Glass Slipper Challenge: I Did it!

Hey, guys! So I’m back from the Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend, and just wanted to drop in and announce that I am now the proud owner of three shiny (and sparkly!) new medals! princesshalf_medals

It was an awesome weekend, and I can’t wait to share the details with you guys!

I’ll be posting recaps this week and next week, but in the meantime, here are some highlights (and pictures!).

The Expo:

The expo was pretty quiet when we got there in the early afternoon on Thursday, and they had tons of goodies, from official runDisney race merch to everything a woman could ever want to look cute while running, from sparkly skirts to headbands to shoe charms and running-themed jewelry. Which may or may not be such a good thing for me… ;)

rundisneyexpo

The 10K:

I am proud to report that my sister, Hopper (not her real name, haha), did finish her first 10K! It was a little bit of a struggle, especially since it was SO DISGUSTINGLY HUMID, but we had a blast.

princesshalf_10costumes

And, best of all, after the race we got to take THE picture of the weekend…

disneyprincess_elsaanna

In case you were wondering…no, it’s not easy to meet Elsa and Anna. They’re basically THE rock stars of Epcot now, and you pretty much have to sacrifice your first-born child to get a photo with them (or, you know, stand in almost a 4-hour line…even when you get there RIGHT at park opening…) But that’s a whole other story — stay tuned! ;)

The Half Marathon:

I’m not gonna lie; this was not my best race. Obviously my Disney race times are never anything to write home about, but overall, I did struggle for a good portion of the race.

disneyprincess_jasminecostume

Once again, I’d like to blame the heat/humidity, because this Northern princess does NOT do well in the heat in general, and has been training through snow and ice for the past 3 months.

disneyprincess_jasminealaddin

But it didn’t matter because a.) I had SO much fun running through the parks and taking tons of pictures and meeting characters and b.) No matter how I felt (physically) that day, there’s no denying how unbelievable it felt to return to run my first half marathon again and think about how far I’ve come in just one year.

Screen shot 2014-02-26 at 9.25.51 AM

The Overall Trip:

First of all, what woman doesn’t enjoy being treated like a princess? There is nothing like walking around the parks and seeing everyone proudly sporting their medals and their tiaras and tutus and sparkly skirts and having the opportunity to congratulate each other. Not only is it one of the most fun races I’ve ever done, but the entire weekend is so supportive and it absolutely did help remind me of why I fell so hard for running in the first place.

disneyprincess_epcot10k

My sister and I had plenty of time to take in our favorite attractions and, of course, we were sure to spend time with some of our favorite princesses.

disneyprincess_ariel

More coming soon! :) disneyprincess_cinderella

Did you run this weekend?!

What’s your favorite part of the Princess Half?

Would you ever want to run the Princess Half?

 

 

 

Comments

  1. OK, a lot of stuff here. Congrats to your sister for completing her first 10K. Your costumes were all awesome! You both look like you had a ton of fun during the weekend. Your Elsa/Anna costumes were loved by my three daughters. Thanks for the heads up about the characters being so popular. I now know what I’m in for. Did I forget anything? Oh, yes! Congratulations on completing the GSC! You have now earned 9 medals for running 6 Disney races. Not a bad amount of bling if I do say so myself.

    • Thanks, Frank! We definitely had a blast, and I have to say, I definitely enjoyed dressing up as/meeting Elsa and Anna. Yeah, so, if you (or your daughters) want to meet them, the strategy is that you must, must, MUST get to Epcot super early, be at the front of the gates, and then the second they open the park BOOK IT to Norway. I’ve heard they’re going to let them start meeting at 9am instead of when World Showcase opens at 11am, but for now, if you’re not in line right around 9am for their first meeting at 11am, you can expect AT LEAST a 5-hour wait, because we waited for 3.5 hours and were probably the 15th party in line at park opening!

  2. Congrats to your sister for running her first 10K, and to you for finding your love of running again :)

    I had a lot of fun at Princess!! I’m no sure if I’ll run it again anytime soon, although my friends do want to sign up for Wine and Dine this year. I think I’d like to maybe see what the west coast races are like. Here in Florida the parks are so far apart from each other… I was kind of disappointed in how little we were actually in a park. Running down Mainstreet and through the castle was awesome though! I wish that would have lasted longer!! :)

    • Thanks, Kristina! I’m glad you had a good time…and you would LOVE Wine and Dine. Now THAT is a fun race. :)

      I will say that I absolutely agree with you; my first time running Princess, I was also surprised (and not pleasantly!) by the lack of park time. There is NOTHING like running down Main Street, but I definitely wish the course was a little less heavy on the highway/”backstage” running! What’s awesome about Disneyland, as you mentioned, is that the parks are closer together and you do run through both, but I will warn you that there’s also a fair amount of just running through the streets of Anaheim, too…which isn’t super exciting, haha.

  3. I love all the pictures!!! Can’t wait to read your recaps! Congrats!!!

  4. Love following your blog and I really love your race recaps! I have done most RD events, but still haven’t done Princess. Your pics REALLY have motivated me for next year! Will you be doing the DDD again this year?

  5. I love living vicariously through your pictures! I bet it was a special memory to have with your sister. I hope to do the race next year with a friend.

    • Thanks, stacie! It really was — it’s the perfect sisters/best friends/mother-daughter weekend, that’s for sure. You’ll LOVE it! :-D

  6. Awesome post about Princess!! It’s on my list to run in someday :)

  7. Were Anna and Elsa even out on the course? I was quite surprised they weren’t in January and will be surprised if they weren’t for this event. They’re popular and princesses. If not for the half then at least the 10k.

    • Hey, Lesley! Nope, Elsa and Anna definitely weren’t out. Elsa made an appearance during the 10K: she was up above the course on an overhang with a microphone and it was snowing underneath her (very cool), but I’m sure rD knew that the line to take pictures with them would be INSANE. I can’t even imagine! Haha.

  8. Way to go Jennifer! It looks like you had a blast! I can’t wait to read your race recaps.

  9. Love love love these photos! I am so glad you had a wonderful time – I wish I could have been there! Your costumes look fantastic! Congrats to you for completing the GSC and to your sister for completing her first 10K!! Can’t wait to recaps!!

  10. Congratulations! And congrats to your sister too! I LOVE your Frozen costume and the picture with Anna and Elsa is epic. It looks and sounds like you had a blast! It put a smile on my face :)

    • Thanks so much, Karla! It was a long wait, but I have to admit, it was fun meeting Elsa and Anna, haha. It was DEFINITELY a blast! :-D

  11. I love all your pics! OMGosh, I so want to do a Disney race now!!

  12. Congrats. Love the costumes.

  13. Love that you got pics with the princesses you were dressed as! I can’t wait to hear your epic “Anna & Elsa Line” story…I saw that line last time I was there and walked right by – it was crazy!

    • Jennifer says:

      Thanks, Danielle! Hahaha, yeah, the Anna/Elsa story could be its own post, let me put it to you that way. Insanity!

  14. Christine AKA "Hopper" says:

    This Hopper sounds like a stand up gal with superb costume making skills.

    Just sayin.

    ; )

  15. christi in ma says:

    congratulations to you and your sister! your costumes were fantastic!
    glad you had fun and enjoyed the weekend

Mentioned Elsewhere:

  1. [...] for the crickets here — I’ve been playing catch-up after our Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend trip, but now I’m ready to share all of the finer details of my Glass Slipper Challenge experience [...]

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