Hey guys!

So excuse the total clickbait title, but tell it like it is I guess? I’m sorry this won’t be the usual kind of post you would see from me, but I feel like this is something I need to do for myself. I’ve covered most of my run Disney journey so far so it only seems right that I would cover this part too, maybe one day it will help someone else, maybe it will help me now.

So I guess I should start at the beginning, no doubt some of you will have stumbled across this post with no idea what has happened. Early this year I signed myself and my best friend Sophie up to run the run Disney 36km challenge in Disneyland Paris, if you follow my blog you’ll know this is an event I’ve taken part in every year since its inception in 2016. When I ran last year I didn’t have the best time, not in any part due to DLP but purely because of my own lack of training. Running doesn’t come easy to me, I’m a slower runner and each race, each training run is hard, sometimes it’s just a mental battle while other times it’s a physical one, so sometimes, training was just too hard, too much of a task to force myself to undertake.

When I got home from run Disney in 2018, I promised myself 2 things. First, I promised myself I would go back, this might not sound like much but I was so drained, physically and mentally, crossing that last finish line had taken every single ounce of everything I had left. Secondly, I promised myself I would come back stronger, I knew what had happened to me was my own fault, I knew if I had given myself more time, trained more regularly rather than rushing it all at the end, the ride would be smoother and my achievement would be even greater.

I took a few weeks off once I was home from DLP, but by the middle of October I was training again, I knew the first hurdle would be getting started after a break so I didn’t want to leave it too long. I started booking races, this gave me the accountability I needed, I had something that I’d paid for and I had to show up for, I wanted to make a good job of it, so I reminded myself of that each time I needed to get out of the door. If I couldn’t find a race, I looked for virtual medals, I know some people don’t like this idea as you get a medal for what is basically a training run, but it gave me the motivation I needed, it got the job done.

I created a spreadsheet to help me track my training, I wanted to be able to see where I was improving and what still needed working on, with a combination of this and the races I had booked the second hurdle seemed easier to get over, keeping running over the winter. Face it, it’s a tough time to run for anyone, the mornings are dark, the nights are darker, its cold and its wet and I’d rather be inside under a blanket. But I kept going and my total mileage kept increasing month by month.

In January I started my next challenge, on top of running all 3 races at Disney I decided to try and cover a total of 500 km for the year, this would be around double what I achieved in 2018 and gave me a real sense of purpose. With each month the runs got longer and my times got quicker, I was finally getting somewhere and felt optimistic about the year ahead.

In April I reached my first Parkrun milestone, we celebrated my 50^th run at my home parkrun and my niece and I ran in Disney costumes, while many of our friends put on a pair of Mickey ears in support.

Despite the summer heatwave things continued to improve throughout May June and July, by August I had completed more than 10 races since promising to train better, on top of that I had run 30 park runs, and reduced my 5km time by around 3/4 mins, on top of that I'd run over 350 km and helped start a couch to 5 km group at my work as well as encouraging other friends to start running, things were going really well.

Were. Were going well. Unfortunately this is where the story goes downhill, just over a week ago I went to Parkrun, no surprise there, it was where i could be found most Saturdays of the year so far, this week however I went to a different Parkrun to my usual as a friend was running for the first time and I wanted to support her. The course was tough but I wasn't going out for a PB, just a steady 5 km I told myself. The course was two 2.5km laps, the first lap went really well, started a bit quick but settled nicely into a more comfortable pace, however on the second lap I fell, and as I know now, sprained my ankle. 

Now here's the thing about a sprained ankle, most of the time when people say they've sprained their ankle, they probably haven't. I'm not having a go, I'm sure this is something I've been guilty of in the past. A sprained ankle is a whole world different from a twisted ankle, and now that I know and understand the difference first hand, I'm going to be so much more mindful of it.

I don't know why or how I fell exactly, it was just luck, or bad luck I suppose. It wasn't anyone's fault and there probably wasn't anything I could have done differently that morning, something I'm still struggling with now. Anyway, after 2 trips to the Minor Injuries unit and a few X-rays it was confirmed nothing was broken, but unfortunately the severity of my sprain and the damage it has caused means that taking part in the challenge, or even the half marathon, just isn't going to be possible for me this year.

