2020 Rock n Roll New Orleans Expo

This past weekend, Rock n Roll held its annual New Orleans Marathon weekend . Despite being on the upside of an injury (and with a half a second of a thought to dropping to the 10K), my friend Melissa and I agreed to run/walk the half that we were initially registered for. 

We stayed at Hilton Riverside which was located right next door to the Ernest N Morial Convention Center (where the expo was being held). Don't let the "right next door" part fool you - this is a HUGE convention center and the walk was a rather long one!

A change that Rock n Roll has made within the past few years is the elimination of race waivers. You basically sign your online waiver when you register, so you don't need an extra paper in hand once you arrive. There's a mobile app where you can look up your bib number and then line up accordingly by bib number to pick up your packet. It's super easy and wastes less paper!

Rock n Roll also always has you walk the red carpet on your way to check in! What a fun touch!

Another fun touch this year was the addition of gold, green, and purple mardi gras beads! I love it when each race experience really hits on the cultural aspect of the area. So fun!

It wouldn't be a Rock n Roll Expo without the traditional Chocolate Milk finish line photo!

After picking up our bags and shirts, we made our way to the Brooks showroom floor to check out the merchandise this year.

My favorite were the light up number signs! (Not for sale, sadly.)

We spent a good 45 minutes or so here, looking through the merchandise and trying things on. I came away with a long sleeved finishers shirt (which I love) and a Rock n Roll New Orleans coffee mug. I've never purchased a coffee mug at their Expo because they weren't race authentic enough. Well, this one had purple, green, and gold insignias all over it so yes, it's now mine!

We made our purchases, then walked over to the Main Expo floor to check everything else out.

A super fun experience was put on at the Humana booth where my friend and I received matching "tattoos"!

Another fun "New Orleans" touch to this race experience were the multitude of Mardi Gras costumes, parade floats, and photo opportunities.

We definitely took advantage of them all!

Oh yes, and a giant crawfish...almost forgot about him!

I also registered for next year's Rock n Roll New Orleans half. If you register for the following year's events at the Expo, you can usually take advantage of special pricing and receive a free tshirt!

After leaving the Expo, we walked back over to our room to drop off our purchases, then made our way to the Riverwalk Mall for some beignets!

Although the "authentic" Cafe du Monde is located in the French Quarter, they do offer various locations throughout the city and this one happened to be inside of the Riverwalk Mall. It was super easy and convenient for us, so we went with it!

Watching them make the beignets was super fun, too! She literally scooped these up and tossed them in the fryer. (See instagram stories for footage!)

The remainder of our day was spent touring a plantation home located just outside of New Orleans and eating pizza at our favorite, Outlaw pizza. It was a fun day in all and ended with an early bed time for the runners.

Up next: Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon race reap!

Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend Expo 2019

 

Earlier this month, my friends and I participated in the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World. We visited the Expo on the second day of its opening to pick up our bibs, packets, and do a little shopping!

Something I love about runDisney is there's never a lack of signage or cast members to ask directions from. It makes everything super easy to navigate!

With this being the 10th year for the Wine & Dine Half, runDisney had the Expo all decked out with signage and celebrations!

I loved how they paid homage to the themes of all of the different Wine & Dine races since 2010!

I might have worn my "I did it" shirt from the very first Wine & Dine Half! I know this is going to sound silly, but this is a race I ran on the inaugural year, the 5th year, and now the 10th year. I kind of like that pattern and want to keep it up!

Our first stop after picking up our bibs was the runDisnney merchandise area!

Speaking of merchandise - visiting on the second day was interesting and always a little nerve racking because you never know what the hot ticket item will be and what will be sold out. This year, it was definitely the pins. I have a pin from every single runDisney race I've run and I never pre-purchase them. Well, I guess I will need to now because the only pins that remained for sale at the Expo were from the 5K. I also missed going to the after party at Epcot but I know they had a special edition pin there. Oh well.

The passholder merchandise also seemed to go pretty quickly but other than that, I can't think of anything else I saw that was missing or seemed to be out of stock. (If you know of something else that sold out quickly, please let me know!)
After navigating through the runDisney official merchandise area, we walked over to the Visa center to pick up our race shirts and browse through the rest of the expo. Since runDisney has moved out of this building, it's created a lot of extra room! I like it!

I loved all of the photo opportunities at the expo!

We quickly glanced through several booths but didn't purchase anything. I came super close to getting a travel sized BFF but decided against it. Maybe one day!

Our friends were waiting on us at Animal Kingdom (so was lunch), so we said goodbye the Expo for now...

...but not without a few pictures, first!
 

I mean, we just had to!

My little kids racer wasn't feeling it at all. He was tired and just wanted a nap!

Bye, Wide World of Sports! Until we meet again!

This race is on the smaller side when in comparison to Marathon Weekend and I love that about it! If you're looking at running your first runDisney event and are leery about the crowds, this would be a great race to start with! Don't get me wrong, it's still crowded but it's not marathon weekend level of crowds! 

Up next: The 10K! 

 

Wine and Dine Expo 

Wine and Dine 10K 

Wine and Dine Kids Races  

Wine and Dine Half Marathon

2019 Princess Half Marathon Weekend Expo Recap

Happy Monday, y'all! It's hard to believe that at this time last week, our Princess Half Marathon weekend races were over and we were off for our week of park adventures! Coming home from Disney is always a sad occasion, especially when parts of your travel party become sick (aka me)! Whomp whomp. This time, I came home with the lovely "Florida crud" as I like to call it. Thankfully, I had all Saturday to rest and recuperate which was nice. I'm still feeling bad, but not near as bad as Saturday!

For a full recap of the weekend, check out the additional links below:

• Princess Weekend Expo
• Enchanted 10K
• Princess Half Marathon & VLOG

 Anyway, kicking off my Princess Half Marathon Weekend recaps is one of the Expo itself!

Our plane landed around 9 a.m. on Friday, which afforded us the opportunity to take Magical Express to our resort, check in, then make our way to the Expo. Bonus, our room was ready not long after we arrived, so we were able to drop off our bags there, too!

Our first stop after arriving at ESPN was to pick up our race packets and shirts. I love Disney's system as it all flows smoothly and (usually) avoids giant crowds. (I was not there on opening day, so I can't vouch for those crowds!)

I also had to stop for a photo with the backdrop, too!

After picking up our bibs, we headed into the main expo floor for our shirts and to browse the vendors merchandise.

Although it looks massive, this expo was definitely smaller than 2018's Marathon Weekend expo.

I also loved the photo opportunities that were setup throughout the Expo. The Pandora booth had a really neat one, but I didn't stand in line to wait for it. You can see the pink tape on the floor all the way to the bottom left of this picture - that was the line for the Pandora picture!

I did snag this picture really quick, though!

After a short time of walking around the Expo, our little guy was OUT! Our early morning and the excitement of riding an air-pah-lane did him in!

After leaving the main expo floor, my dad agreed to wait with Brayden so he could rest and we could shop!

My mom, Jason, and I headed over to the runDisney merchandise building. Last time I was here for a race, this building was still under construction and I have to say that I love the new merchandise setup! No more waiting in a super long line to get in, the merchandise was evenly spread throughout the room, and I felt as if Disney provided plenty of merchandise for each race. The only things they were sold out of by the time I made it there was the Princess spirit jersey and one of the styles of Dooney purses.

I spent way too much money at the Expo (and was thankful for a DVC discount)! Sadly, I didn't get any pictures inside the Expo floor, but I did take lots of video so stay tuned for a recap coming up on my YT channel here soon!

Our next stop after the Expo was at Disney Springs for a late lunch/early dinner! We all wanted to eat at Earl of Sandwich as it had been several years since we'd been there!

This sandwich did NOT disappoint, y'all! Although they've taken the All American off the menu, you can still order it which made me happy for sure!

After our meal, we took a little time to browse the stores in Disney Springs. I always collect Disney ornaments from runDisney races I've run. I remembered the Days of Christmas store had a rack of pre-personalized ornaments for purchase in the past, but I wasn't prepared for what I found! It was Christmas ornament heaven, y'all! This section was filled with a variety of princess themed ornaments ranging from the 5K all the way through the Fairy Tale Challenge! I. Was. So. Excited!!!

After a fun-filled day at the Expo and Disney Springs, we returned to our resort so Brayden could play in the splash pad (which he LOVED)!

Stay tuned for more recaps from our Princess Half Marathon Weekend coming up throughout the next couple of weeks! Thanks for following along in our adventure!

Rock n Roll San Antonio Expo

This past weekend, I ran the Rock n Roll San Antonio Half Marathon in San Antonio, Texas. Although I've run numerous Rock n Roll races in the past, I'd never run this particular race and was excited to see a new (to me) city!

To be honest, I wasn't incredibly excited about this race because I'd been sick throughout the month of October with lingering bronchitis, wasn't able to train right, and every time I thought about running 13.1 miles after not having properly trained, I kind of panicked.

The expo was just what I needed to put me in the running spirit!

The Expo wasn't hard to find, but finding a parking spot was! We ended up in a pay by the hour garage. The expo was located inside the Henry B Gonzales Convention Center which was right above the River Walk.

This expo was very similar to all of the other Rock n Roll races I'd run.

Runners entered via the red carpet for check in and bib pickup, then made their way over to the tshirt/bag area.

We arrived about an hour and a half before closing time, so the expo was not crowded at all.

Of course, I had to take a picture with my bib at the "finish line"!

After browsing the official race merchandise (and purchasing a finisher shirt) we headed into the main expo floor. Before that though, I had to find my name on the list! Too bad these shirts were all sold out. Oh well!

It didn't take long for the excitement to hit! I couldn't believe I was about to run another half. This year of running was so much fun, and I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue my running journey!

However, I was nervous about the hills. Oh, the hills. I'd heard crazy stories about how unrelenting they were, so I knew I was in for a much slower half than normal and I was ok with that.

We literally stayed at the expo until almost closing. During our time there, we had the chance to see all kinds of vendors from The Stick (I convinced my sister in law to buy the hand held trigger point release...that thing is amazing!), One More Mile, The B.F.F., Flip Belt, and more! This Expo was on the medium-ish size and very close to that of Rock n Roll New Orleans.

We left excited and ready for another half marathon the following day!

Stay tuned for a recap of my race adventure throughout San Antonio!