This is the last half marathon for me in 2016 and no better way to have it with around 14,000 runners going through the parks and meeting and taking pictures with characters from the Marvel Universe.
There were many people dressed up for the half, but not for me, I cannot handle wearing a costume and accessories for 13.1 miles in a potentially hot run! That is the only thing that I would agree on starting the race at 5:30 in the morning, so it doesn’t get too hot while you are running the first part of the race.
I met up with my cousins Nanette and Todd on the corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella since they were staying at a hotel right across from us. We headed towards the start corrals, Rick veered off when we were by the Grand California Hotel because it would be too crowded by the start and it was closer to where we would see him between the two parks.
Nanette joined me in corral F and we made our way to the front again. The released the corrals fairly quickly so we didn’t have to wait too long. Once we started we ran down Disneyland Drive and took a left on the street right across from Paradise Pier Hotel. This road took us to the back streets of California Adventure where you would see the back of the backdrop of Cars Land. We entered Cars Land where we first see Ornament Valley, which is part of the Radiator Springs Racers. It was still dark so the ride was all lit up, as a side note if you ever go and ride it, it is much better when it is dark out.
The route took us to the street by Luigi’s and exited into a Bug’s Land. We did not stay too long in Bug’s Land and then they led us out to the service streets and had us enter back into California Adventure by Hollywood Land. We took a left at Carthay Circle and made our way through Pacific Wharf and into Paradise Pier. This time we ran in the back of the pier where Toy Story Mania and the arcades are located. We ran in the front side of the pier where we had a great view of Mickey’s Fun Wheel to our right (side note, if you ride the swinging gondolas on the wheel it may not be a “Fun” ride for you). We ran through Grizzly Peak and Condor Flats just before we ended up in Buena Vista Street and exited California Adventure.
In the entrance way between the two parks they had it fenced off so that spectators can cheer us on, that is where I saw Rick, just before I entered Disneyland!
Once in Disneyland they changed the route than before. We ran up Main Street and then ran through the castle. Usually they have us exit the castle, but oh well. From there we ran through Fantasyland, looped back down by the Matterhorn and entered Tomorrowland. They had us run past It’s a Small World and go through Toontown and then back to the service streets just outside of Toontown. When we ran past through the Shuttle area they released us out to the Streets of Anaheim.
They had us run through the Anaheim Convention Center, which was different than last year. In the past they had the route go up the Santa Ana River Trail, this time they avoided it. They routed us so that we would approach Angels Stadium from the West via Gene Autry Way, and entered the area by the parking lot. Just before we entered the stadium they had my favorite part of the race from last year. They had a large group of veterans in their uniform and many people in period dress from the 50’s. People were dancing and cheering us on. After giving as many high fives I could and saying thank you to the veterans we entered A’s Stadium.
When we exited they had a group of people in cosplay and some looked really good. This all was on Gene Autry Way, so I was able to see the oncoming runners and luckily I did not see the balloon ladies. Whew I knew that I had plenty of time.
Finally we were running back towards Disney property and entered the property at Disney Way and Harbor Blvd. This is where I saw Rick again and I also saw the guy that has ridden the Radiator Springs Racers since the beginning of the ride and he is now up to 8,000! This part is the last stretch and just over a mile left to go. We crossed Disneyland Drive into the back parking lot just south of the Disneyland Hotel, where there were cheerleaders from several schools cheering us on. At the 13 mile mark it narrowed a bit, because they were starting the security construction as part of Downtown Disney. Once I saw the finish line I kicked it up a bit, and even heard my name, thought they botched the pronunciation they did say it!
I finished in 3hrs. 31min. 55sec. Which is the exact same time I finished a year ago down to the second! The lines for the characters were not too long so I waited to get some pictures taken with them. I was able to get pictures with Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye and Dr. Strange. They had Spiderman, but I wasn’t sure how long his line was, plus I already took a picture with him the day before.
The weather was perfect for running, it did get a little warm but it was manageable. The course changed a bit from last year, but I did like it. I just wish that they would have had us run a little bit more inside the park. Running the Gauntlet Challenge was fun, and I got my challenge medal, which the gem this year is Blue which stands for Mind. I had a fun time, and usually find some nice people along the course.
This concludes my Disney race weekend and Disney races for 2016 with a 5k, 10k and Half Marathon under my belt
11/18/16 Update: Official time has been released and I did much better than I thought! Â My finish time was 3hrs 11min 24sec. Â Wow I shaved quite a bit from last year! Â Also they released the finisher certificate for the Half and also the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge.
Chad's Blog for Running, Disney & Movies 