Hi Greg,
Welcome back to planDisney and thank you for asking me a question! As you may know, I’m a massive runDisney fan – every mile truly is Magic in a
runDisney race.
Beyond making sure you get to the race staging area nice and early (we’re talking 3 am, for a 5 am start!), my biggest runDisney tip for every race, regardless of the distance: if you’re aiming for a personal best time during a runDisney race… you’re doing it wrong! There are so many character greetings and other fun sights to see on the course that, if you focus on the miles and forget to focus on the fun, you’re missing a big chunk of the experience. My advice would be to set an interval cadence that works for you (I’m a big fan of
Jeff Galloway's run-walk-run method) and to stick to those intervals as much as possible during the race’s wide-open stretches, particularly those that go up and down World Drive. When you arrive in a Theme Park, especially if you’re running a race that goes through
Magic Kingdom Park, turn off your intervals, take off your headphones and let yourself soak up the Magic that surrounds you. It’s a pretty neat feeling to run towards Cinderella Castle; I get choked up every time I’m lucky enough to run a race that takes me along Main Street U.S.A.
I don’t know about your fitness journey, but I can tell you that, personally, I never EVER thought that I would be “a real runner.” I remember seeing my friends cross the finish line at the 2016 Walt Disney World Marathon and thinking to myself that I would never be that brave… I hadn’t even attempted a 5k race since high school at that point! Now, when I think about the fact that I just completed my second 48.6-mile Dopey Challenge at the
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend a few days ago, I still can’t believe that I was able to accomplish what I told myself would be impossible for me. A spectator was holding a sign during the marathon that really hit home for me: “Remember when you thought you couldn’t do this? TODAY IS NOT THAT DAY!” Greg, I believe in you, and I hope that last weekend’s race was only the first step in a journey that will take you beyond what you thought was possible for yourself and your fitness goals. Welcome to the runDisney community – may you have many more years of finding finish lines and flying through every Magical Mile you can find! I sincerely hope to see you at the start line at either February's
Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend or April's
runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend.
Please don’t hesitate to come back and see us if you have any other questions. We’re always here to help!
Have a Magical Day,
Lynne