It’s D2D and C2C! After some fun (and very little sun) in Florida I returned home in the northeast to take care of some business, which included ungodly amounts of smelly laundry and a regroup for Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. Despite the weather, it was a memorable weekend.
I don’t have a ton of wisdom to share. There were the usual gripes about merchandise at the expo, this time about jackets. I was slightly amused to learn that the theme of the weekend was the “60s through the 90s”. Nobody told us that ahead of time, and frankly, there was very little theming on the courses. Neither the music nor the characters that really punched it home, but, whatever. I was with my favorite people in my favorite place.
Of course the biggest news of the weekend is that the half marathon was cut short due to the weather forecast. Early on, lightning was predicted. That, never, (thankfully) materialized but there was rain which got progressively worse throughout the morning. So much worse, in fact, that the course was cut even shorter in-progress. Earlier starters got 7.1 miles. Later starters got 6-ish miles. I was in the “lucky” group that didn’t get pulled from the course, but it really wasn’t that much fun out there. It was wet. It was cold. It was slippery. Characters were pulled. Photographers were pulled. You get it. I risked getting in a bus for a pic with a beloved character (Marie!), and I don’t regret it one bit!
For me personally, I was really challenged by the marathon. I knew my training was a bit under-par going in, so I wasn’t whining too much when the Half Marathon was cut short. My running partner and I had some great costumes for the 5K and 10K, and I finally got my much-desired medal-haul pic in front of the castle. My slow pace denied my a chance to ride Everest during the marathon, and I guess I’ll just have to let that one go. Given how much this one hurt, I think 2024 might be the nail in the coffin for my full marathons. It was a good run.
So now I am looking ahead to Disneyland. Weather has been awful the last two days and many folks trying to get from Orlando to Anaheim have been diverted or stuck. Fingers crossed, I’ll be OK to fly tomorrow. There is still some time. And I still have a costume to make.
Were you at Marathon Weekend? Drop a comment! Joining for Coast to Coast? Let’s hear about your travels!!
Disney Park Runner 