Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today I’m chatting about the awesome 2016 Disney Princess Enchanted 10k, the first half of the Glass Slipper Challenge, and the only runDisney race I’m legacy in. (Meaning I’ve completed every one since it’s inaugural 2014 run.) Gotta admit. Being able to say I’m Legacy is really, really cool. But then again, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.
So, picking up from the 5k recap, we decided to go with the princess theme for our group costume. Now. I love everything PHM, but I’m not a big princess gal so my initial thought was to dress as Mulan, since she kicks booty. As the clock ticked closer and time got away from me, I switched to Aurora even though she’s a bit of a snooze. (Bah-bum-bump.) But there’s no shortage of pink in my wardrobe, making it the easiest choice.
For the top, I stitched two strips of white ribbon at the ends and then pinned it to the front and back of my Fila tank. Well, no, Stephanie actually pinned it for me. (Thanks, girlfriend.) For the crown, I used one of those cheap foam crowns cut to size, spray-painted gold, and attached to a tiara. It worked rather well, although I should have made it smaller. I also bought some cheap pink leggings but they fit funky and sagged at the crotch.
Saggy crotch + running = no. Just no.
Oh, wait. Let me back up a second and say how once again, I COULD NOT SLEEP the night before and I probably drove Stephanie crazy with all my tossing and turning. (Sorry, girlfriend.) So my head was full of cobwebs despite the multiple coffees when we left Animal Kingdom Lodge as a group at around 3:30, getting there in plenty of time for group photos and lots of dancing.
Pre-race dancing is such a great way to shake off the cobwebs.
My running partners, Stephanie and Kelly, share my mentality about getting to the corrals early, but with all our dancing and chatting, we didn’t get to Corral A until around 5:15-ish. The weather felt great – a little humid but warm, my kind of running conditions!
After some motivating words from John, Rudy, and Carissa, plus a KILLER singing of the Star Spangled Banner … wish I could remember by whom … we were off and running!
Now, except for 2013 when I ran with Linda, (hey, sweets!) I’m usually solo for the Princess Half Marathon and running with two other gals in costume was new to me. But Stephanie and Kelly were an absolute BLAST and I’m so glad we shared similar paces and were able to run together!
Kelly and Stephanie also love getting character photos so despite the super huge (and slow) line for the Wicked Witch, we still had to get a picture.
Same for the fairies–long line, long wait, but totally worth it!
We really wanted a picture with Pocohonas and Meeko, but the line was a little too insane even for us, so we did a drive-by selfie instead. Or should I say run-by?
Coming up to Epcot, sweat was pouring already and I had to readjust my crown/tiara, but we were feeling really great and maintaining a 8:30-9:00 pace. Stephanie ran ahead to use the bathroom in Epcot, leaving only Kelly and me for this photo. I felt the need to clarify in case it looks as though we ditched her!
Ah, running through Epcot’s World Showcase. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … this will never get old!! It was also our first water stop, which I really needed by that point.
If memory serves me correctly, the line for Jimminy Cricket and Pinochio wasn’t that bad. Wouldn’t matter, anyway, because we had to get a picture with those cuties!
Cogsworth!!! Lumiere!!! Another long, long line? Who cares, must get a picture!! The line actually moved very fast, though, thanks to the three CM’s who were seriously on it.
I had a bit of a curtsy fail, though. Better work on that.
The course then took a hard left into the International Gateway area, leading us toward The Boardwalk and one of my favorite parts of this race! The chEARleaders and spectators were absolutely fabulous, and I adore the sound of pounding feet on wood plans as the sun is rising.
We had to get a photo in front of the Atlantic Dance Hall since it’s one of Jackey’s favorite places to visit at Disney World
The course then brought us to Epcot’s Future World, where I had yet another #FishFaceFail in front of the Nemo ride.
Before we knew it, we came upon Mile Six and our Enchanted 10k experience was almost over!
In our excitement, we came up too fast at the finish line and I had to serve around a gal who slowed to take a picture. My apologies, whoever you are!
We did it, race one of the Glass Slipper Challenge down! After we got our lovely, lovely medals plus some water and Gatorade, we headed to the banners for a photo.
After grabbing our goodie boxes, (the cheese dip is oh-so bad for you, but oh-so good,) we headed toward the family gathering area for more character photos and a post-race beer. Perhaps it wasn’t the smartest of options considering we had a half marathon the next day, but it sure tasted great!
Because of our reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table, we didn’t have much time to enjoy the festivities – that came later after the half! So we hopped on a bus back to Animal Kingdom, took showers, and hauled booty to Magic Kingdom in fear of missing our ADR. Stephanie, Kelly, and I ran ahead, causing my hair to frizz something nasty, but at least we made it in time!
This was my first morning character breakfast and first time inside the castle. I’m more of a grab something quick and hit the rides type of gal, but it was such a great experience! We got lots of pictures with the princesses, although they seemed perturbed by our individual photo requests and limited us to group pics only for Aurora and Jasmine. At $60.00 per person and no autograph books to sign, I found this rather irksome, but whatever, it was really beautiful and the food was fantastic for a one time experience.
Afterwards, we got character photos with Anna and Elsa, took a twirl on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and had more fun at Magic Kingdom before heading to Epcot to eat dinner at Via Napoli. Sara and I also lucked out by catching some characters in training near America!
Speaking of Sara, she did an awesome job making our Have Courage and Be Kind shirts! She will also be giving us a great recap for Star Wars: Dark Side next week. I’m looking forward to that!
All in all, it was another fantastic Enchanted 10k! Next up, the big shebang, the Princess Half Marathon. But first, here’s our latest video recap from our Joyful Miles YouTube channel.
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