2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Part 3: It’s a Family Reunion

IT’S TIME FOR A FAMILY REUNION!

When you’re at Disney, there’s no such thing as sleep! On Friday morning, we got up early to head to Epcot for the Family Reunion Breakfast! The breakfast was new to us because we attended the Pasta in the Park dinner during Princess Half marathon weekend. When we arrived, we walked towards the enclosed Race Retreat tent where the breakfast was being held. The 10K was still going strong and there were people still cheering on runners while others were finishing. Once we got on the inside, it was very spacious. There was a buffet-style breakfast with warm breakfast yummies, fresh fruit, pastries, and beverages. There was also a kids area with bean bag chairs and a television playing Disney movies which definitely kept the kiddies occupied. Over to our right were Disney characters who came to greet us! We ate and headed on over. Guess who was there?! The Goof Troop, Chip ‘n’ Dale, and (Uncle) Scrooge McDuck and Lunchpad McQuack from the DuckTales! SO! MUCH! FUN!

As we were getting ready to leave I glanced over to my right and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I mean, I knew he was there…but I wasn’t ready. It was Bart Yasso! If you know me then you know how much I LOVE him! For those who don’t know…Bart is heavily known in the running world and is the Chief Running Officer of Runner’s World mag! One of my goals for 2015 was to meet (and get a selfie) with him in person—Mission Complete! It was such a pleasure to meet him! We headed towards the shuttle and I heard the cutest, southern voice calling my name. I turned around and to my surprise it was my sweet frieeeeend Kristin (aka BamaGirlRUNS!) I love this girl! Her BFF, Carrie, was also with her and thanks to Kristin, I felt like I already knew her. They both ran Dopey this year which meant they had just finished the 10K to complete day 2 of 4. We took photos, not with my phone, so unfortunately I don’t have a pic of us *wannnhh* — just know she’s beautiful inside and out (just like Kristin) AND she will keep you TOTALLY motivated on your health/fitness journey! Don’t believe me? Check out her blog here! 

Kristin and I

After leaving the Family Reunion breakfast we headed back to the hotel to rest up before heading to a special Cigna Blogger Event. You can read that recap here. Later that evening, we swung by the expo to pick up a few last minute items before the Hubby’s half marathon the next morning. I made my rounds, literally, and then stopped by the runDisney booth of course! Jeff Galloway and his wife, Barbara, were there. It’s ALWAYS a pleasure seeing/speaking with Jeff Galloway! I’m thankful for him and his training plan which has helped me along with countless other runners get to the finish line and achieve their goals!

We left the expo and headed over to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Grill in hopes that the Magical Meet-Up hosted by Kristin (BamaGirlRUNS), Jen (Pink Cupcake Girl), and Carrie (Carrie Burrows) was still going strong. Luckily, it was! I missed the first group photo, but we did get another photo before we left. This entire weekend came with blessing after blessing. Everyone that I met during this marathon weekend was genuinely sweet and so much fun to be around! When I met Christi, I knew she was a gem. Make sure you visit her blog Colt’s Wish and you will see why. I’m also glad I got to meet Jen’s super sweet BFF, Erin, and a few others not pictured. It’s true when you run Disney, you become family! I feel pretty honored to be “#runningwiththeCOOLKIDS”!

After leaving the grill and getting one last photo — it was starting to get real! The sun began to set so it was time to get some nourishment, then get rested up and prepared for a 2:00 a.m. wake-up call. My HB would be running the WDW Half Marathon…bright and early!  

WALT DISNEY WORLD HALF MARATHON (13.1)

We woke up at 2 a.m. to get ready and board the shuttle by 3:30 a.m. The line was much longer than it was for Princess Half weekend. We went to the end of the line and boarded bus #4. Did I mention it was freeeeeeezinggg!? It was so cold that I brought my Snuggie + I was tripled layered, including long johns. I knew the runners would be fine, it was just the waiting part.

 

The race started at approximately 5:35 a.m. After watching all of the corrals take off, I stuck around and figured it would be better if I got moving to stay warm. I don’t think anyone anticipated it being THAT cold, but we couldn’t do anything about it but suck it up! At least the participants would warm up once they got moving. I walked over towards the cheer area and stopped to get some coffee on the way. I was happy that the sun was FINALLY coming up! It was truly a beautiful morning. It was also my first time spectating (and not running) so it was a great feeling. I was a little nervous about hopping from bus to bus to see my HB throughout the race, so thank goodness for great race photos to capture those moments! I sat on the bleachers and cheered on runners and got the text message alerting me that he would be approaching the finish line soon! SO EXCITED!  

 

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I’m so incredibly proud of my HB for completing his second half marathon!!! The sun was shining down and he was so excited! His Donald Duck half marathon medal is pretty sweet too! He EARNED it! I appreciate him so much for always (and I do mean…ALWAYS) being there to support me for each and every race. It did my heart good to be able to watch him cross the finish line at the most Magical Place on earth! 

Stay tuned for Part IV! 

2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Recap(s):

 Part I: Party at the Pop + Expo

 Part II: Cigna Blogger Cook-Off and Meet-up