Journey into RunDisney
by DreamFinder Travel Agent, Lori Lane
Have you ever wondered what all the hype about RunDisney is about? I know before I ran a race with them, I certainly did. I finally made the leap last year and competed in my first RunDisney event, the Happy Haunted 5K. This race takes place during the Tower of Terror 10 Miler weekend. It amazed me how many people traveled to WDW to just take part in a race! (Which is exactly what I had just done!) I was also tying in the race with a weekend getaway from my children, to enjoy some time with my husband with our best friends, all the while taking in Epcot’s Food & Wine Festival. We thought throwing in our first RunDisney event would be fun… Never did I think I would get hooked!
Now, I’m not a runner at all. I actually had to walk the race when I did it due to some recent surgery. My first introduction into RunDisney was at the Expo, which is held at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports. This is also where our race was going to begin the next morning. I couldn’t believe all the people here!!! There were so many, and all the booths selling REALLY cool running gear! The Expo is where you go to pick up your running packet, which contains your running number, t-shirt you get for participating and other freebies they throw in from the sponsors (these were things like a granola bar, fruit snacks, etc.). The 10 Miler’s weekend Expo didn’t seem to me to be as large and extensive as the half marathon and marathon weekend ones I’ve seen pictures of, but it was impressive to this newbie!
The next morning we woke up early for our first RunDisney race! We made our way over to Wide World of Sports. The place was all-abuzz and it was only 5:45AM, and the race wasn’t even scheduled to start until 7 a.m.! I remember being completely surprised at how many people were there, and ready to run. Disney does a great job with organizing these races. I have participated in a couple of 5K events locally for charity, and the organization at WDW was AMAZING. With everyone around you so excited, there is no way to not get yourself pumped up for the race you’re about to start.
Participating and finishing my first RunDisney Raced was SO MUCH FUN! So much so, that I am now hooked. I’ve already signed myself and my family up for the Jingle Jungle 5K in November of this year and hopefully it will become an annual tradition for our family, traveling to Walt Disney World during the Wine and Dine Weekend.
Have you ever wondered how you can make your own journey into running with RunDisney? My suggestion is to find one of the 5K events to start with. They aren’t timed runs, but more of a Family “Fun” run, where many of the participants do walk. If you are thinking to yourself, I can’t do a 5K, consider this—did you know that just walking around the Disney World theme parks in a regular park day visit can add up to much more than a 5K? I have worn a pedometer to see, and it was WAY more than 5K so you can do it too! The camaraderie of the participants is really great. I was speaking to many people as I was going along and there were characters around giving High Fives–it truly was fun. Everyone wants to make it to the finish! Disney even makes it easy to get to/from the events by having “preferred” race hotels where they provide transportation to/from the event. It’s a great way to spend a weekend at WDW!
If you would like more information on RunDisney Events, or would just like to secure a room for one of these or any other event, you can contact DreamFinder Travel (or Click Here) and we will be happy to help you with your Walt Disney World or Disneyland Hotel stay.
As co-owner and co-creator of The Main Street Mouse.Working in a technical support position for 18 years, it was time for a change.As the Webmaster and Project Planner, I spend most of my time researching everything from the latest Disney News, technology advances and of course keeping up on all the Marvel news that comes out.I never considered myself a writer but I’ve come to like blogging and sharing news with all.I feel blessed everyday that I get to spend my days working with my best friend and love of my life while we continue to grow and expand what started as a hobby all those years ago.
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