Up until this point, the Disneyland 10K course was one of my favorite runDisney races. I loved the route and time spent in the parks, the characters, and the atmosphere! After the Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend though, the Tinker Bell 10K has now taken over as my favorite runDisney 10K!
Flat Pirate...uhh Karen ready for a grand adventure!
My friend Melissa and I were both on central/east coast time, so we
loved the laid back, later wake-up call, easy to access Disneyland
races. When I told Melissa that we didn't have to wake up until 4 a.m. for this race weekend,
she was so excited!
Getting to the corrals wasn't a difficult process (not like others I read about later)!We left the Disneyland Hotel around 4:45 a.m., passed through security, and were in our corrals shortly after.
Oh yes, and about Melissa's toy knife - we checked with security to make sure it was acceptable before bringing it into the race. According to the rules, as long as it looked like a toy, it was ok...and security agreed, so we were good to go!
We passed the time by taking a few goofy pictures! :)
It was so much fun running a Tinker Bell themed race dressed as Captain Hook and Peter Pan!
Before long, we were off and running!
This race course looped us around and behind Disneyland, then into the parks.
We saw several lost boys that were available for "selfies" (much like the previous day's 5K), which left me wondering if characters would be on this course at all. I'll admit, it left me highly annoyed.
Mile 2 hit and there was still no sign of characters. Don't get me wrong - I came to Disneyland for a fun race weekend with my friend and for the pink Coast to Coast medal...everything else was just icing on the cake. However, I do love seeing characters along the course and stopping for those I like - it's what makes a Disney race a Disney race! I also feel like it's kind of what you pay for with runDisney races but ok...that point could be argued too.
As we continued to loop in and out of the parks, we started watching costumes and pointing out our favorites. This guy happened to see that I was taking a picture and he wanted to be included in it....hehe!
We stopped by the train station and a super nice cast member took our picture. I later noticed that he was wearing a blue "legacy" cast member badge...he sure lived up to it because he really was awesome (we saw him a few more times throughout the weekend).
What's a race with Captain Hook and Peter Pan without a duel?! :)
Side note: If I never hear the song "Following the Leader" from Peter Pan ever again, I'll be 100% ok. I think that song is now burned into my brain!
Random pirate people were also located throughout the parks, yelling random things at runners.
One set of pirates cracked me up - they saw me coming so they started jumping up and down saying "Look! It's the Captain!" Then they asked what they should do as they were confused...so I told them they were doing an awesome job just standing there and shouting at people, and they were like "huh?". It was a funny interaction!
Mile 3 came and so did the first character stop.
Some say this was a "last minute" add in due to the feedback runDisney received from the 5K the day before. Personally, I was just happy to see characters!
The line seemed long but it wasn't anything compared to the line I waited in for Gaston during the PHM in February. Honestly, these lines seemed WAY more manageable vs the lines at the Princess Half Marathon weekend!
We definitely couldn't pass up the first opportunity! It was Captain Hook and Mr. Smee!
Running through the castle was a much different experience in Disneyland, too! Also, instead of running up Main Street, we ran down Main Street!
The next stop was Pirate Donald, so we hopped in line!
So cute!
Up next was California Adventure!
These races were my only chance to "visit" California Adventure during our trip, so I enjoyed taking it all in.
Here's an example of one of those "selfie" spots I mentioned earlier - Peter Pan and Wendy were high up behind a gate and were mostly waving to runners as they passed by. We were also strongly encouraged not to stop for long periods of time. Kinda silly if you as me but ok whatever...
Last but not least were Pirate Chip & Dale just outside of Soarin! We waited maybe 5 minutes in line and were on our way once again.
Cars Land was very neat to see again - and the sun was rising as we passed through which made it extra magical!
After "following the leader" a bit more, we looped out of California Adventure and on to the finish line!
The usual water, powerade, food boxes, and bananas were waiting for us after we crossed the finish line and received our medals.
Although I was super hungry after running this race, I didn't bother with the food box. Instead, I knew that a bin of Mickey waffles were waiting on me! Yes please!
We ended our morning with the best breakfast ever, followed by a picture of us with our medals! :)
As a whole, I really enjoyed this race! I loved the course, the characters, and the overall experience!
Have you ever run the Tinker Bell 10K? What were your thoughts on the race?
For a recap of all of our race weekend fun, check out the links below:
