A Long Road Behind. An Open Road Ahead.

Deal with the past. Practice forgiveness and gratitude.

Be optimistic about the future. Let go of worry and fear.

When you can do that, you can truly celebrate the present. 

I'm a bit of a statistics geek. When I get a bucket of numbers or lists and I have free time (like I do during a slow Thanksgiving week), I like to look at the past to see what I can learn.  With our 100th half marathon coming up next week in San Antonio, it was nice to take a trip through the first 99.

We started in 2005. When we were racing with Team in Training, the idea of doing more than a half marathon every 12 weeks or a full more than twice a year was not within the realm of possibility. We didn't even speak about it. I think the idea was that our participants, many first time marathoners, should concentrate on their event so it's the highlight of the season. Pre-event tune up races detracted from the big one. I get that. And that's how we trained for the first four years. Most of the races we did for the first 5 years were with TNT.

That changed in 2009. Our tenure as TNT mentors and coaches went to an every other year basis and the teams in the Bay Area got smaller, probably due to competition from other training organizations. We added a few of the short hop destination races like Rock n Roll Vegas (with a day-time Run Through Wedding) and a local race featuring a Walk Division (Eye-Q Twin Cities Fresno).

Rock n Roll Las Vegas 2009. Our first vow renewal, photobombed by Elvis.

In 2010, we also found out about the bonus Heavy Medals offered by Rock n Roll. That year, we had 3 halfs and a full to get the Grand Slam. We also met a Marathon Maniac, Kamika Smith. That meeting on the Seattle causeway led us to join the Half Fanatics and eventually the Marathon Maniacs.

This was one instance where Susan and I did different races. Susan did the full in Seattle because I had done one extra full in Anchorage. I did the half 5 months after reconstructive knee surgery (and PRed).
Kamika finished his 100th full on the day we met. I never thought we'd come anywhere close to that total for races.

2011 was a step change. We were on a Southwest flight for RNR Arizona and somehow we had an unscheduled layover in San Diego. We were sitting in the aisle/window in row 2 when a perky blonde lady from the C group asked if she could sit with us. She ended up chatting with Susan for the hour long flight to Phoenix and it turns out she knew all about Rock n Roll. She even mentioned that they were adding a few inaugural races in Providence, Rhode Island; Savannah, Georgia and Miami Beach. By the time we got off the plane we were so excited we registered for another 5 races that year.  Turns out that young lady was Ann Wessling, the striped-socked, high-fiving announcer for the Rock n Roll races. We ended the year with 10 races (9 half marathons) and our first (inaugural) Rock Idol Heavy Medal. Garret Schmidt saved us a second medal for our picture on the shores of Rock n Roll Miami Beach (ours was in the mail).

We hit another inaugural in RNR Pasadena in 2012. I'm not sure where it got into our heads that we would do another 10 races, but the schedule filled up quickly. We met Dan and Jackie Evans, contestants from The Biggest Loser season 5.  They were in the early stages of setting up The Biggest Loser RunWalk race series. We signed up to raise money for Team Future, the Chicago area charity they were supporting, and they were gracious enough to treat us with VIP passes for Rock n Roll Chicago. That was the race we met Beth Deloria and Jim Austin. Beth is the director of social outreach for Allard and the GetBackUp Today movement. She runs with a special brace on her left foot because her ankle was paralyzed from a spinal surgery, but it hasn't slowed her down. She's a Boston qualifier and she and Jim are among our closest friends. By the end of the year, we bought memberships to the Half Fanatics group (#1731 and #1732) as Christmas presents to each other.

In 2013, things took a turn for the ridiculous. We had become good friends with Al and had dinners and post race celebrations with him and Caryn since RNR San Jose 2012, but when Competitor Group had a scheduling overlap putting Rock n Roll San Antonio and Rock n Roll Las Vegas on the same day, Al called me saying 'you know, it might be possible to do both'. We'd done full marathons before that, obviously, but even this was a step up. That was the year Double Live / SA2LV happened. We also added the inaugural Berkeley Half Marathon the following weekend to moon up to Earth level as Half Fanatics with 3 halfs in 3 states in 10 days. That split double gave us a good start for the Brazen New Years Eve/New Years Day double, just a month before we did full marathons 4 days apart on Antarctica and South America.

A second vow renewal, this time with a larger party on an emotional weekend.

The finish line at Vegas with a warm welcome from Ann.

2014 was our busiest year with 47 half marathons between us. Susan had the extra race that year at the Zooma Women's marathon in Napa, California. I didn't race in it, but was there in full support in an electric blue tutu. We also added the 50th Anniversary Mustang Half, a once in a lifetime chance to race on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We were able to walk in The Biggest Loser RunWalk races in Casper, Wyoming and Panama City Beach, Florida. It was also the year we did our first Disney races, starting with the Dumbo Double Dare in September and Disney Avengers in November (as the first half of the Avengers/RNR Vegas Double Live 2). We were even part of George Melichar's moving art museum at Rock n Roll Chicago. At Rock n Roll San Antonio, we hit our 15th RNR race, putting us on the first ever Heavy Medal Hall of Fame for CGI.

2015 saw another pair of Disney races and two The Biggest Loser RunWalk races.  We went back to where we did our first full marathon in Anchorage, Alaska to mark 10 years since our first race. The celebration was also our 20 year wedding anniversary.  With the inaugural Rock n Roll Brooklyn Half, we checked off the 25th state for half marathons. After this year's Disney Avengers/Rock n Roll Las Vegas double, we also finished our 15th RNR for another entry into the Hall of Fame. 

Messing with Darth

Dan and Jackie. The Biggest Winners in our book.

More than anything, we'll remember our first 99 races with our friends. We cheered for Joe for his 100th finishing his Rock n Roll race in DC. 

In the rain at DC for Joe's 100th Rock n Roll

We prayed for Beth as she underwent major surgery in March and recovered quickly enough to race again in May.

Pre-race at Rock n Roll Raleigh. Beth was just a few weeks out of abdominal surgery and came out to cheer us on. We all wore bibs in her honor.

We came together for Erin Zeman. Joe, Kevin and I wore her husband, Jake's bib from the day he passed away at Rock n Roll Savannah 2013.

Rock n Roll San Antonio will be our 16th RNR each for this year and our 45th half for 2015 combined. And it'll be a race where a lot of our best friends are hitting the 15 race Hall of Fame for the year as well. I want to see how many people I can fit into a group selfie of all the friends we've made over the years and the ones we hope to see for years to come.

I am grateful for every time I post a picture of my suitcase and the dozen or so luggage tags from the races we've done that year.

I'm glad that our bodies have forgiven us for the miles that we put on them.

I'm looking forward to the finishing in San Antonio on Sunday. It'll be the last of our first 100 half marathons.

At that time, and always, we'll celebrate the present.

~//~

I found this way of displaying our race history a little surprising. It didn't really dawn on me that we have been racing nearly every other weekend for almost three years now, most of them out of state. It does make me wonder if we've found a sweet spot or we're just taking a quick pause before going to the next level.

By the numbers, the 100 Half Marathon breakdown and stats.

Top Race Companies: 
- Rock n Roll Marathon (67 and 68 halfs, 5 and 4 fulls)
- runDisney (4) 
- The Biggest Loser RunWalk (4)

Most Frequented Races: 
RNR San Diego (6)
RNR Chicago (6)
RNR Seattle (5)
RNR Arizona (5)
RNR Las Vegas (5)
We've also done Nike San Francisco 10 times, but 8 of those were in support and we did the full marathon as pacers.

States with completed Halfs: 25
In order of completion: California, Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Virginia, Florida, District of Colombia (yes we'll count it), Oregon, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Michigan, New York.

Canadian Provinces: 2
Quebec, British Columbia

Legacy Races: 
RNR Portland (4 years). We haven't seen this on the 2016 RNR schedule yet.
RNR San Francisco (3)
If you count these: Disney Avengers (2) and RNR Raleigh (2). 

