Infinity Gauntlet Challenge – Avengers Super Hero Half Marathon

It was quite chilly in the morning, I used the space blanket that they gave us after the 10k the day before.  I met up with Nanette and our usual spot and Todd and Nathan joined for the half. A couple of Nanette’s friends also joined this run and actually one of them was someone that was also from Chicago when we were younger and was my sister’s classmate.

We were in corral C, so it didn’t take too long after the national anthem was sung. The difference from the Disneyland half and this one is that they didn’t have any fireworks in the beginning.

Once we started we headed down Disneyland Drive and when we got close to a Paradise Pier we turned left and entered the side road by California Adventure. We entered the park by Carsland. We ran up the main drive and exited by the welcome sign. Just outside of Carsland there was the queue for the Black Widow. I decided that I would wait for the characters since I was in an earlier corral

I met a few runners in costume while waiting, a couple of women that combined a princess with a marvel character, Loki-Belle and Cinder-Thor. I also met a couple from West Virginia which thus was their first Disneyland race and they had stuffed animal rabbit that travels and takes pictures with them.

Just before we exited California Adventure I waited to take a picture with Hawkeye. I saw Rick at the area between the parks and then we entered Disneyland. We ran down Main Street and the took a my usual picture by the Partners Statue.  Then we were routed towards Adventureland and shortly we had the opportunity to take a picture with Captain America. Before we exited Disneyland I took a picture with Thor. Unlike the DL half we were only in the park for less than 2 miles. I have to say that t characters were very convincing, especially Thor, he had the accent an mannerisms as the movie. The captain is much more convincing than the one we saw 2 years ago.

It was a different course than I ran at the DL half, it took us south and we approached A’s stadium the opposite way than the DL half. Just before we ran towards the stadium there was a stretch of the course where there were spectators in cosplay, which I took pictures with some of them. One of the best ones was a guy that looked like Loki.

At the stadium they had a couple school bands in the outfield which were giving high fives. When we exited there was a really neat surprise there were people dressed in Navy and Army uniforms from old and recent periods and also period dress of civilians and medical personnel. When we passed these people they had people dancing as if they were from the past.

The last stretch we ran towad s the park and went through the transportation area for the park and then went to the familiar road towards the end by the Disneyland hotel which had a string of cheerleaders and bands. I saw Rick and then went towards the finish. I finished in 3hrs 31min 55sec. I got my half marathon medal as well the Infinity Challenge medal.  The challenge medal has a large Infinity stone in the back which Nanette told me that each year a different stone will be given. In the Marvel universe if you collect all the infinity gems you will receive a great power. Hmmm I may have to continue this challenge to get all the gems!

One thing I found out with the Disney Races that the last runner/s are escorted to the finish line. With this race the 4 Avengers were there to welcome the last runner to the finish.  Here are Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor and Captain America waiting. Although it would be fun to be escorted, I don’t want to risk being picked up by the balloon ladies!

Although the distance in the park is short on the half course, you run through it a lot in the 10k. The weather is much suitable for running than it was for the DL half which was really hot and humid. There are not as much character photos in this half and there were not as much entertainment outside of the park.  But overall I did enjoy this run. I assembled and I grabbed the Infinity Gauntlet!

Infinity Gauntlet Challenge – Captain America 10k

This year the Avengers half marathon offered a new challenge, the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge and I was able to sign up for the challenge. My cousin was also able sign up.  The challenge sold out pretty fast as well as the 10k. The half still had spots available, and I am not sure if the sold it out. So we arrived at Anaheim on Friday and went to the expo and rested for the first part of the challenge, the Captain America 10k.
As always the Disney races started early.

The start was at 5:30 and I met up with Nanette. We started in corral C, It was a bit chilly that morning and I couldn’t wait to start the run. They had Captain America come out and welcome the runners, they had a back story for the race, Hydra stole the Tessarac and if we could keep an eye out for it. They had a trio that sang the national anthem that reminded me of the Andrews Sisters. Then they started to release the corrals. There were a lot of people in costume and there were a lot of Captain Americas. Rick fashioned my shield so that I could wear it like a back pack. I also had a military belt that I stored the stuff I usually carry on my running belt. I had a mask but I kept in on my head because they stated in the race booklet that no masks should be worn, so I had it on top of my head and wore it just when I took pictures.

