2012 Wine & Dine half marathon

So where were we?
Oh yes, I went on a cruise vacation with Mandy, Annie & Martha in March, posted a recipe and haven't blogged again :)

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Taking a look back at the runDisney video for the 2012 Wine & Dine half marathon, this really is my favorite race.  I've run it all three years and I am signed up to run it again in November, can't wait!

Last year, Mandy was in Orlando for work so she decided to extend her time in Florida so she could run as well.  It was a fun weekend!  

Friday we spent all day, along with her co-worker Isabelle, going to 3 of the Disney parks.  I haven't done a park marathon like that in years.  It was fun & tiring! We ended the day with a late dinner at Il Mulino at the Swan resort.  I'd never eaten there before, but it was delicious.

Saturday we checked into the Yacht Club and spent the afternoon by the pool.  This is where we met up with Annette & Brian.  Annette was also running Wine & Dine.

We had an amazing room that looked right out onto the Boardwalk.  I'm not going to lie, we were super tempted to blow off the race, crack open a bottle wine and enjoy the Epcot fireworks from our balcony.  We even thought about just hanging out in the hotel room and then just jumping into the race for the last mile or so, since the course passes right by our hotel :)  

Of course we didn't do that because we are good girls.

Our shirts for the night were all flourescent colors... please know this makes us very, very cool.  

wow, this is super blurry

I kinda like love our bright shirts, not gonna lie.

Everything about the race was fine, well organized and all that jazz.
The coolest thing on the course... these lasers!

I took this pic off of Twitter, so if it is yours, let me know and I will credit it properly

They changed the finish line location for a third time, and I can't imagine why they would change it again, it was super organized.  It ended out in the Epcot parking lot basically in the same area as Princess, WDW half & the marathon.  The set-up is totally different though.  There were big tents for men & women to change in, they handed you a drink (beer, wine, soda) on our way out of the runner's area and then you could head back into Epcot for the post race party.

The weather was spectacular that night, even a little chilly, which I absolutely loved.

Epcot was open until 4am and Amanda & I were there until the end!

Since we weren't able to enjoy cocktails on our balcony Saturday night, we ordered up some bloody mary's to do so Sunday morning!

I told you our room was awesome!

Another relaxing day by the Beach & Yacht Club pool was had before we had to head home.
142 days to go until the 2013 Wine & Dine half!

2012 Tower of Terror 10 Miler

I decided to do a quick recap of the runDisney Tower of Terror 10 miler I participated in back in September.  I do realize this was 4 months ago, but I like having these recaps to look back on. :)

So here we go.
The inaugural runDisney Tower of Terror 10 Miler was held on September 29th.  It is a night time, Disney villian themed run that takes place at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
Annette & Brian were also running.

Packet pick up was at the expo held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.  All easy to navigate and very organized.
I bought an orange sparkly headband from Sparkly Soul.  It was my first headband from this company and I really loved it.  Loved that the sparkles were around the whole band.  I wore it for the first time during the 10 Miler and it stayed in place perfectly!

The race started at 10pm and unfortunately the weather that night was so hot and humid.  That is pretty much what I remember from the night, just sweating my a** off!

The course was decent.  The out and back on Osceola Parkway was a little boring.  It gives me appreciation for the Wine & Dine half marathon where the out and back on Osceola is broken up by the run through the Animal Kingdom.  There are rolling "hills" here, so my Florida-flat running legs were kind of tired by the time I got to the ESPN complex.
Several Disney "scary" characters dotted the course and the mile marker signs look dark and ominous.
I enjoyed running through the ESPN Wide World of Sports.  It was something different for me and I liked it a lot.  I also liked running through Champion Stadium.  While it was not as exciting as running through Angel Stadium at the Disneyland half, I still thought it was great.
There were some complaints that the road leading into the ESPN complex was too narrow.  It was narrow, no denying that, but you were on a dirt trail surrounded by trees and I thought it was appropriate theming for the race.

The finish line was next to the Tower of Terror attraction at Hollywood Studios.
Once crossing the finish line, you received your medal and then had to continue walking out to Sunset Boulevard.

I heard a lot of complaining around me about the (very) small hill we had to walk up in order to reach Sunset Boulevard.  I thought the short walk from the finish line to Sunset Boulevard was necessary in order to spread out the thousands of people crossing the finish line.  It was very organized.
runDisney had suggested that you make plans to meet up with your family over in the "hub" of the park, where the Scorer's Hat is, but per usual people do not listen and many were crowded into the area where the runners exit the finish chute.

Bag check was located across the park at the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular venue.
This was a very smart move on Disney's part.  Sure you had to walk 10 minutes to get your bag, but it really helped the crowding.  People were, of course, complaining about the walk to get your bags and then they had to walk down a few stairs (can you imagine?!) to actually collect their bag.
I feel like if you have just run 10 miles you are more than capable of walking 10 additional minutes and down a couple of stairs.  I have no doubt people were sore after the 10 miler, but the set up for the After Party was great because it really alleviated an overcrowding clusterf*ck.
While I love the runDisney events so much, I am getting tired of people complaining over stupid things.  You see it everywhere - Facebook, Twitter, hear it in person.  I realize Disney is a company that epitomizes guest service, but sometimes people need to do things for themselves... like walk 10 minutes to get their bag!  That's my venting for the day :)

I love the night time races.  I am pretty sure I have mentioned this before :)
The park was open until 4am and we were able to go on a few rides.  Plus the Disney Villians were spread around the park for photo opportunities.

runDisney TV on YouTube.  Have you checked out the runDisney video recaps of their events?
You totally should, they do a great job putting them together.  They are a great way to share your runDisney experience with friends & family!
Here is their recap of the 10 Miler:

The Tower of Terror 10 Miler is definitely a runDisney race worth checking out!