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WDW Marathon Weekend 2015 – Half Marathon

I woke up ready to run! I was so ready to be unleased
from the Epcot area routes from the previous 2 days and actually go somewhere.
I felt like a bird that was ready to fly! Get me to the castle pronto!

My legs were starting to get a little tired but it was
the 2 previous early mornings that were sucking most of my energy. Today’s plan
was similar to the ay before. Enjoy the run and stop for pictures when we
wanted to.

For anyone that hasn’t run the WDW Half Marathon or Full
Marathon or the Princess Half Marathon, be aware there is a walk (~.3 miles) to
the actual corrals. The path to get to the corrals can be pretty crowded too so
it can be a slow pace. Give yourself time. Also, there are LOTS of
port-o-potties once you get over to the corral area. That’s the one thing
runDisney does really well. They have port-o-potties EVERYWHERE! It’s a
runner’s dream.

Anyways, back to it. We walked over to the corrals made
one potty stop and then headed into corral E. I had tried to figure out how
quickly the early corrals would be released but couldn’t really find the
information so I figured maybe every 5 minutes. I was wrong, it was closer to
2. We were released about 10 minutes after corral A.

This course has become very familiar to me, you run
around Epcot on the roads and then up to the Magic Kingdom, going through the
parking toll booths, and then through the TTC parking lots. This is where the
characters usually begin. (See below for a “complete as I can remember” list of
characters)

Once you run through the TTC you run up the roads, under
the water bridge that connect Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake, pass the
Contemporary, and enter the backstage areas of MK just after mile marker 5 (ps
the largest building in the back of that area is where the outdoor ice cream
carts get their ice cream, imagine all the Mickey Bars back there!). You enter
the town square near Tony’s and then turn right up Main St. BAM! The castle in
all its icicle/frost/frozen glory. So beautiful.

Once you run up Main St you take another right, over the
bridge to Tomorrowland and then hang a left into Fantasyland. Through the
castle and then another right into Liberty Square. Through Fronteirland and
then backstage where there is usually a parade float (now an old parade float)
and a water stop. You then head back out onto the roads passing the Polynesian
and the Grand Floridian and then take those roads back to Epcot. A quick jaunt
up to World Showplace and then back out to the parking lot (passing the gospel
choir) for the finish!

Characters on the course:

We ran it in 2:18 and enjoyed every minute. The half
marathon distance is nothing to sneeze at but we chatted and laughed and had a
great time out there and that’s what it’s all about!

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