I’m a little behind with this recap … life has been crazy, but today, I’m following up with Laura’s posts about the Wine & Dine Expo, the Half Marathon and After Party with my recap for the Ratatouille 10k! This race was the first 10k as part of runDisney’s Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend, so I was really excited about it plus I loved the medal, which features Remy from Ratatouille. This year was also day 1 of the inaugural Lumiere’s Two Course Challenge, with an even cuter medal!
Once Megan, Laura, Leslie, and I decided to do Wine and Dine, we needed to plan our costumes. One idea we’ve been toying with doing was the Monsters University Cheerleaders. We thought this would be perfect distance for this costume. Let’s face it, furry leg warmers are too warm for half! I couldn’t have been happier with how these costumes turned out and how the five of us ladies really stood out. We had so many compliments and it made it even more fun!
We always try to get to these races as early as possible, we love the prerace atmosphere and the chance to meet come characters. Preface the character meets ups available were Chef Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Remy and Emile, Lumiere and Donald&Pluto. The lines were very long and we were only able to get a photo with Lumiere.
Running this race as Monsters University cheerleader from left to right is Laura, myself (Jackey),Shannon, Megan and Leslie. We had so much fun prerace including this unplanned but couldn’t help ourselves video.
Laura, who is by far the fastest of us gals, had a foot injury and while she was in the first corral, we knew she’d have to walk this race. I was in corral B with Megan and her friend Brook. And Shannon and Leslie were in Corral D.
I made plans to catch up to Laura and walk with her. So Laura began the race first and we all followed in our later corrals. It was so great hearing the runDisney announcers we love so much – Rudy, Carissa and our favorite John Pelkey. I sure missed them in Disneyland. The race began and I ran the first mile with Megan and Brooke. As I approached the mile one marker, I got a text from Laura letting me know she was just ahead in line for the penguins from Mary Poppins. I caught up to her just as it was her turn. Perfect timing!
The first three miles was pretty much all highway so we ventured on toward mile marker two and our next character stop, Flik and Atta from “A Bug’s Life.”
As we neared the back entrance of Epcot, we were cheered on by the amazing guys on stilts. They were so encouraging and fun. And they loved our costumes!
We made our way into Epcot near the back of Test Track and headed into World Showcase. I love the vibe of running around this part of the park. The sun is beginning to rise, music is playing, cast members are cheering us on, it’s really magical.
We had been texting the other girls hoping we’d all end up together and at around mile four, Leslie and Shannon caught up with us. We also saw Sara, who joined us for a picture with Pinocchio and Giapetto.
And a shot in front of Paris with a great backdrop!
We then headed on and almost made a mistake with the Infamous Genie. We had debated if we should wait in line since it was long and we knew we were getting toward back of the pack. But we waited and right before we got to the front, Genie took a break. We waited and time was ticking, but he finally came back!
We then headed out of World Showcase toward the Epcot hotels. We were beginning to stress a bit about time since the balloon ladies were close. Sara and I ran ahead to get in line for Chip and Dale on the Boardwalk. The others caught up as we were getting near the front. Smart idea from Sara!
We then took a quick picture in front of one of my favorite places at Disney, the American Dance Hall.
After we rounded the bridge that takes you to Beach Club, I looked back across the water to the other side, where we had just been. There were NO runners to be seen, meaning either we were really near the back or there was a sweep point!
And then we saw them … the mylar balloons held to the infamous balloon ladies.
Total. Panic.
To explain the rest of the story, I will leave you with our video recap which clearly shows our anxiety … and many laughs. I’m also including our Jammin’ On The Run episode where Laura and I go into more detail about the Ratatouille 10k.
Thanks for reading, and if you were at Disney’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, I hope you had a great time!
