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WDW Family Fun Run 5k!

So after all the “fun” of traveling, it was thr morning of the first race on the journey of the Dopey Challenge! For the 5k I was planning to take it slow with my mom like I had in the 3 previous years. The only thing that was on my mind was “Will they sweep or not give Dopey finishers their band if it’s beyond the 16 min/mile pace?” My mom is not really a runner or fast walker so this was a real concern of mine. I wanted to finish it with her but I was nervous about the first 3 miles messing up the rest of the weekend.

Clothes all ready for tomorrow!

The morning of the 5k I woke up at 4am, got dressed in my Merida costume, grabbed my peanut butter toast and coffee, and then my mom and I were out the door by 4:50. We arrived with plenty of time to spare and mingled with the other runners for about an hour on this chilly, drizzly morning. We camped out in the car for a while (one of the benefits to renting a car) before heading to the corrals to avoid some of the drizzle.

Luckily the rain held out for us! The start area had a DJ,
plenty of port-o-potties and plenty of space to take pictures and look at
people’s fabulous costumes! Lots of Up groups this year which was awesome. We
got in our corrals and hung out there until our time had come! We took a moment
of silence for Boston and the National Anthem was sung and then corral A was
off with a puff of fireworks!

We crossed the start line around 6:50 or 7 and it was slow, very
crowded and I was attempting to keep us at a 16 min/mile pace.

About a half mile in we weren’t doing so
great and my nerves started getting to me so I asked my mom if it was okay if
we ran our own races and she was okay with that. I did feel bad about it but I
was getting antsy. If this was the normal 5k and it didn’t impact my other
races that weekend, then I would’ve stuck with her.

From there on I took it at a comfortable pace. We saw Flick
and Princess from A Bug’s Life, Norwegian Daisy (who I had gotten a pic with
the previous year), Dopey in Germany, and Remy and his brother in France.

I wanted to stop for Dopey but the line
stretched across the entire front of the Germany pavilion so I took my chances
and decided he would probably be at another race. I did stop for a picture with
the rats in France though. This was a great photo op.

The race took us backstage in Epcot behind Test Track,
around World showcase, through Future World, around the front entrance area
(the leave a legacy area) and then finished back out in the parking lot. This
is really a great race and I felt good at the end and grabbed my Pluto
medallion. Then the line for Dopey bands happened.

For the Dopey Challenge they were giving runner s a plastic
wristband after they ran every race to prove they had run them all to receive
all 3 medals on the final day. The Dopey band pick up was supposed to be just
beyond where the water bottle and Powerade were handed out. However there was
some miscommunication and the line got backed up all the way into the area
where they were handing out medallions. Once the error was identified though,
the line moved swiftly and we never had a problem like this again at any other
race. Kudos runDisney!

First 3.1 done!

With my first band on my wrist and my medallion in hand I
grabbed my snack box and waited for my mom who crossed a little after me. We
then headed home feeling good.

Pros:

Cons:

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