Inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon (1/29/12)

Gotta love the Coast to Coaster medal!

This past weekend I completed the Disney Coast to Coast Challenge by running the Inaugural Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland in Anahiem. This was a female dominated race with over 11,000 women and under 1,000 men. Like all runDisney races, runners dressed up as Disney characters ranging from Cinderella, Ariel, Belle, Snow White ... and or course Tinkerbell. There were hundreds of fairy wings fluttering around! I thought about dressing up, but the closest I came to being in costume was my neon green running razor-back tank top :)

The race started at 5:45am with the national anthem, fireworks, and Minney and Daisy at the start line sending runners off. I wish I was more into the Disney spirit, but after sleepless night of indigestion I was mustering up race energy.  Normally the day before my race I’m really strict about what I eat and drink, but we had a family function so gluttony took the best of me. 

It was still dark when the race started so I ran the first few miles cautiously. The last night I needed to do was trip and fall while battling GI issues. The race started on the streets of Downtown Disney and circled around the north side streets of Disneyland before we entered into the park on the west side. Miles 2-4 were inside Disneyland running through many backlots and behind the scenes stuff. I felt like we spent a fair about of time running in the park compared to the Disneyland Half Marathon which takes place every Labor Day weekend. 

We left Disneyland and ran through Downtown Disney before taking on the streets of Anahiem. Miles 5-11 were mainly through the streets of Anahiem and were not too exciting. My GI butterflies settled down and I started to get into the race spirit a little more by high-fiving little kid supporters and course cheerleaders along the way. I find that when I have fun running the time flies by and it’s a quick race :)

Before I knew it I reached California Adventures at Mile 11 and had some fun striking different poses for the Brightroom Photographers :) Disney races have the most photographers out on the course, especially in the parks. It’s also a Disney thing to stop along the way and take pictures with your digital camera. I don’t think I’m quite there with the costumes and digital camera running. Running allows me to be a minimalist - me, music, and my Garmin ;) 

As I crossed the finish line, I gave Minney and Daisy high-fives and clocked 2:06:32. Not to shabby for my first long run back after 39.3 in Orlando :) Overall it was a fun run and embraced the power of female runners/walkers.

runDisney Medals - January 2012