disneyland 2011 half marathon

they say it’s the happiest race on earth, & i think i’d have to agree. the disneyland 1/2 marathon is definitely one of my most favorite races of the year.

3 years ago, the disneyland 1/2 marathon was my first race - ever. four months post baby & after two weeks of training, i laced up my sneakers, loaded up the playlist & hit the pavement running. i crossed the finish line that day with an “official chip time” of 2 hours, 13 minutes & 15 seconds, finishing 239 out of 1252 women in the 30-34 age group.

2 years ago, the disneyland 1/2 marathon was my “coming out party.” after four months of being unable to run (due to an injury that left me hardly able to walk), three different doctors, one active release technician,  one physical therapist, &  one reiki master/healer/guide/intuitive, i decided it was time to throw caution to the wind. two prior to the race, i laced up my sneakers & went for seven training runs, before running this magical race once again. i crossed the finish line that day with an “official chip time” of 2 hours, 1 minute & 40 seconds, finishing 143 out of 1,310 women in the 30-34 age group.

this year, the disneyland 2011 half marathon was the race i had been looking forward to all year. what’s not to love? running costumes? running thru disneyland & disney’s california adventure? disney characters? cheerleading squads, dance teams, boy & girl scouts chanting my name? hula dancers? mariachi bands? plus being able to “round” home plate at angels stadium? it really & truly is the happiest race on earth.

this year i crossed the finish line with an “official chip time” of 1 hour, 43 minutes & 9 seconds, finishing 10th out of 1,413 women in the 30-34 age group. holy cow?! that is definitely a new PR (personal record). in fact, that shatters my previous PR by 15+ minutes! wahooo!

but the best part about running the disneyland 2011 half marathon? running it with two of my very best friends snow white & minnie mouse, and literally hundreds of team sparkle skirts – everywhere you looked, you saw a little (& sometimes a lot) of sparkle.

& just in case you haven’t figured out – of the 7 potential running costumes, in the end i dressed as tinkerbell. i paired lime green target tank top, with a lime green team sparkle skirt, lime green team sparkle “power bands,” lime green team sparkle fairy wings, lime green pom poms & newton running shoes.

i’m pretty sure those wings were key in helping me PR.

want to experience the amazing race for yourself? want to me inspired to run it with me next year? trust me when i say, everyone should run/ walk/ skip this race at least once in their life! then check out the official runDisney race video. every time i watch the video, i get super duper excited for next year & the upcoming tinkerbell half marathon AND the princess half marathon. & make sure you watch ’till the very end – you just might see someone you know!

disneyland 2011 half marathon by the numbers:

* total time 1:43:09, with a pace of 7:52 minutes per mile
* 10th place out of 1,1413 women in my age group
* 77th place out of 8,382 women
* 381st place overall, out of 12,806 participants
* 5K split time 23:36
* 10K split time 47:44
* 15K split time 1:12: 36