The Happiest Race on Earth

Oh boy... What a week we had in Disneyland, and then Sunday came around. I had felt some nerves all week leading up to the race, but nothing like Sat night. I knew that I had 2 long runs of 12 + miles under my belt, but the feeling of the unknown loomed. I had many thoughts about the race, but Literally had to stop myself from allowing my mind to take over. I had to tell myself over and over, I have run several races, and have trained as good as I could for this half marathon. Now running with 14,000 runners, is a first for me, and let me tell you, there was TONS of people..... but I never felt crowded out, so way cool.... Ok lets roll with my race report.

My good friend Michelle Peterson, the only person I knew running the race. Gotta love a 5 am pic before the race. We look like we just woke up, Wait WE did....LOl :)

This pic still doesn't give any justice to how many people ran this race. There was a total of 14,000 runners, almost double than the ST George Marathon. In the far distance you can see the lights of the starting line. They had different waves. I was in the front of Corral D. Corrals went all the way to G, so there was Thousands behind me as well. It was a 5 min difference from the start time for each wave. We didn't get our gun to start running till 06:18am.

Runners, Set...........GO, BOOYAH, Finally all my training, nerves, excitement are all pushed aside as we take off to run 13.1 miles in the Happiest Place on Earth.

Mickey and Minnie greeted us as we passed the start line.

We first made a loop down magic way out to Katella then up to Harbor Blvd, and made the turn into the parking toll loop. Mid way down the road, we made a turn into the back lot of Disney's California. We made a loop around Paradise Pier where we ran into Mike from Monster Inc, passed the New Little Mermaid ride,and then out past Grizzly run.

Lightening McQueen and Mater were there to greet us as we exited out of California before we hit Soarin Cali. I didn't stop to get my pic taken, I really wanted to break 3 hours, so I just snapped pics.

We ran across into Disneyland where we were greeted by Mary Poppins and cast. They had entertainment and characters everywhere. It totally rocked....

As we made the turn into Frontier land, we ran past the Princess and the Frog. They had several characters on the Mark Twain boat as well.

Coming out of Fantasy Land we ran through the Castle. Malificent was on top to greet us. Oh how sweet of her.....lol

Once through the castle, we ran past all of the Princesses. Look, a small line to see the Princess, Now that Never happens....LOl

Following running through Tomorrow land and then into the back lots behind Its a Small World and Toon Town, we exited out onto Disneyland Dr, then made the turn onto Ball rd to run up and over the bridge to Harbor Blvd. Here is another shot at the number of people running around me. Btw the weather was AWESOME. it was in the 60's and had an overcast of humidity hanging around us. Never let up till after I had finished. SO happy..... PS this was Mile 4.

Over the next four miles, we zig-zagged our way around Anaheim. They had dance groups, and cheer squads all along the race. It was awesome to get that extra bump or push. This is mile 8.5 as we make the turn past the Honda center where the Anaheim Ducks play. I really felt Well at this point. I was surprised to see how GOOD I was feeling. I felt like the time had gone fast.

Mile 9.3 we came up onto the Angels Stadium. I was happy with my 15K time of 2 hours even. Seeing the stadium I knew that It was all down hill from here, even though there were no down hills, but the hard part was over. Bring on the Stadium. I was so pumped to see the field and to run through it.

Angels Stadium... Yes I am on the infield running track..... SO SO excited..... This was way awesome.... It was filled with tons of boy scouts, and they were really rocking the place.

A look at the infield.

Mile 11.5..... I was starting to hurt about this point. Getting tired, and then I looked up and knew that hitting Disneyland meant I was at 12 mile, nothing like a much needed pick me up. Btw I love the Tower of Terror.

As I hit mile 13, I started to cramp..... I was hoping that I wouldn't have to crawl over the finish line, but Lucky for me, I made it. As I crossed the finish, Minny and Mickey on the Right side, and Donald and Daisey were there to greet us as we crossed the line. I looked down at my watch and saw that I had posted a Sub 3 Half.... My chip time was 2:57:59.... The OVERWHELMING rush that came over me was Wicked Awesome. I felt like I could have run forever, but my Body was yelling No way..... What a Sweet race... I totally Loved it....

Post Race Medal pic.

This is by far THE BEST MEDAL EVER..... It was so worth running 13.1 miles for. What an awesome event. The day has come, and I completed my First ever Half Marathon. I have already signed up to run Cedar Mountain Half marathon in less than two weeks from now. I Just love to run and love the motivation it gives me in my life. I truly couldn't have run this without alot of support, encouragement, and advice from many of you. You guys Rock..... Thanks for helping me on my Adventure one step at a time....