Part two of the Dumbo Double Dare, the Disneyland Half Marathon, started again at 5:30. This year my cousin Debbie joined the race, and she was assigned the same corral as me. We met her and Charles at Downtown Disney and headed towards the corrals. The security was high this year as compared to last year, they checked all bags as well as the running belts, so it took a while to get past the checkpoint and get to the corrals. Again the weather was perfect for running it stayed in the low 70’s as the previous day. But it got warmer in the late afternoon on Saturday. So in my mind I was telling myself that I should finish before it gets too hot.
Debbie and I were able to make our way towards the beginning of the corral, and felt that we were well placed to give us enough distance so that we wouldn’t have to worry about the balloon ladies passing us up. Where our corral was placed we were not able to see the big screen to see the beginning ceremonies of the race. We did hear the national anthem, but this year they did not have any fireworks during the song. We were in corral G so it was almost 45 minutes before our corral was released.
When we started running, we went down Disneyland Drive, up until the roadway across from the Paradise Pier Hotel, where we entered the service road behind California Adventure. We entered the park at the same point as the 10K route, right into Carsland, but this time we ran up the main drag and turned left towards Paradise Pier. We looped around Mickey’s Fun Wheel again, and then followed the route to exit the park and went to the cross over to Disneyland by Mile 2, here I saw Rick and then entered the park. They changed the route so that when we entered the park we took a right to the service roads and then entered the park again by It’s a Small World and ran past Fantasyland, through the castle and then down Main Street. We again ran through the cross over to California Adventure and I saw Rick again. This time we ran through Hollywood Studios Backlot and then exited to the streets of Anaheim. I kind of liked this new route, but this route bypasses Adventureland and New Orleans Square, I think it is because they already started the Star Wars Land build and I guess the route wouldn’t be that great right now.
Out in the streets of Anaheim was the same as previous years. Just before we got to Honda Stadium there were stretches of road that had classic cars lined up, as usual it was fun to see and they all cheered the runners, so that gave us a boost to keep running. Once we passed the Honda Stadium parking lot we were routed to the gravel/paved trail that lead us to the A’s Stadium. This stretch of the run was a bit narrow, so you would have to navigate between the walkers. The outfield seats were filled with spectators and kids from the cub and girl scouts cheering and giving high 5’s. This is always a treat during the race. The remainder of the race was around the street and routing us back towards the parks. One of the notable cheer spot was a guy that had a box full of feathers that said take a feather to help you fly. So I took one and stuck it in my hat, but unfortunately it did not make me fly!
Just before mile 12 we entered the service roadway behind California Adventure at Disney Way and Harbor Blvd. We crossed the street just by the Paradise Pier Hotel and ran through the parking lot toward the Disneyland Hotel and the finish line. Rick was at his usual spot and saw him as I approached the finish. I finished in 3hrs 26min 55sec, again not my fastest time, but did beat my time from last year.
They did not have as much characters on the course as they have in previous years, which was a bummer, but it was still a fun experience. The medal kept with the theme of famous duos, which the depicted Mickey Mouse and Pluto Running with the famous Disneyland D. I picked up my Double Dare Medal and since they were telling people to move and not wait, I hung out at the Medical area icing my knees and waited for Debbie to finish.
Spent the afternoon recovering, visiting family in the Inland Empire and hung out for a bit. The next day Rick and I spent the day at the Parks and had a fun time. This was the 5th year that I participated in the Disneyland Half Marathon and again it was a fun experience and a race that I would continue to do as I am able to.
Chad's Blog for Running, Disney & Movies 