My long-awaited Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon race report

Where to begin…the Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon takes place at Walt Disney World in Florida at 10:00 pm.  Yes, you read that right – with me being an early morning runner, the race start was right in and around when I would normally be in bed reading trying to gear down to sleep.  And of course, I was at Disney World, so I didn’t exactly spend the day resting.  While I did go back to my room to put my feet up for a few hours before the race, let’s just say I’d had a long day.

So when I arrived at the start area, I had no expectations at all.  I was pleased that the weather was cooler than it had been – I am not really sure what the temperature was as I don’t speak Fahrenheit and can’t remember what numbers were being kicked around, but it felt good anyway.   This was the first race I can remember being at where there was actually entertainment at the start – it was brilliant – I only went to the bathroom once because I was distracted enough not to think I needed to go every 2 minutes.

As with all runDisney events that I have heard about, they started us off with fireworks instead of a gun or an air horn – but the best part is, they didn’t just start the race that way – they started each corral that way.  With each wave starting 5 minutes apart, I felt pretty special that we got our own fireworks!

As we headed off into the darkness, the pack eventually began to thin out, and we passed several entertainment stations.  I was most impressed by the people on stilts giving out high-fives – or to them, low-fives – it’s a wonder no one got knocked down!  We also passed several characters (the line ups to have your picture taken with the characters throughout the race were 3 times the length of the port-o-let lines, so I never stopped!), a live band and a couple of floats from the Electrical Parade before heading into the Animal Kingdom at approximately 3 miles.

The route through the Animal Kingdom was the same as it had been for the Disney Halloween 5K that morning, but it looked completely different at night – the Tree of Life and Mount Everest features were lit up, and they had soft lighting throughout so as not to disturb the animals.

We left the Animal Kingdom and headed back the way we came for a few miles before arriving at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. As you might expect, the lighting throughout the park was downright theatrical – from the creepy purples at the Tower of Terror to the Christmas lights on the streets of New York, the giant Sorcerer’s Apprentice hat to the bright lights of the Lights, Motors, Action stunt track.  At the stunt track they had a camera that was broadcasting the race to the Finish Line Party so spectators could look for their runners, but they also showed the feed on the track’s jumbo screen.  Throughout the park there were lots of characters to see, from Buzz Lightyear in the Pixar area to Darth Vader outside of the Star Tours attraction.

We finally left Hollywood Studios at around 12 miles, and I was starting to feel pretty tired by then.  As if the video wasn’t doomed enough by my inexperience, the footage from my wee onboard camera just kept getting worse – but of course I wasn’t to know that until I reviewed it later.  Hey, if I were doing a documentary on pavement or my own elbow, it would have been award-winning footage!

We ran along the water, then along the Boardwalk, past the Team in Training cheering squad, and headed towards Epcot.  This is where things started to get a little dicey.  In building up excitement for the finish, they were playing music like the William Tell Overture and the themes from such films as Superman and Rocky, while course marshals frantically yelled things like, “you’re almost there! Just straight that way!”  That sounded great, so I picked it up – finishing kick and all that.

When I went straight that way, you know what I found? A curve.  With more course after it.  Keep in mind that by this time, it was after midnight, and I was getting pretty tired and delirious.  I was wearing my Garmin but all I could see across the screen was a LOW BATTERY warning – no time, no distance. It never even occurred to me to think about when I might have seen the 12-mile marker to try and guess at how much farther I might have to go before encountering the 13-mile marker.  No, I just followed twists and turns through the darkness, reading signs that said things like, “now it’s time to wine and dine!” wondering, just where is this mythical finish line, anyway? I was so relieved when I finally saw the 13-mile marker – while I completely lacked the capacity to calculate how many metres were left, I knew I really was almost there.

I crossed the finish – which I have to say, after all that build up, was a tad disappointing – it was just a flag at either side of the course that said “Finish.”  Somehow I expected something more – glittery lights or balloons or something.  But at that point I was too tired to care, and I was overjoyed when I was given the opportunity to select a cold beer out of a wagonload of ice.

Unfortunately, however, in all the excitement of running at Disney, I didn’t take in all of the carbs I had planned to en route, so I felt slightly sick and dizzy – and in no shape to drink beer.  After I found my husband, we wandered (well, he wandered while I hobbled) around the International Food and Wine Festival – the whole while I clutched that can of beer thinking as soon as I felt better I was going to drink my victory drink!  In reality, I managed to choke down some Powerade, a banana and half a bagel before insisting we go back to the hotel so I could shower and go to bed.  But really, can you blame me? By this time it was 3 o’clock in the morning and I had just run a half marathon.

When all was said and done, I had a spectacular time.  It really was like running through a Disney movie – or more accurately, a medley of Disney movies on speed.  It was completely surreal to have the parks to ourselves in the night, and I was truly shocked and slightly giddy at the moment I noticed we were halfway already.  Those folks at Disney sure know how to throw a party – this was truly one of the best runs of my life.