Last Sunday I ran Disney’s Princess Half Marathon which goes from Epcot to Magic Kingdom and then back. It took me three years before I could run this race. I had signed up to do it in 2011, but I injured my knee on mile 9 of the ING Half Marathon, making me walk to the finish line. Since then, when running a half I feel happy to pass mile 9 in one piece. In 2012 I didn’t give the Princess race any type of consideration. But by 2013, after having done many races and a Half Ironman, I thought I was strong enough to endure two half marathons a month apart… the 2013 ING and the Princess.
My friend and teammate, Karla, also signed up as she too had a similar story… foot injury in 2011. No consideration in 2012. Getting the tutu out of the closet in 2013.
I had my tutu specially made from Princess Doodle Beans on Etsy. I had decided to use the colors of my triathlon team, Alien Endurance, which are black and orange. I’m proud of our team colors and wanted to use them for my run, so I went as an Alien Princess.
In front of Cinderella’s Castle.
I received a lot of compliments on my tutu. And I also saw a lot of people secretly checking it out and smiling at me. The best is I loved running in it. I’m not the most girlie girl, and you can ask my boyfriend, The Dude, about that; however, I was excited about the tutu. Of course, you will never see me sporting a pink tutu. Orange and black is the most you will probably see me in.
Now, the race. I was somewhat under the impression we would run a lot inside the park. But, that’s not the case. We ran from Epcot Center through Disney’s highway towards Magic Kingdom. We arrived into Magic Kingdom through a service area that connected into the Main Street leading up to Cinderella’s Castle. Of course, we had to make a stop to take a picture in front of the castle, especially because we were wearing a tutu, and then continue the run. We ran no more than a mile through the park and out through the service area again, back to the highway towards Epcot.
I do need to say, the run through the highway was not disappointing Every mile or so there was live entertainment on the meridian. For example, the Pirates of the Caribbean ship with the cast… Captain Jack Sparrow and the other ugly guy… of course, not Johnny Depp and the other ugly guy, but the Disney cast crew. At another point we started hearing Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and as we approached the showcase there were the “witches” of several Disney tales… Cruela Devil, Snow White’s Stepmother, etc… I thought that was pretty cool. People would stop, make a line (at Disney, everything requires a line), take a picture with the cast members, and get back to their running. As you might have figured, this is not a race to PR at. This is a race to have fun.
Because they’re bad!
Karla and I ran the race together, laughing, talking, sometimes in silence, always pushing each other. Yes, we’ve done other halves, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It gets just a bit easier, but it’s not easy. My IT band started acting up around mile 11, so I had to stop to stretch two times, and by the last mile I don’t know how I managed to run faster and not pay attention to the pain. Karla and I pushed harder during the last mile, I think because we were ready to finish, go back to the hotel for a shower and head back home.
Princesses for a day. Queens for a lifetime.
Another thing I loved about the race, was that there were around 1,000 or so men who ran it. This is mainly a girl race, but several men joined the fun. And fun they had! And more fun we had too. They were wearing tutus, full princess costumes, butterfly wings, wigs. You name it! It was funny. I really loved their sense of humor. If the Dude would’ve been in town, he would’ve done the race with us wearing a tutu. I have no doubt about that. And he would’ve had so much fun.
So, we finished the race in 2:49… not the best time, but between two bathroom stops, stopping for pictures, stretching thanks to my IT band, not being able to speed up during parts of the course because it narrowed down, there was no way we would’ve done it faster. But we did have fun. And a lot.
About to pass through Magic Kingdom’s car entrance
Karla and her little friends.
By the way, traffic in Orlando SUCKS, but the Princess Half Marathon was cool.
I wanted to close this blog entry by thanking my friend Karla for running this race with me and being a great roommate and travel companion for the weekend. Un beso, Karlita!
I AM a TriAthlete 