Fastest halfs: 
Walking: Ron 2:22:28 RNR San Diego 2015, Susan 2:29:23 RNR San Diego 2014
Run/Walking: Ron 2:55:54 (yeah, go figure) RNR Chicago 2014, Susan 2:30:03 RNR Cleveland 2013

Best Age graded performances:  
Ron 63.27%, Susan 65.63%

Best Overall Finishes:
Ron: 1st place - TBL Casper 2014, TBL Las Vegas 2015, 3rd Place - TBL Panama City Beach 2014, American River Parkway 2014
Susan: 2nd place - TBL Casper 2014, 3rd place - TBL Las Vegas 2015.

Age grade awards:
Ron:  1st Place - Eye Q Fresno, 3rd Place - Eye Q Fresno
Susan: 1st Place - Eye Q Fresno, 1st Place American River Parkway (twice)

Favorites - random categories, because people always ask the question:
Ron: 
Favorite overall - Kauai. Tunnel of Trees and the most beautiful finish chute starting at mile 11.
Favorite Urban - RNR Chicago. I can do without the bridges, but the city is awesome.
Favorite For Speed - RNR San Diego. 4 PRs in 4 years (one in the 5K)
Most memorable: RNR San Antonio/RNR Las Vegas 2013. For many reasons.

Susan: 
Favorite Rock n Roll race - Vancouver. The last 3 miles smell like fresh cut Christmas trees.
Race with the most to look forward to at the finish: Diva San Francisco (Tiaras, Feather Boas, Champagne)
Most Scenic: Maui, Monterey

Fly Like the Wind - Inaugural Disney Avengers Half Marathon and Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon 2014

Your mission, should you choose to accept:  Two half marathons, two states, on the same day... for the second year in a row.

After capitalizing on a schedule glitch last year with the Double Live Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio/Rock n Roll Las Vegas half marathons falling on the same day, Competitor Group split the races so that they wouldn't have the same kind of madness in 2014. 

Then Disney steps in and announces the Inaugural Disney Avengers Half Marathon in Anaheim, to take place the morning on the same day of Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas. Naturally, challenge accepted. 

And again, we blame Al.

Logistics this time were a lot easier to manage. Instead of the 2.5 hour flight across two time zones, this time the flight was less than an hour from Anaheim to Vegas. We decided to skip the Run Thru Wedding, saving us about an hour and there were at least a dozen flights leaving from the various Los Angeles area airports between 8:30 AM and 2 PM. Frankly, the hardest thing about setting up this Double was making sure we were online in time to sign up for the Avengers race. It sold out within a couple hours of opening the registration. Once we did that, it was just the matter of getting to the race. 

This year we were missing two of the seven members of our Magnificent Seven. Beth and Jim were committed to the Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte, NC. Al and Caryn landed in Anaheim Friday. Susan and I got into John Wayne Airport just after lunch on Saturday, coincidentally, less than a half hour before Kamika come in from Las Vegas. We prepared a welcome for him.

Greeted for pick-up with "Double Live Tours".
And, for those who asked, those Iron Man ears are real. A lot of pictures look Photoshopped, even to me!

First stop, the hotel to drop off the bags and meet Al and Caryn. And just as importantly, to pick up our race gear, custom designed by Al and his design team just like last year. Then, off to the Expo. Everything was set up the same as it was at Dumbo a few months ago, so we even knew the back way through the parking lots from the hotel to downtown Disney. This time we didn't have to ask five different people where to get our bibs! Disney had a nice touch on the check in sheets if you didn't print out your own. Computer and printer stations were available in the bib pick up area for people to enter personal info and print a confirmation form right on the spot.

The Avengers theme was in full swing. We did notice that images of Iron Man were noticeably absent. It turns out that although Disney owns the Marvel comics brand (Iron Man's universe), the IRONMAN brand name has the lock on athletic events. As big as Disney is, they know not to mess with trademarks.

This time, we found the red carpet to the expo without much trouble.

And we get to ham it up a little with our new gear!