So that's where I'm at right now. Utterly heartbroken.

Maybe that sounds ridiculous to some people, but that's the truth of how I feel. Some people have said they would still run or try to walk it, some have said I won't be able to cover that distance for a long time, the truth is everything is a bit up in the air at the moment. Currently it could take anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months to make a recovery and get running again, which obviously is too much time for run Disney.

So now what? Well, I'm seeing a sports injury specialist to make sure everything heals the best way possible, and that when I can run again I've got the best chance of staying injury-free. But I can't stop thinking about my races.

I did everything right. I did exactly what I was meant to. So why has it ended like this? Why me? Did I deserve it? Believe me when I say my mind is going round in circles trying to figure this one out and work through it, I told someone the emotional and mental pain far outweighs the physical pain, and honestly I still feel that way. I trained for this, I trained early to give myself the most time, I trained slowly so as not to put my body through more than it was ready for, I got up early when I was tired, I ran after work even if I'd had a hard day. I ran in the rain, the wind, the snow and the heat. But it didn't matter, because I fell. Did I deserve it? Was I too sure of myself? I have to admit this was the most calm and confident I've ever felt in the lead up to the race, I knew my training was good, I knew I was hitting all the right numbers, instead of worrying about making the distance I was daydreaming about which characters I wanted to see and what photos I wanted to take with my medals. The jokes on me now though, won't have any medals to take photos of. 

I know deep down this could have happened to anyone at any time, but it didn't, it happened to me, and I'm still trying to work through that.

So what next?

Well I'm trying to find the positives in all of this, of course I'm still going to take my trip to DLP, with the help of my physio I'm hoping to at least walk one of the races. I'll still be there to support my friends, and though it doesn't seem it a lot of the time, I was lucky and it could have been a lot worse. I may use this as a platform to document my recovery, perhaps one day the thoughts and feelings that I've thrown out into the world in an attempt to recover emotionally will provide support to someone else in the same position, or maybe it will just be something I can look back on and remember where I was and how I've grown.

I'm so grateful to all of my friends both at home, at my running club, at parkrun and online for their love and support during the last week or so. I'm sorry if I haven't been the most responsive, or positive, I'm trying. This may be just a race to a lot of people, but for me run Disney is so much more. This is my passion, this was where I found my love-hate relationship with running, where I learned I was tougher than I could have believed and that if I worked hard for things I could achieve them. This was my London Marathon, my Olympics, my big race, a chance to show the result of all of the months of training and work I had put in. And it's hard knowing that won't happen now.

Hopefully I will recover, and hopefully this isn't the end of my running story, but for now I just have to ride through a chapter I wasn't ready to open yet.

Hoodsie

Hey guys!

So its August and the 2019 edition of Run Disney will be in Paris in just a few short weeks! It really doesn't seem possible that it was almost a full year ago now that I was last lacing up my trainers for the most magical races in Europe.

I'm sure everyone is hard at work training, but I decided to take a little time out to start daydreaming about race day, who am I kidding? I haven't stopped dreaming about race day since the moment I booked our bibs!

Of course, I love everything about the Run Disney races, the magical surroundings, the incredible medals, and sharing the sense of pride and achievement with some of my closest running pals, but for me what makes Disney races extra special, is the characters we meet along the course. So it got me thinking, now that we know the themes for the races, who would I love to see along the way?

Now I always stress with any of these types of posts, I have no inside information when it comes to race day, I do not know who will be out on the course and this is just my own wishlist if I get lucky and some of them are actually there on the day? Of course, I'll be chuffed, but that is all it is luck. Please do not mistake this for a guaranteed list of characters on the day.

5km - Adventure into the unknown 

Ok, so I have to be honest with you here, the truth is this is the theme I'm least looking forward to. We know the medal is Simba from the Lion King, and If you've followed me on social media, you'll know I just don't like the film all that much. But hey, it's popular, super-relevant currently, and mostly a fan favourite, so I can see why it's being used and I'm ok with it. We can assume that most likely the characters out during this race are going to be predominantly animals, so who would I like to see most?

