runDisney

I never considered running to be an enjoyable sport. It was the one sport while growing up that I continually stayed away from. “Run Days” at school were definitely not my favorite. I would always try to come up with any excuse not to participate. Fast forward to present day, here I am getting ready to take part in my first ever 5k race. I never thought I would see this day come! To sweeten the deal, I will be doing my first race in Walt Disney World (did I mention I am also a huge Disney fan?!).

It is always a good idea to have a running partner, someone to train and do the race with. Your partner can help to keep up motivation, provide encouragement and offer support. Miss Lauren from the Lawrence Youth Services department joined me for this adventure.

Reading up on the event and what will take place is very exciting and we had been counting down the days since last summer. (You can never go wrong with a trip to Disney World!) However, it is not all fun and games. A lot goes into preparing for a race, whether it be a 5k, 10k, half-marathon or full-marathon. A great resource is American Olympian Jeff Galloway (who comes highly recommend by Disney). Galloway provides coaching tips and a training schedule for both race level and/or running level, which makes it customized for any runner and provides an almost injury-proof plan. The training program can easily fit into any busy lifestyle, it requires the runner to only have a 3-day training week.

The 5k race (3.1 mile run) we participated in was at Epcot in Orlando, FL. The running method I choose to stick with was the Walk-Run Method. By taking turns running and walking on regular intervals, it helps to keep an even pace and also goes easier on your body and will extend your endurance for the entire race.

Finally, when it came time for our trip, we headed down to sunny Florida for a fun-filled 4 days! The first stop on our adventure was the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Here we picked up our race bib and were able to explore all things health and fitness with a dash of Mickey thrown in.

The big day! Early (very early) Friday morning we woke up and headed to the starting line at the parking lot of Epcot Center. Before the start of the race, we were able to meet some of the Disney Princesses. Afterwards we headed down to our corral and waited in line for our turn to start the race! At 6:30am our section was cheered off and the next hour was spent on the race path that surrounded, and then lead into, Epcot Center. Along the way we were cheered on by Disney Cast Members and other spectators who made the experience even more enjoyable.

Less than an hour later we crossed the finish line and celebrated our big accomplishment. Afterwards we hydrated and rested before heading back over to Epcot to play in the park for the day. Until the next race…

Disney offers many options in their runDisney franchise. January is the host to the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. February is the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend, April is the Star Wars Rival Run Weekend and the fall is host to the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. Another option would be the Virtual races which can be done anywhere! To learn more visit RunDisney.com

To learn more about marathon training you can visit JeffGalloway.com.

Or by visiting The Mercer County Library for the following books on running: