this resort are HUGE.We didn't even see the entire resort during our 1.4 mile run which is crazy to me!
At exactly 8 a.m., and with a quick "Call to Post" (a super cute touch), we were off!
This course was adequately marked and I never felt like I could have gotten lost. It was a fabulous way to see the layout of the resort, too!
My favorite part of this course was the running portion that took us by Disney Springs. It was so quiet and peaceful in the morning, too.
Almost done!
After crossing the finish line, each runner received a medal. There was also a table with water bottles, wash cloths, granola bars, bananas, and oranges.
I was so happy I decided to participate in this race! It was a very good way to see the resort, a nice shakeout run before the upcoming Fairy Tale Challenge, and I got "unexpected bling" out of the whole deal!
If you're on the fence about running this, I think you should. This race was a nice way to get a little "touch" of runDisney, especially if you happen to be there on a non-runDisney trip. It was also a great way to kick start the day!
Have you ever run a resort fun run at Walt Disney World? If so, which one and what did you think? Let me know in the comments below.
