The Race I Became a *Real* Runner Part III Princess Half Recap

I’ll be honest this race was rough for me. I trained in Houston all summer so I was use to humidity, but still the 95% humidity and 70 degree weather at the start line got to me a bit. I knew before I even started running that I would not be getting a PR.

I kept on trucking and I was doing okay. Not great, but also not as bad as I expected. The first part of the race was not all that eventful, but one of my favorite parts is when we head down Main Street around mile 5. I stopped here and had a volunteer take a picture for me in front of the castle, but unfortunately even though she took 3 they all came out blurry. Thankfully I checked them as I ran into Tomorrowland so I decided I would have to stop for a professional castle pic when I got there. This is where being in corral B comes in handy; I was able to run right up to one of the 4 photographers with no waiting and I was off on my way. Although as fate would have it, that one turned out horrible too. I looked really stiff and weird and it was too dark to see the castle so I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. Not long after leaving the Magic Kingdom we hit the half way mark where this sign was, and the theme song for this year was playing!


Normally I don’t see anyone during a race. I really get tunnel vision and I have been known to miss most of the course entertainment, including things like characters and choirs! Yes I have missed that very large choir just before mile 13 in the past. Shameful, I know. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw Sarah in a character line around mile 7 or 8. She started in corral A but took advantage of the photo ops along the way. I tapped her as I went by and she cheered me on.

The mile 10 marker was right before an interchange ramp that lead to an overpass where there was a man who yelled down to us “anyone can run 10 miles, but only a princess can do the last 3.1!” I thought that was very sweet and it made me smile. Not long after that interchange I started to fall apart. My right knee started to ache a bit, which really threw me for a loop since it’s usually the left side that gives me problems. Right around mile 11 there was a medical tent and I thought about grabbing some Tylenol, but instead I pressed on. I ended up walking most of the rest of the way because it just bothered me too much to run. About halfway between mile 11 and 12 you make a sharp U-turn and this is where I saw Sarah pass by me. I thought about calling out to her and finishing up together, but I just didn’t feel like I had it in me. I will also be honest and the thought had crossed my mind to just hop the cones and not go all the way around but I was good and didn’t do it.

After I saw the mile 12 marker I decided to try and finish it up as quickly as I could to get it over with so I started running again. It wasn’t extremely painful, but it just didn’t feel right. I told myself I was going to run the whole last mile straight, but when I came around the corner and saw that the real Fairy Godmother was standing there, not that fake one that has been there the last couple of years when I went by, I decided what the heck I’m stopping for my first ever race character pic! Yes that’s right, I have ran 5 runDisney events and this was the very  first time I stopped for a character pic during a race! ! She told me she loved my outfit and that it was Cinderella blue. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it was suppose to be Jasmine.


I wish I could say she waved her magic wand and I was able to finish strong, but that isn’t exactly how it happened. In fact, that stop kind of broke my momentum and I did a mix of walking and shuffling on to the finish line. I came in with my second worse time of 2:51, but I fulfilled my main goal and got my second Coast to Coast medal.

Isn’t it beautiful?

Just for the heck of it here is my trio, which I have to say I like even better then last year’s with the addition of the 5th anniversary medal for Princess.

Tinker Bell, C2C, and 5th anniversary Princess medals