The 10k course was the same as the Disneyland 10k so I was very familiar with the course. Since it was the inaugural race I took pictures with the mile markers, each of the mile markers were and infinity stone, which was pretty cool. Also since it wasn’t Captain America themed, I think that next year’s 10k might be themed with a different Avenger.

We entered California Adventure by Cars Land and that when I saw the start of the holiday decorations. They didn’t have any characters there, so didn’t spend too much time there. Thor was the first to have a photo op. I was in line but then thought that I wouldn’t have time so I left, thinking that I would just wait for Captain America because his line should be very long.

Next they had Black Widow and Nighthawk when we were in California Adventure, didn’t stop for them, but did stop to take a picture with Mickey’s “Fun” Wheel. Many of the cast members were dressed as agents of Shield and some as Hydra scientists.

When we entered Disneyland that is when I saw the huge Christmas tree and Main Street decked out for the holidaysand then the best part…Sleeping Beauty’scastle. Of course I had to stop and take a picture with the statue and castle. Just before we left Disneyland they finally had the queue for Captain America, the line was pretty long, but they kept it moving so it didn’t take too long. I achieved my goal to take a picture with the Captain.

We exited Disneyland and went through Downtown Disney. I saw Rick by the 6 mile mark and took the final mile marker picture and gave him my camera and ran towards the finish. I crossed the finish at 1hr 41min 21sec. My costume had some mishaps along the way, my utility belt kept on getting loose, luckily I had safety pins so I was able to fix that. My shield broke and by the time I got to Captain America it was pretty much frayed, so I had to fix it a few times, but overall it held up and it as OK running with it.

Part 1 of the Gauntlet Challenge, next up is the half marathon.

Chicago Hot Chocolate 15k

I originally wasn’t going to run this one this year, but Rick convinced me to sign up. This race offered a 5k and 15k which both distances you receive chocolate at the end. But the 15k gave the finishers a medal.

I found out that I knew a bunch of people running the 5k including Jo. Being a race in November I knew that I would have to bundle up. I was placed in corral L which was the first corral in wave 2 which started at 7:45. It was a brisk morning, but not as cold as it was last year.

When we were released we headed north on Colubus and turned left onto lower wacker drive. We went through a bit of downtown and made our way to Michigan ave. this is where it followed a bit of Chicago RnR course.  The 5k and 15k split when we got to Roosevelt. Along the course in addition to Gatorade and water they passed our marshmallows and m&m which was a nice treat.

There were a few high school cheerleaders that were cheering us on, which as nice. When I was by the 8 mile mark, I bumped into Ben and Aimee Regoso and ran with them for a bit. I swear that the course was longer, because my gps was totally off around mile 8, and it took fo ever to get to mile 9. Rick said that he spoke to someone that said that there were course changes the night before that added more to the route. Well they haven’t posted anything about that, so it is still considered a 15k. With that said I finished in 1hr 57min and 21sec.

I’m glad Rick convinced me to run this one because I had a good tim, and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Another run in the books Andover getting read for next weekend’s races.

Mustache Dache

In my efforts to try to get my sister to run with me, she told me in the beginning of the year she said that she would run a 5k with me. So when my brother in law posted this run on Facebook I thought that this would be a fun one to run. She made a team El Guapo and we signed up.

We thought that it was going to be held downtown Chicago, but then they posted that the location is at Wheaton. At least it wasn’t too far and it had a start time of 9:00.

We left early because mapquest estimated that it would take an hour.  Apparently that is with traffic, so we got there pretty early. When we got there we met up with Claress and Ron, and soon after Jo arrived and then Jose and Vania.

The race started on time. The race was hosted by the Danada Forest preserve. It started on a grassy area, but it changed to a trail course. I like the trail courses as long as it’s the small gravel, ever since I twisted my foot earlier this year I’ve been very cautious of the places I run.

It was a nice course, they had us loop back around.  I ran with Jo and Jose the whole time, and when we looped back we got to see Claress and Ron.  The weather was perfect for running, I was a bit worried because the it rained all day the previous day. Jo, Jose and I ran the whole way, it’s been awhile since I was able to do that without having to walk. When we approached the finish we saw Rick and Vania cheering and we finished in 36min 44sec.  We reviewed our mustache medal and went back a bit to watch for Claress and Ron. We saw the and I jumped back in the course to run with Claress to the finish.

We hung out for a bit and then had breakfast at a local place. It was a fun run and I enjoyed myself. But alas Claress said that running is not her thing. Oh well, I was hoping that it would and we could run a half sometime. But I am glad that she did this one and got a cool medal!