This weekend is the runDisney Princess Half-Marathon Weekend at Walt Disney World. In honor of that, I would like to tell you about my experience running the Princess 5K virtually in 2021 and 2022. They were the first and only 5Ks that I have ever run, but I am so proud of the accomplishments that I made those days. I plan to run them in-person someday, but for now, I am happy with the virtual races that I did. However, let me preface this by saying that I was never a runner before I decided to do a runDisney race. I still don’t consider myself much of a runner, but I do enjoy the accomplishment I feel when I finish a run. Anyway, let’s jump in.
What is runDisney? runDisney is a company that organizes races at Disney resorts around the world. Currently, the races are only being held in Walt Disney World, but they are bringing back a race in Disneyland next year. They also do virtual races that are open to everyone, no matter where you live. At Walt Disney World, there are four main race weekends every runDisney season, and yes, they run through the parks. The first one in the Wine and Dine weekend that happens in early November during the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. It features a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon. The second one in the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend in January. It features a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon. They also offer a 5K at Castaway Cay The third one, and my personal favorite, is the Princess Half-Marathon weekend, which happens in February. It features a 5K, 10K, and half-marathon. The last one is the Springtime Surprise weekend in April. It features a 5K, 10K, and 10-miler. They even offer virtual races for most of these events. Check into them all, and see what might interest you. Even if you do a virtual race, they’re really fun.
My first virtual race was in February 2021. I ran the Princess 5K, which was themed after Ariel that year. I signed up for the race in June 2020, and it was supposed to be an in-person race. However, due to COVID-19, it was switched to a fully virtual event. My best friend had also signed up to run it with me, and we were going to make a girls trip out of it. When it got switched to virtual, she decided not to do it anymore. I decided that I had done all of this training, and I was going to do the race anyway. I didn’t want all of my training to go to waste. So, I went ahead and picked out a cute Minnie Mouse outfit, and went ahead and did it just like I would have if I had been at Walt Disney World. Fortunately, I ended up being in Florida during the race weekend, so I still got to run in Florida. My parents and I were in south Florida for a conference, so I ran my 5K in the parking lot of the church that hosted the conference. My parents watched to cheer me on. It was so fun! After the conference, we stopped at WDW for a day on the way home, and I picked up the cutest Ariel ornament that was personalized for the 5K. It was to commemorate my first ever 5K. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.
My second virtual race was in February 2022. It was again the Princess 5K, which was themed to Cinderella. I signed up for the race in June 2021, and decided to only run it virtually. It simply wasn’t going to work for me to run it in-person that year. I decided to run the race in a local park, which is the same one that I usually train in. My parents came and watched me again. I wore parts of the Minnie Mouse costume that I had worn the year before to run the race. It was much colder at home than it was in Florida, so I had to change the costume up to make it warmer. It wasn’t quite as fun as the first race, but I think it was just due to the change in environment. My dad did attempt to run part of the race with me, which was hilarious because my dad is definitely not a runner. However, he did last longer than I expected. After the race, I ordered race themed shirt online to commemorate my second 5K. Here are my pictures for that race.
One question that I tend to get a lot is if I still get a medal by doing a virtual race. The answer is yes! Not only do I still get a medal, I also get a race shirt, printable race bib, printable mile markers, printable start and finish signs, a printable finisher’s certificate, and a digital goody bag. All of the printable materials are themed to the race in which you are running. My digital goody bags were coupon codes for various companies. Most of them were race sponsors. While I never used any of the codes, some of them were pretty good deals. When you register, there are also options to purchase other items, such as other shirts, trading pins, etc. Here are pictures of my commemoratives for each race.
If you are interested in running a runDisney race, be sure to check out their website at rundisney.com. They have all of the information that you could need. There are also tons of other blogs out there that discuss individual experiences, especially if you are considering running your races in-person. If you’re like me, and this is a bucket list item for you, be sure to check it out. Who knows, maybe we’ll bump into each other on a future race!
Commentaires