Timon & Rafiki - As Simba isn't a meetable character (to my knowledge anyway) these two are probably the most logical option to represent the Lion king, hopefully, Timon will be out in his Matta Dance outfit just to make it extra special, and believe it or not, I actually haven't met the little guy yet so that would be kinda sweet.

Ed, Shenzi & Banzai - What is the Lion King without these creepy hyenas? Ok so they are villains, but we still love them! We had them during the races in 2017 so I don't think its too unrealistic for them to make an appearance, they were also in the resort recently for the press event when the Lion King and Jungle season launched, could they be hiding somewhere? I hope so.

King Louis & Baloo - You can hardly celebrate the animals of Disney without the jungle VIP now can you? These guys are in the parks every day, so while they're not rare, they are a lot of fun and totally on theme, perhaps Baloo can wear his grass skirt from Forest of Enchantment?

Credit: Mark Petar Twitter

Pochahontas, John Smith & Meeko - They don't need to be together frankly I would accept any combination. Meeko especially is a most wanted meet for me as he's just so cute, I really think these guys embody the spirit of adventure and would fit in great with the theme.

Credit: Sophie Kean Instagram

Tarzan, Jane & Terk - Again I don't need all 3 together, but how cool would it be to see these guys! We know Terk is making an appearance for PhotoPass day on August 18th, so it's surely not totally unrealistic to ask for these guys to come and play?

Credit: Sophie Kean Instagram

10km - Princesses.

This one I have kind of mixed thoughts on, yes the theme appeals to me more than that of the 5km, but are there any princesses I'm desperate to meet? Very few, so I'm going to go a bit outside the box on this one and expand my most wanted to "Disney Royalty".

Kida & Milo - If you're not familiar with these guys you need to go and get yourselves a copy of Atlantis: The lost empire, right now. Kida is the daughter of Kashekim, king of Atlantis, and Milo Thatch is her husband, these guys are space royalty and I personally would love to see them perhaps in Discoveryland?

Credit: Katie Penn Youtube.

Elena of Avalor - Face it, she's super, super cute and the fact she's not a regular meeting character in Paris already is unforgivable, personally, I'd love to see her this year though I'm not sure where I would put her? Possibly in Adventureland?

Credit: Mark Petar Twitter

Meg & Herc - Honey! You mean Hunkules! I sure do, this Greek power couple is already really popular with fans and I would class them as royalty, after meeting Pain, Panic, and Hades on the course in 2018, I'd love to see the good guys have their turn!

Credit: Katie Penn Youtube.

Vanellope - She might not be a traditional princess, but if you've seen Ralph breaks the internet, you will most likely agree that she is 100% princess material, not only that but she's been a character I've wanted to meet for such a long time so, for purely selfish reasons, she's making the list.

Credit: Katie Penn Youtube.

Atta & Flik - Maybe I'm still salty that they aren't meeting in Animal Kingdom anymore, or maybe it's because she's a badass ant princess, either way, how cute would these guys be nestled into Adventureland?

Credit: Mark Petar Twitter

Half Marathon - Love/Disney Couples.

This is probably the theme I like most out of the 3 for the weekend, its quite vague so there's a huge choice of characters available, and possibly some really cute characters that we don't get to see very often, here's my pick;

Bernard & Bianca - These super cute Mice are rarely seen in Paris, but I really would love to see them this year, I love their outfits especially Miss Bianca and think they would be a great addition to Run Disney.

Oswald & Ortensia - It may have all started with a mouse, but who knows where we would have ended up if it weren't for this lucky rabbit! Oswald is the stuff of Disney legend and I am so upset that I've not been able to meet him yet, luckily for me, he's been present at Disneyland Paris a lot since the FanDaze event and this event also marked the first Disney Parks appearance of Ortensia. So fingers crossed this will finally be my chance to meet them both.

Credit: Mark Petar Twitter

Nick Wilde & Judy Hopps - Zootropolis is basically just really underrated. I've met Nick and Judy before, and yes they have been at a previous run weekend, but I don't care, these guys are so much fun! He might be a sly fox and she may be a dumb bunny, but they love each other and I love them.

