Reviewing the Race or How to Make a Million Dollars

I have discovered how to make a million dollars. Be the port-a-potty contractor for the Disney Princess Half Marathon. Do you know how many port-a-potties 17,000 women need? A lot. A whole lot. Truly I've never seen that many port-a-potties in my life!

The race is over and I'm back home. I have lots to say and lots of pictures to show, but I thought I would just tell you about the race and save the philosphy for another day!

Backtracking just a little, here is a picture of the expo we went to. It was a lot of fun and in restrospect we wished we had spent more time there.

Now on to the race.....

Let me just say that 3:00 am is early and 17,000 is a lot of people. A mind boggling amount of people.

We truly did get up at 3:00 and headed out to catch the bus at about 3:30. You would have thought it was noon though because of the people and activity going on at our resort. They used charter buses to take us to the race site, which was one of the Epcot parking lots. We walked to a staging area where you could check bags, buy shirts, etc. There were a lot of people there but nothing too overwhelming. We followed the crowd to the starting line, or so we thought. What we found around the bend was the longest line of port-a-potties I have ever seen. Literally 200 potties lined up with thousands of women in line. We finally made it through the potty line and headed once again to the starting line. It resembled herding cattle. Thousands of women all walking together. After about a 20 minute walk, we came to a large stretch of Disney highway. Here is where each corral was located. Here we seperated from Christina and Regina who headed to corral E and the rest of us headed to corral F. We waited for about half an hour before the race started. It was fun though. There were all kinds of crazy outfits and everyone was in a good mood. There were 2 announcers from ESPN and music. There was a Jumbo Tron up so those of us in the back could see. Look in the picture and see if you can tell where that Jumbo Tron is.

On top of an interstate overpass! I cannot imagine what this race did to Orlando traffic except that it was practically the middle of the night. Can you see how far back the line of people goes?!

Once it was time to start, each corral started 6 minutes behind the other. The Fairy Godmother started each corral with a magic wish, a countdown and of course, fireworks. I was so excited that we all got fireworks. It took nearly 40 minutes from the start of the race for me to reach the starting line, but when I took off I was near tears. It was finally real and I was doing this!

I stayed with the other girls for a while, but I was very committed to my plan of running 7 minutes then walking a minute, and at that point I fell behind them. I never caught up but I had mentally prepared myself for running alone and it was fine.

I knew this was a special and different kind of race when the line to have your picture taken with Captain Jack at mile one was 10 minutes long. There was music and characters all along the way. The women, in my corral anyway, were everyday people like me and it was fun to be around them. Everyone was nice to each other and made way for people coming through.

At mile four I stopped for a second and had my picture made here:

Each mile marker looked like a story book featuring a princess. That was fun to look forward to at each mile, although I swear they moved a few more than a mile apart.

This was a welcome and fun site to see and fun to run through.

From here we ran through service roads and into the Magic Kingdom. This was the most fun part of the race. We ran down Main Street USA and there were people cheering and Disney cast members high fiving you with Mickey hands. It was invigorating! I stopped and had some nice man take this picture.

I think it is my favorite picture of the trip. This is what I came to do! It was just so fun! Also, please notice the people!!! These are all runners! I'm still not over the amount of people-can you tell?!

From here we left the Magic Kingdom and entered what were for me the longest miles of the race. For about 3 miles there was little in the form of entertainement. The excitement of the Magic Kingdom carried me for about a mile, but once I hit mile 9 I was tired. At mile 10 the reality that this was as far as I had ever been set in. Each step beyond that was more than I had ever done. Just before mile 11 I got a text from Shane cheering me on and that was a God send! Blessedly mile 11 finally came and excitement set back in. At no point in those miles did I think I wouldn't finish; it was just long. I so felt all the prayers and words of encouragement. I have learned through this that some runs are good and some you just get through. I so wanted the race to be a good day and it was. No shin splints, no hip pain. I felt very prayed over!

We entered Epcot and made kind of a winding circle through the front of the park. The park itself was open and the park guests cheered us on. We left there and encountered a huge gospel choir which was just what I needed for a final burst of energy. A quarter of a mile later the mile 13 sign appeared and .1 miles later I crossed the finish line. A nice lady stepped in front of me and asked if I would like a medal. I assured her I would and she put it around my neck. I was almost crying! I found everyone and we all just hugged and celebrated! I got several text messages from Shane and my mom and Andy. I talked to Shane about 5 minutes later and just fell apart when he answered the phone! Here is a picture of Jill and Regina and me just minutes after we finished.

I finished in 3 hours and 5 minutes. My goal was under three and I think I really could have done it in a regular race, but the sheer number of people kept my pace slower than normal and it became obvious quick that this race was about fun and not just the number on the clock. I was pleased.

We decided to hop on the monorail and head straight to the Magic Kingdom. I know that sounds crazy but it was so fun. I ate what I am sure were the best french fries and Diet Coke ever made. We rode a few rides and then hit the wall and headed back for showers and a nap. After resting up we headed back to join Cinderella at her castle for dinner. She admired our new jewelry and we had a fun time leaving the park just before midnight.

We made it home this afternoon and this is what I found waiting for me!

I am so happy I did this. It was an expierance I will never forget and I want to do it again. I know I will do another 1/2 sometime. Hopefully later this year.

And in case you were wondering.....

I came in 9,097th.