Race Report: Tinkerbell Half Marathon
May. 12th, 2015 11:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jephmatLast Sunday I ran the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Anaheim, California, right by and through the Disneyland theme park. I ran this race with my friend and Disney race addict friend Mary, who convinced me to try a Disney run,) and my Ragnar sister and fitness geek extraordinaire Michele. (AKA ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bkmichele!) I've run an awful lot of races: Marathons, half marathons, long-distance relays, lotsa 5Ks, 10Ks, and other Ks. My medal hangers are groaning from the weight. But I had never done a Disney run.
The race began at 5:30 AM, by far the earliest start time ever for any non-relay race I've ever run in. (One of my relay teams started at 5:30 AM, but that was for a 200 mile, 30+ hours race.) Myself, Michele, and Mary made our way to the start line around 5 AM from our hotel. It was still dark, and quite cool, but not cold. Mary had run the 10K the day before, and she didn't believe she would do that well this day as a result. Michele and I seperated from Mary as Mary was in a different corral.
As I had been previously warned by Michele, security was strict. They made sure we got into the corect corrals, having our bibs checked several times and also running into a phalanx of volunteers who made sure we didn't wander over to the elite section. Michele and I were in the B corral, which is the farthest forward a man can be at the starting line. Corral A and the elite section were strictly women only.
Our corral started just a bit late. I decided to run alongside Michele for this race, and we did more than our fair share of chatting whilst running this half. I was warned about the initial traffic jam at the beginning, but it honestly wasn't that big a deal. Maybe it's because we were in a front corral, but I swear the start line log jam at the San Francisco Marathon is worse!
Michele and I ran at an even and steady pace. It wasn't nearly as cold as we had anticipated it would be, and the sun started peeking out as we made our way inside the Disneyland park.
To say they were a few costumes for this race would be quite an understatement. The only time I've seen so many costumes during a race was Bay to Breakers back in the old days. Most of the costumes at Tinkerbell weren't too elaborate, most just wore faerie wings and a tutu, but overall the costume theme was everywhere.
It wasn't too long before the sun came out, but it never got particularly hot. We totally lucked out weather-wise. This race was also very well organized. Every water station had water and sports drink tables on both sides of the road. I've never seen any race do that for every station. Spectator support was also interesting. Throughout the park sections we were greeted and cheered on by park employees as well as civilian spectators, but we were also cheered on by multiple cheerleader squads and high school matching bands. I've seen cheerleaders and school bands at races before, but never so many! There was also a long stretch occupied by the Red Hat Society, aka a small army of little old ladies who sat and waved and rang bells A few of them held out their white gloved hands for high fives.
Michele and I maintained a steady and casual pace throughout, never slowing down or speeding up, taking walking breaks only by the water stations. Three miles out Michele decided we should charge out the rest of the course, so we cut down on the chit-chat, (Sort of,) and ran a decent 5K. When I saw the finish line I started a quick sprint for it, but I remembered I had run the entire race up to that point with Michele, so I doubled back and ran alongside her across the finish. It was, by far, the most casual, and the funnest half marathon I've ever run.
And my friend Mary, the one who thought she wouldn't do so well on this day? She ran a PR! (So much for prophecy!)
What made this race different from all of the other halves and footraces I've run was the lead up to the race. My last half marathon was a teeth-clenching eye-popping PR attempt last March amongst a field of other highly motivated and charged runners. The Tinkerbell Half was the ultimate fun run. Many of the particpants were obviously not typical footrace runners. Most of them looked as if they couldn't tell the difference from a pair of New Balance 940 v2's and a pair of Vibrams. But they were there anyway, with their faerie wings and tutus and sequined running skirts, because they were Disney obsessed Tinkerbellers out for a good time rather than a hyper-charged Hanz n' Franz race attempt.