Lunch at Tortilla Joe's was relaxing. Dinner at Shakey's was a convenience. I found it really strange to be so unconcerned about doing the equivalent a full marathon the next day. Last year we did morning/evening training and ramped up to 18 and 20 mile weekends. This year, not so much. Having had a really good year with a range of training methods, we felt pretty good about going into another Double.

For the Dumbo, we were in bed trying to sleep at 9:30 when the fireworks over Disneyland started. They went on for about a half hour. This time around, we were outside enjoying a pretty good view.

This is where I should mention that I told Al that I want to some day walk a sub-5 hour marathon. That would be 19 minutes faster than my current PR. Even though it wouldn't be representative of a real race since we were planning to take pictures with the characters in the morning and had that long rest break between half marathons, I decided to push the pace whenever I was moving. Pushing the second half in Vegas on tired legs would be a good benchmark.

Race 1:
4:00 AM  Alarms go off. We'd already been awake for 10 minutes like usual. The race starts in 90 minutes. 
5:00 AM  We meet in the lobby of the Sheraton and take a group picture. The early start guarantees blurry phone pics for the first few hours of the day.

Close ups of the sleeves. Agents of Shield on the left sleeve, the Rock 'n' Roll Logo on the right sleeve.
Al put a little surprise on the RNR logo sleeve for our friend John Bingham.

5:10 AM  We head over to the starting line. It's a 12 minute easy walk.

See? Blurry.

5:28 AM  We all filter into Corral E. Al was assigned the earlier corral, but he needed someone to take pictures.

The back of the shirts turned out great. I wish I had a smaller pack that let the Vegas skyline show more. Temps started in the mid 50's and the forecast dry with wind gusts. More on that later.

5:48 AM
Announcer Rudy Novotny had the best view of what was probably the 'most costumed' race of the year. I bet the Disney Store sold out of all of the Avenger gear and accessories the day before. I'm glad I bought my Ears back on Labor Day.

5:52 AM

Support means a lot. Jeff and Connor were waiting for Jen outside the Disney Paradise. He said he had a LOT of people stop to take pictures of their sign. Later I gave him major kudos for excellent spectator placement - highly visible, yet not crowded so you can see each other during the race easily.

6:01 AM
The mile markers were awesome. At least the ones inside the park were.

6:04 AM
The Christmas decorations went up inside the park just a few days before the race. I didn't stop during Dumbo, but this just looked too good to pass up.

6:22 AM
There were four Avengers in the park. Thor was first. The line for pictures with him was about 25 minutes. They picked good actors for the parts. 

6:33 AM
Hawkeye was next. I remember that they aren't allowed to hold their props. I'm sure I'd get in some serious trouble if I got my hands on the bow.

6:42 AM
Here's where things got dicey. Black Widow had a line, but they weren't letting people line up by the time Al arrived. Why? They were worried we wouldn't stay ahead of the Balloon Ladies who make the course sweepers at a 16 minute mile. They didn't listen to the fact that we could easily make up the time. This was the best pic I could get. Next year, we skip ahead.

Captain America was the last Avenger in the park. Even at full speed, Al didn't get there in time to catch him in a background selfie. We're working on a strategy next year to leap frog to the next lines so we catch everyone. If not, we'll at least prioritize Black Widow for sure. 

Here's what he looked like. At least Susan caught him. I did notice that I was walking sub-10:30 miles in between the last two photo stops.

In fact, she had a lot of good pictures in the park.

Once we cleared the park, I settled into a decent pace. Susan didn't stop to take pictures and was playing it conservatively for the Double, so she was about 30 minutes ahead of us. Things were pretty uneventful until we closed in on Angels Stadium where the crosswinds picked up to gust up to 50 mph. Susan said later that she had dirt and pebbles blown through the mesh in her shoes, turning her socks and toes black. And remember those cool mile marker signs? They didn't fare so well in the wind. 