Credit: Sophie Kean Instagram

Horace Horsecollar & Clarabelle Cow - These guys are so cute and remind me of Halloween due to their regular appearances in the Halloween cavalcade at DLP. They don't really come out often for meets which is a huge shame, so I'd love to see them on the course for a quick hug and a high 5!

Remy & Emile - Anyone can cook, but despite having their own themed area in Disneyland Paris it would appear that not everyone can meet these two tiny chefs, I managed to meet Remy back in 2012 but I've not been lucky enough to catch him since, and I've never met Emile. Paris is there home, and with a perfect backdrop in the studios, it would seem to me to be a real missed opportunity not to have these lovable brothers out!

So those are my picks for this year, will any of them actually make it onto the course? I sure hope so, but who knows who we might bump into on the day? If there's someone you want to see, drop me a comment below!

Hoodsie xx

Hey Guys,

Something a little different today, I hope you all enjoy it just as much though!

As the 2019 edition of Run Disney at Disneyland Paris creeps ever closer my mind is already in full-on training mode, and I can imagine I'm not the only one. Training can, however, be a little boring at times, long runs, bad weather and having to run alone are some of the main things that make it hard for me to get off the sofa. Then I found virtual races, and suddenly I have the ultimate running mojo boost tool to hand.

So what is a virtual race? Simple, you commit online to walk jog or run a set distance within a certain time frame. You pay your money to enter and then it's up to you to go out and cover the miles within the set date range. It doesn't matter if you do this out and about or on a treadmill in the gym, the most important part is that you cover the distance and that you get proof. Once you've completed your distance and have your proof ready you can submit it online, if it all checks out your reward is a shiny new medal which arrives in the post a few days later!

And how do I provide proof? This can be either a photo of the treadmill at the end of your session showing total distance covered, a screenshot of your result online from say park run or if you're out running in your local area you can track it on a mobile app such as Strava, Fitbit or Run Keeper and take a screenshot of your logged exercise, the most important thing is that the total distance is visible and meets or exceeds the distance required for whichever event you've committed to.

Now some people don't agree with the idea of virtual races, I often get asked if I feel like I've bought the medal as it's a training run I would have been doing anyway and not a "real" event/race. Though I can understand that viewpoint, no, I don't feel like I've earned it any less than someone who has run the same distance at an official race. 5 km is the same distance no matter whether you walk, jog or run it, so I don't see why I should be any less proud of it because it's a training run!

I often find where I live there can be a lack of races over the winter months and this is usually when my motivation takes a nose dive! It's cold, dark and wet and frankly, snuggling up under a fluffy blanket and watching trashy TV with a chocolate bar to hand does sound a LOT more appealing than going and running in all weathers. This is where I have found virtual races to be invaluable, more than anything they have given me that last extra push to get up and get out, and I almost always feel better for doing it, no matter how cliche that sounds. I have completed 4 virtual races since October 2018 after the Run Disney weekend, but I already have 2 more paid for ready for the next couple of months and a few more that I have my eye on too, it has really changed my training over the winter months and I honestly already feel the benefit of staying motivated and moving.

So what I wanted to share with you guys today are a few virtual races that are Disney inspired that you guys might want to sign up for.

I have in no way been sponsored or paid to advertise these, and will not receive anything additional if you guys do sign up, but I thought I'd share what I've been enjoying with you! 

Spot a race you like? Links below each picture to be taken through to the sign-up page! Please check you meet all eligibility criteria etc.

April:

Run Through Adversity - Medal Mad

May: 

Glass Slipper - Medal Mad         Once Upon a Run - Medal Mad          Run Like a Beast - Medal Mad

Run Like It's Midnight - Medal Mad       Mirror Mirror - Medal Mad

Maximum Effort 10 km - Pow!

June:

You've got a friend - Medal Mad       Hakuna Matata - Medal Mad

Don't Be A Fool - Medal Mad           You Can Do It - Medal Mad

Once Upon A Pow - Pow!

July:

All You Need Is Pixie Dust - Medal Mad      Live Your Dream - Medal Mad

Heart of the Ocean - Pow!     You've Got a Friend - Pow!

August:

The Gauntlet - Medal Mad       The Jungle Miles - Medal Mad

Run the Gauntlet - Pow!