The days leading up to Tinkerbell were very stress free. I wasn't getting all grindy and psyched out, and I didnt have trouble falling asleep the night before. I've never approached a race of this magnitude with such a Devil-may-care attitude. After running it, I can see why they're so popular.
bkmichele!) I've run an awful lot of races: Marathons, half marathons, long-distance relays, lotsa 5Ks, 10Ks, and other Ks. My medal hangers are groaning from the weight. But I had never done a Disney run.The race began at 5:30 AM, by far the earliest start time ever for any non-relay race I've ever run in. (One of my relay teams started at 5:30 AM, but that was for a 200 mile, 30+ hours race.) Myself, Michele, and Mary made our way to the start line around 5 AM from our hotel. It was still dark, and quite cool, but not cold. Mary had run the 10K the day before, and she didn't believe she would do that well this day as a result. Michele and I seperated from Mary as Mary was in a different corral.
As I had been previously warned by Michele, security was strict. They made sure we got into the corect corrals, having our bibs checked several times and also running into a phalanx of volunteers who made sure we didn't wander over to the elite section. Michele and I were in the B corral, which is the farthest forward a man can be at the starting line. Corral A and the elite section were strictly women only.
Our corral started just a bit late. I decided to run alongside Michele for this race, and we did more than our fair share of chatting whilst running this half. I was warned about the initial traffic jam at the beginning, but it honestly wasn't that big a deal. Maybe it's because we were in a front corral, but I swear the start line log jam at the San Francisco Marathon is worse!
Michele and I ran at an even and steady pace. It wasn't nearly as cold as we had anticipated it would be, and the sun started peeking out as we made our way inside the Disneyland park.
To say they were a few costumes for this race would be quite an understatement. The only time I've seen so many costumes during a race was Bay to Breakers back in the old days. Most of the costumes at Tinkerbell weren't too elaborate, most just wore faerie wings and a tutu, but overall the costume theme was everywhere.
It wasn't too long before the sun came out, but it never got particularly hot. We totally lucked out weather-wise. This race was also very well organized. Every water station had water and sports drink tables on both sides of the road. I've never seen any race do that for every station. Spectator support was also interesting. Throughout the park sections we were greeted and cheered on by park employees as well as civilian spectators, but we were also cheered on by multiple cheerleader squads and high school matching bands. I've seen cheerleaders and school bands at races before, but never so many! There was also a long stretch occupied by the Red Hat Society, aka a small army of little old ladies who sat and waved and rang bells A few of them held out their white gloved hands for high fives.
Michele and I maintained a steady and casual pace throughout, never slowing down or speeding up, taking walking breaks only by the water stations. Three miles out Michele decided we should charge out the rest of the course, so we cut down on the chit-chat, (Sort of,) and ran a decent 5K. When I saw the finish line I started a quick sprint for it, but I remembered I had run the entire race up to that point with Michele, so I doubled back and ran alongside her across the finish. It was, by far, the most casual, and the funnest half marathon I've ever run.
And my friend Mary, the one who thought she wouldn't do so well on this day? She ran a PR! (So much for prophecy!)
What made this race different from all of the other halves and footraces I've run was the lead up to the race. My last half marathon was a teeth-clenching eye-popping PR attempt last March amongst a field of other highly motivated and charged runners. The Tinkerbell Half was the ultimate fun run. Many of the particpants were obviously not typical footrace runners. Most of them looked as if they couldn't tell the difference from a pair of New Balance 940 v2's and a pair of Vibrams. But they were there anyway, with their faerie wings and tutus and sequined running skirts, because they were Disney obsessed Tinkerbellers out for a good time rather than a hyper-charged Hanz n' Franz race attempt.
The days leading up to Tinkerbell were very stress free. I wasn't getting all grindy and psyched out, and I didnt have trouble falling asleep the night before. I've never approached a race of this magnitude with such a Devil-may-care attitude. After running it, I can see why they're so popular.
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Date: 2015-05-12 11:07 pm (UTC)