7:24 AM
About a half mile before going into the stadium was the best costume line up of the race. Since they were just cheering and not running, they didn't have to worry about overdressing or waving the big props. It's too big for blogger to upload, so here's the link to Susan's video Disney Avengers Mile 8

8:07 AM Coming into Angel's Stadium was a good break from the wind. On the way out, we saw a lot of people in WWII army outfits from the first Captain America movie. Some, it turns out, were real army vets in their authentic dress khakis. Makes me wonder if the guns were real. Disney has a lot of security that way.

8:22 AM
Best sign on the course. You had to stay until the end of the Avengers movie to appreciate this fully.

8:54 AM

Al and I caught up to Susan waiting near mile 12.5 and we finished together. 

8:59 AM

We got a great shout out from Rudy who wished us luck on our trip to Vegas that night. I bet he was saying that a lot this race.

And yes, we did finally get a picture with the Widow and Cap. Note to self: the characters leave for the finish line. Hustle your butts through the first few miles if you want pictures.

The winds kicked up even more at the finish line. Usually the stage area (below) is crowded with people, but the race officials worried about some of the tents being blown over and rolling over people. We got one of the last pictures in front of the stage before they moved people along into the parking lot.

Kamika finished about 15 minutes behind us and went back to the hotel for a nap. Caryn had been having back problems for a few months and gutted out a slow race. With our flight at 1:50 PM and the airport less than half an hour away, we still had plenty of time to shower, change, eat a quick lunch at the airport and get on the plane to Vegas!

1:42 PM
Beth and Jim were not with us, but not forgotten by any means. Al scheduled a call with them to let them know the progress on our mission. That's them on the other end of a FaceTime call from the exit rows. There were maybe a dozen people on the plane going to Vegas for the double. We're guessing there may have been a few hundred total that day doing both races.

2:50 PM
We land at LAS, 20 minutes early and pile into one large cab with a very entertaining driver. Traffic getting to the Westin was slow going with all the road closures, but we make it in time to check in and drop off bags.

3:49 PM 
We hop the tram to the MGM Grand for a quicker walk to the Solutions tent for same day bib pick up. By the time we get to the huge starting area off the Strip, it was nearly deserted as everyone was in the starting corrals. We just heard Corral 10 get released just as we were ready to go. You'll notice the significant increase in layers for this race. Temps started in the low 50's, and were going to drop into the low 40's with gusts to 40 mph. 

4:51 PM
We made our way to the start line so Al could give John one of the custom shirts. Given everything he's done for the sport it was only fitting to send him off. Al wouldn't be at San Antonio for John's last race with Competitor Group.

4:55 PM
We were losing the light at this point and I put away the phone after the starting line because I wanted to push my pace to see if I could walk under 2:30 for a second half. We had to take at least one pic. See what I mean about the hat looking photoshopped?

I didn't take a single picture during my race. I somehow forgot to pack my tactical glasses to keep the wind out of my face, but Al was kind enough to loan me his. He was planning on staying with Caryn until she found her friend who was looking to do about a 3 - 3:15 half marathon pace. At the turn just before mile 1, Nick, a runner from Chicago started pacing with me. He was trying to decide on doing the half or full since he'd done the Chicago Marathon a month ago. My first 8 miles were right on schedule, averaging 11:20/mile.

That's when the long day, the 2200 feet of (slight) elevation and the deceptive incline for the last 5 miles started taking effect. I never got under a 12 minute mile after that, no matter what I was trying with cadence or form. About mile 11, I thought about just packing in up and cruising in, but I remember what Al said after breaking his ribs in the middle of Ironman Florida. He was asking us to push ourselves and he didn't want to quit. I was able to walk my last three miles down from a 12:23 to a respectable 12:03.

The results on the RNR Las Vegas site won't reflect it, but I finished the half in 2:34:25 give or take a few seconds. When I got to the finish line, I stopped my watch and went back a mile to wait for Susan. We finished together, just like I wanted to, in just under a relaxed 3 hours. Delaying the finish also gave us a chance for some bonus pictures with Ann Wessling since she was on a break when I got there earlier. We missed John Bingham, but will hope to see more of him next week in San Antonio.

Subtracting time that I stopped for pictures in Disney and the finish line delay I finished the 26.2 in about 5:13 - that would have been a PR by 6 minutes for me. The second half wasn't sub 2:30, but I felt pretty good about keeping it together mentally.

