...and Disney makes possible.
We know it's been awhile since our last posting and we apologize - upon our return from Disney our schedules were disrupted by matters at home and at work. Thank you for being patient as we catch up and re-cap our experiences with the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend. We'll be looking back on our trip from beginning to end. For starters, how did we get here?!
With all of our recent snow days, I'm wishing I lived where it was warmer. Okay, confession: I wish I was back at Walt Disney World. It's been almost two weeks since Veronica and I completed the Glass Slipper Challenge. One moment, it was a frantic afternoon in mid-July trying to get through the registration process and the next, we're home again, medals in hand. Princess Half Marathon weekend has come and gone, leaving me begging for more. So much went into preparing for this event - physically, mentally and costume-y!
I often say, "who is this girl" and "I can't believe I did this," when reflecting back on my running journey. It's true - comparing myself to my pre-running self, you would not have seen me running except in case of an emergency. You would not have seen me consider forking over any amount of money to run (Who pays to do that?!), purchasing inordinate amounts of confetti dot fabric and glitter for running costumes, or simply scrolling though fellow blogs looking for exciting races to join. But.. "Runner" Laura, does just that.
Shortly after completing our series of back-to-back 5K races and Veronica moving across the country, I was excited to tackle more, but didn't know where to begin. I googled fellow runners' blogs, looked online and scoured Pinterest. It was there that I stumbled across a pin for Disney Princess Half Marathon. What?! Disney does races?! This I had to see. A slightly wasted lunch-hour later, I was hooked. I knew I needed to get to Florida and run among fellow princesses. I talked it over with Veronica and we set a goal - we would run in 2015. She had her upcoming wedding in March plus moving to adjust to and there was also the nitty-gritty of training to be done. We marked July 15th on our calendars for registration and we waited...
Well, sort of. The whole idea of running through Epcot and the Magic Kingdom overwhelmed me so much that I had to find out more. Following reviews and re-caps of fellow princess runners, I discovered the Glass Slipper Challenge: run the Enchanted 10K on Saturday and the Princess Half-Marathon on Sunday. Your reward? Not one, not two, but THREE shiny medals, including one emblazoned with a glass slipper. As a girl who was nicknamed Cinderella at a young age (I protested about some chores), I HAD to have it. It took a little (barely any) convincing to get Veronica excited, and we decided we'd "go big or go home!"
Fast-forward to July 15th and we found ourselves counting down to registration opening at 12:00 noon (9:00 AM Pacific Time). I was teaching summer school and had just sent my students home for the day. Armed with our phones and the registration page loaded, we were ready. Disney and Active, however, were not. For anyone who is familiar with registering for a RunDisney race -- they sell out. FAST. Right from the start, we encountered difficulty with the Active website and struggled to get through for over 45 minutes. After several emails with RunDisney, who assured us they were working on the issue, I bit the bullet and hurried home to try registering from my own computer and hoping the glitch would be fixed. By the time I arrived and logged in, the Glass Slipper Challenge was sold out and the Princess Half Marathon was 95% full. Frustrated and beyond upset, we registered for the half marathon, feeling half-defeated.
However, we decided not to give up. Having already been in communication with RunDisney regarding the registration, we both followed up separately asking for any consideration to be allowed to complete the Glass Slipper Challenge. As the day passed, we continued to hope and several hours later, an email response came through. RunDisney apologized for the technical issues and our inability to register for the Glass Slipper Challenge as planned. True to the magic that is Disney, they granted our wish: we were going to be able to participate in the Glass Slipper Challenge! Ecstatic beyond belief, I called Veronica and shared the good news. In less than a year, we would be running together again surrounded by thousands of other princesses in the most magical place on Earth.
Now - costumes?!
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