2013 tink half meetup
aka #tinkhalfmeetup

the friday morning following the #WDWmarathonmeeup, i found myself once again lucky enough to participate in another runDisney meetup.

this time the meetup consisted of mostly women, but that makes sense considering it was the #tinkhalfmeetup, and the tinkerbell half is one of two runDisney-women-focused-races.

so there i was, bright & early (so early in fact that it was actually wasn’t “bright” out at all – it was still dark) – gathered with nearly 50 runDisney participants, fans & entusiasts. as i approached the group already gathered under the socerer’s hat, i couldn’t help but notice how many ladies were rocking their team sparkle skirts…. i felt like such a “proud mama” as i saw that beautiful sight, all that sparkle glimmering in the moonlight!

the next thing i noticed was that sean astin was there.

yep! as i live & breath… sean astin (in all his goonies, rudy & lord of the rings glory) was there, & wearing a runDisney shirt – just like me.

& of course, everyone’s favorite training consultant, jeff galloway was also there to lead us in our early morning jog using his famed run-walk-run method.

& run-walk-run we did.

through downtown disney, in & around disneyland, sleeping beauty’s castle, & even pixie hollow where we “ran” into tink herself.

then we headed over to disney’s california adventure, where we continued to run-walk-run our way around the entire park, past mickey’s fun wheel & california screamin’ roller coaster.

eventually we ended up outside carthay circle restaurant & lounge, where mickey, minnie & goofy popped in for a surprise visit!

after everyone got some one-on-one time with the characters, we headed over to cars land where we were treated to a meet & greet with red AND a pre-park-opening-ride on radiator springs racers. (if you haven’t riden that ride yet, it’s AHHHHHH-mazing!)

finally it was to for breakfast. (i hope i don’t sound like that whiney girl who gets grouchy when she’s hungry, because typically i’m not. but it was an early morning & after running a couple miles on an empty stomach, & standing around in the cold, i was ready to eat,, & more important drink some hot chocolate).

luckily, runDisney was one step ahead of me (as always), & they lead us over to napa rose (a very tasty & beautiful restaurant) for food, warm drinks & the opportunity to listen & chat with some inspiring people.

jeff galloway spoke about his famed run-walk-run method (i’m so tempted to give a try, i just haven’t found the right race).

josh rowe, the marketing manager for one of my favorite shoes companies (new balance) told us all about the new runDisney new balance shoes. rumor has it that people were lined up before 5am in order to buy shoes at the tinker bell half expo – luckily i was lucky enough to buy a pair too. they are SO cute & the match my team sparkle red polka dot skirt perfectly!

sean astin chatted with us about his #run3rd ”cause,“ (he runs first for himself, second for his family, & third for YOU). 

ali vincent, the first female winner of the biggest loser spoke about her live big campaign & her new show one the livewell network“live big with ali vincent.”

tara gidus, the “diet diva” & official runDisney nutritionist spoke about running, and pre-race nutrition. (have i ever mentioned that carbo-loading is one the reasons i love to run?!)

following the speakers & giveaways (yes! there were giveaways. & no, i didn’t not win anything.), disney executive chef  christine weissman treated us to a demo of her delicious black bean cake. can you say yum-o?!

having already attended several other meetups (including the 2012 tink half meetup, 2012 princess half meetup, 2012 disneyland half meetup, 2012 wine & dine half meetup, & 2013 wdw marathon meetup) – i know for a fact that they are all pretty dang awesome! but this one in particular was amazing. all of the character photo opportunities, getting to run through both disneyland & disney’s california adventure, riding radiator springs racers & eating at napa rose was pretty dang impressive.

runDisney definitely outdid themselves this time around!

a huge thanks to bob hitchcock, tony morreale,  jeff galloway, tara gidus, & anyone else who was apart of making this incredible morning happen!

2013 tink half meetup aka #tinkhalfmeetup

want to read tink half meetup recaps from other #tinkhalfmeetup attendees? check out these posts:

* angry julie monday
* from the goofy path
* frugal beautiful
* one, two, three & me
* pumpkin to princess
* striding mom
* this little piggy’s life

did YOU attend the #tinkhalfmeetup? let me know! i’ll add your meetup recap to the ever-growing list!

ready to attend the next runDisney race meetup? pay extra special attention to the runDisney facebook page, runDisney twitter account, & disney parks blog a week or two before the next runDisney race. in the past, that’s where they’ve announced the meetups.

disclosure: i was invited by runDisney to attend the entire event weekend as media – meaning they were kind enough to cover my hotel expenses at the fabulous grand californian.

of course – all thoughts & opinions are 100% my own, because as you already know… i absolutely, totally & completely LOVE runDisney events.