Kamika finished about a half hour behind us. Caryn's back took a turn for the worse after the flight but she made it. Except for one stretch when she needed something to eat, Al didn't leave her side for the race. 

I usually do a recap of the races at the end of the blogs, but this one is long enough as it is. Given how well things went last year with Double Live I, Avengers 2 Las Vegas was a good sequel.

We plan to do it all over again in 2015.

Two Keys to the Kingdom, Please - The Dumbo Double Dare 2014

Two races in a weekend? That's not a problem.

Warm temps at race start? Been there.

A field composed of a lot of first timers with basic race etiquette? We've lived that before too.

Watching some of our favorite stories come to life, mile after mile?  Now THAT'S something we've never seen before.

runDisney is part of THE ultimate entertainment company. The Dumbo Double Dare was our first Disney race and part of the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. Shelling out a few hundred bucks for a race is pretty rare for us but since these sell out within hours, there is no discounted price. Disney can command top dollar.

We stayed on the edge of the park thanks to a suggestion from Al, a Disney veteran and legacy runner. The Sheraton Anaheim is just about a mile walk to the expo at the Disneyland Resort Hotel and even closer to the start and finish lines. 

Susan likes to accessorize for races. She was in fine form all weekend!

We arrived Friday afternoon after the 5K, so the expo was already in full swing. Marcie at Sport Hooks told me the three day expo is great for business. She had a lot of custom Disney racks to show off and they were going like hotcakes.

The speaker series had a couple of big names we were looking forward to hearing. Sean Astin (known for parts like Rudy and Samwise from the LOTR), is an avid runner. His mantra is #Run3rd. He runs 1st for himself, 2nd for his family and then 3rd for you (anyone who asks him). He had a line 15 minutes long for autographs after his presentation on Friday. 

We realized how many times we've met amazing people at races. We're starting to ask for autographs, like proper groupies should.

Susan told Sean she was racing her 70th half marathon. He didn't think he had any advice to give. He actually wanted to know if we'd heard about the half marathon on Antarctica. After telling him about the White Continent/Punta Arenas trip with Marathon Adventures, I think he may be signing up for 2015!

Legendary run/walker and official runDisney coach Jeff Galloway was up next with the nutritionist. Jeff is a fan of walking, though he stresses that racewalking, when improperly practiced, can be as much a source of injury as running. He has been running for 37 years without an injury and still is close to Boston Qualifying speed. His book "Running Until You're 100" may be in need of a sequel ("Running Forever").

We took a quick walk through Downtown Disney to check out dinner places and some of the shops. My friends know I'm not a fan of the whole Princess and old school Disney stories, but the newer Pixar films are among my favorites. Add a Lego statue, and everything is awesome.

We had pre-10K dinner at Rufino's. After an early bed time and a 3:45 wake up call, we took the short stroll to the 10K start. 

in the category of 'train with what you will wear on race day', we failed miserably

The logistics were incredibly well managed. Foot traffic from all directions funneled well into each of the corrals. Here they actually did check bibs so very few if any people were able to start into the incorrect corrals. The Dumbo racers also had different bibs than the 10K and Half-only participants. There seemed to be a lot of us.

Race announcers Rudy Novotny and Carissa and a parade of characters kept people entertained before the gun. The light show at the start was really a nice touch. The jumbotron, the countdowns on the pylons and the huge lighted balls indicating corrals were a sure sign this is was a race put on by an entertainment company. Having complete control over the location really has its advantages. 

Around mile 2, we meet up with Al in Radiator Springs. This year's theme was Lilo and Stitch so he was in full Hawaiian garb. Kamika would be so proud. Somehow I missed taking a picture of Al. I'm glad he was able to come down and take a break from the chaos caused at work by the Napa earthquake. 

For this weekend, we decided to take it easy on the 10K and get any training speed during the half marathon after we left the park. Since both courses spend a lot of time in the park with several characters available for pictures, it's typically not a set up for fast races on both days. Unless you're going to spend a lot of time in the park after the races, why not have some fun? 

