Disneyland Half September 2010

First up in the list of Ghosts of Races Past is my very first race: Disneyland Half Marathon 2010.

Most people don't tackle a half marathon as their first race. Most start with a 5K and work their way up. I'm not most people. I'm way more stupid...

Before the spring of 2010, I had never run more than 2 miles. And I certainly couldn't run those two miles without walking. I should also note that when I say "run" I mean "shuffle". But a friend of mine that was a long time runner said she was running it and without even batting an eye, I signed up to run it, too. After all, you got to run through Disneyland!! My favorite place! Little did I know that this would spark a love of racing, particularly all Disney races. (Notice I said "love of racing" and not a "love of running". I'm still working on that.)

I grew up showing horses and going to races feels just like horse showing with all of the excitement and fun, and none of the stress of competitive horse showing. When you run half marathons and marathons, everyone gets a prize for finishing. Score!

My time was incredibly slow but I did finish. And yes, I cried when I crossed the finish line.

The pictures are blurry because the phone I had at the time was, um, crappy.

Running through California Adventure

This being my first Disney race, I was shocked to see
people lined up to take pictures with the character!

I loved this part. It was foggy and cloudy and everything looked so cool!

Cool, huh?

Running into the Magic Kingdom

Running through the back lot behind Toon Town

Running through the castle.

Running into Angel Stadium. Very, very cool!

Running, running, running...

Almost there! I was hurting a bit at this point!

Post race wine and pizza! Mmmmm.

I've run this race twice now and it's still my favorite. I know some avid Disney runners like the Disney World races better, but I've run at both resorts and I like the Disneyland race better.

This was an incredible experience. If anyone had told me that I would do a half marathon, I would have snorted water out of my nose from laughing. But I did it.



My very first medal!