Followed the same routine as yesterday, this time met up with my cousin Nanette and Todd before entering the corrals. This time we were in corral D, and hung out towards the back because Nanette got interviewed and was on the jumbo Tron where she was recognized for doing 50 half marathons and that her first one was a Disney race.
Once we started we followed the same route and entered California Adventure through Cars Land. This time we didn’t go through A Bugs Land but instead went through the service area and entered again in Hollywood Land right by Guardians of the Galaxy: Breakout and ran part of Buena Vista Street right next to Cathay Circle. We took a left and went through Pacific Wharf and made our way around Paradise Pier. We took a left right by Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and made our way through Grizzly Peak and Condor Flats, and made our way back to Buena Vista Street where we exited the park.
I saw Rick before we took a left and ran through the outskirts of Disneyland and entered the park through Critter Country right next to Splash Mountain. We ran along the Rivers of America and found ourselves in Frontierland, where we caught a glimpse of Big Thunder Mountain. We briefly went through Fantasyland and ran through the castle.
We took a left turn and ran through the access part between the castle and the Matterhorn and took a right and ran past the Nemo ride, Autopia and Space Mountain. We arrived at the Hub through the Tomorrowland entrance and made our way down Main Street U.S.A. before we exited the park and on our way out to the streets of Anaheim.
When we exited the parks I saw Rick before we went on Harbor Blvd and turning on Manchester Ave. This street ran parallel next to I5 and we also passed the Gardenwalk before we tuned on Katella. From Katella we turned on Anaheim Blvd to Cerritos. We then turned on Lewis Street, Ball and State College Blvd before we joined Cerritos Ave again. When we got to Douglas Rd we took a left and ran past the Honda Center on our way to Angels Stadium.
We ran the perimeter of the stadium parking lot before we entered the stadium. In the past the stadium was filled with spectators and bands. This year it was completely empty, which was bit of a bummer, because these people cheering give you an extra boost. Also in the past they would have a group of people in their service uniform cheering and a group of people in 50’s outfits dancing, this year they were missing. I always enjoyed this part and was really missed this year. Another thing that was missing was the row of people in cosplay, they were nowhere in sight!
When we exited the stadium we ran along Gene Autry Way to Haster Street. We then ran through parking lots until we arrived back on Harbor Blvd. At mile 10 we took a left onto Katella for the last 3.1 miles. We took a final right on Disneyland Drive before we took a left onto the Disneyland Property right next to the Pacific Pier Hotel. We ran through the parking lot and the street towards Downtown Disney and made our finish right by the Disneyland Hotel. I finished in 3hrs 3min 6sec.
I hung out with Nanette and the first aid area waiting for Todd to finish. It was sad because this is the last race in Disneyland for quite a while. We are not sure when or if it will be coming back. There was a sign just when we entered the property that said “time to say good-bye to the west coast RunDisney family”. They say that it is because of the multiple construction plans, but I have a feeling that there is more to it. Well, I enjoyed running these races, and I will miss doing them in Disneyland. I still have my trip in January to WDW for the Dopey Challenge, but my hopes for doing a coast to coast next year has been squashed.
Thank you West Coast RunDisney for the fun times I had with the races in Disneyland. I do hope that you will come back soon, and that you will continue where you left off with the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge so we can collect all of the Infinity Stones.
Chad's Blog for Running, Disney & Movies 