This was my first 10K. Susan ran Rock N Roll Brooklyn a few years back which is why she is one RNR race ahead of me. I set a really relaxed PR in the mid 1:20's including about 28 pictures. Sadly, the hat-cam froze a few minutes into the race and the only video I got was of Susan yawning at the starting line with some guy videobombing behind her. 

Disney does a really nice job with the finish line area, funneling everyone through medals, wrist band pick up (to indicate the first race of the Dumbo), a snack box tent and then gear check before sending you on your way. 

It was never really crowded, even with the over 9500 participants. Kudos on day 1 for the organization!

We met Al and Caryn for shopkicking and dinner at TuTu Tango. Those that know us may get the significance.

Half marathon morning was going to be warm - low 70's by 4 AM. I checked my Facebook feed, I saw that our friends racing Rock n Roll Virginia Beach that day were going to have temps in the mid 70's. By mid-race RNR VB had a recorded heat index of 107, the highest ever on the RNR circuit. We reminded ourselves why we've done VB twice and probably never again. All that said, we took several years of experience and geared up like a serious race.

Or not...

Score one for connections on Facebook. Our friend from the Santa Cruz Track club (Diana) and her son Jason were in town for the Dumbo also. Jason finished 4th overall in the 10K the day before and 26th overall in the half. Diana was nursing a knee injury, but at her best she is a low 2:10's race walker. Speed, it seems, runs in the family.

The low light in the first few miles of the course made for blurry pictures. The army men from Toy Story, Mater and Lightning McQueen from Cars and a few floats from Toy Story and The Incredibles are in my phone, but hardly identifiable.  I did try to wait in line to take a picture with Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers, but Darth had to take a break when I was 8 people away, proving how thoroughly evil he is.  I complained. Apparently too loudly for their taste.

Once we left the park there was a lot less Disney. Caryn was waiting for us near our hotel at mile 4, Stephanie was at mile 4 and 11 and the cheer squads on the course seemed to be stationed every half mile or so. Even though it was pretty early, it was rarely quiet. Two photo highlights of the race are the row of classic cars:

..and the stretch through Angel's stadium. They actually call everyone out by name if there's enough space between you and the folks around you.

The final loops back into the park were a bit of a fog. We finished in reasonable times (2:35 ish). We got the Half medal, picked up the Dumbo medal and went for the same smooth exit as we did the previous day. As an added perk, they gave out reusable cooling towels to fend off the heat. I had some reservations about the high price tag for the race, but I think it was definitely worth it.

Is it just me, or does Susan look even younger than usual with the ears?

These were the first Disney races for us. We'll be back at Disneyland in November for the Avenger's Half Marathon and again in January for Star Wars Half Marathon weekend.  I plan to wait in line for Darth for that one, even if he has to take a break.

In the meantime, we'll enjoy some really cool bling and a bunch of pictures that makes me feel like I did when we visited Disneyland decades ago. 

The Kingdom still has some Magic left in it.

~//~

Disney has nine race weekends that offer multiple distances over the weekend. A few have opportunities for bonus medals for finishing two or more races. The Goofy Challenge (half and full marathons) and Dopey Challenge (5K, 10K, Half and Full) both take place in January during the Disneyworld Marathon Weekend. The Pixie Dust Challenge takes place at the Tinkerbell Weekend for those completing the 10K and the Half. The new Rebel Challenge takes place at the Star Wars Half Marathon weekend in January.

The Dumbo Double Dare had 9606 finishers in the 10K and 15,984 in the Half. About 6000 finished both races for the Dumbo medal. Median times are significantly slower than most of the other races judging by the fact that we placed in the low 7000's for the half. There's a lot to see and it's a good idea to take your time.

The course is flat. Even the 'hill' at mile 4 is barely a freeway over pass. With good weather conditions, it's a PR worthy course, but I think I'd have to have done it a few times and gotten bored with the scenery to try to push it.  I don't know that we'll get to that point for the price tag, but I know never to say never.