October:

Poisoned Apple Challenge - Pow!       Nightmare Challenge - Pow!

As you can see there's a huge amount of races out there, and this is just from 2 websites! Hopefully, these will be as useful and successful in inspiring you guys as they have been for me. Which will you be signing up for? Or perhaps you've found some I haven't seen, drop me a link!

Hoodsie xx

 

Hey guys!

Thanks for coming back for the final race write up for the 2018 Paris weekend. I'm writing this a little less than 2 weeks after the event happened and it already seems ages ago, so it's really nice to be able to re-live it with you all. If you haven't caught up yet, you can check out my write-ups of both the 5km and the 10km.

Half Marathon morning always seems to come out of nowhere, and no matter how much training I've done, how much sleep I've had or how hard I've tried to prepare the night before with hot baths and KT tape, I don't think I'll ever wake up feeling ready! Once again it was a 5:30 alarm with the plan to leave the Santa Fe by 6, it actually felt a little bit weird to be leaving soph sleeping in the hotel that morning to make the walk on my own, and I was really nervous.

Honestly, my training just hadn't gone to plan this year, I started too late, was plagued with injury and most of all I was constantly filled with self-doubt. In the final run-up to the weekend, I wasn't even sure I'd make it to the start line, so that lonely walk to the village felt like the longest one ever. Luckily once I got to the expo there was pretty much no queue to check my bag in and again it was easy enough to cut through to the front of my corral to find David, Megan, Leah and Emma.

I cannot stress enough how helpful and reassuring it was to have friends in my corral, they made those morning waits so much easier and helped keep my anxiety and self-doubt to a minimum. So if you guys are reading this, thank you so, so much. It meant everything to share it with you.

The half marathon theme was Villains, I was really hoping for either Prince John from Robin Hood or King Leonidas from Bedknobs and Broomsticks. But honestly, I just wanted to finish and was preparing myself for limited character stops and the prospect of being swept. The course was very similar to last year with a few minor tweaks, the most notable of which was the new loop of Main street which saw us run down towards the train station, and then back up to the castle.

The wait in our corral was a little chillier than last year, and there was a minimal amount of rain, David had offered to bring a spare foil blanket for me and I was really grateful for this. I felt too nervous to chat much, but just listening to everyone else made the time pass quick enough. Cruella was on stage to send the runners on their way, though by the time we got there it was just 2 of her henchman on stage, slightly disappointing as she's a favourite of mine!

Once we got started the course again cut through the back into Disney Village then around into the back of the studios, past Place de Remy and then through studio 1, once we emerged into front lot our first character stop was just on the right-hand side. When I got into front lot Gaston was out meeting, he's not a particularly favourite villain of mine, and in Paris he is quite easy to meet, so I wasn't too fussed about meeting him and instead decided to check who he would be swapping with and when. The lovely cast member told me he had about 15 mins left before swapping with Governor Ratcliffe from Pocahontas, as I'd not met him before I decided to wait, the queue moved quickly and I had already got to the front before the swap over, luckily, Aimee, a lovely CM we met on an earlier trip this year was there and let me wait to the side until they swapped. In hindsight, I do slightly regret waiting so long, but I'm glad I got the photo and got to tick another more unusual character off my list.

The course then took us round into the tram tour, honestly, I've probably said it before, but running through this attraction has given me such a unique view of it, to the point where I know it's pretty dated and terrible, but I really have a soft spot for it! The tram tour once again had a character stop at the Reign of Fire section, today it was alternating between Kronk and Yzma, and Hades, Pain and Panic. Now I can't lie, it felt a bit odd to have Pain and Panic out on the half, rather than on the 10km where they featured on the medal, but frankly, I was just happy to meet them. Hades was every bit as creepy as you'd want him to be, but Pain and Panic were utterly adorable, I can't put into words how happy I am to have met them!

Now the risk with any Run Disney race is weighing up time spent in character queues vs time spent actually running! The races have a pace requirement of 16 mins per mile and if you fall behind this you risk being taken off the course, to help give a visual representation of this Disney have the "Balloon lady" volunteers. These women start right at the back of the last corral, and carry Disney balloons to make them extra visible, they keep a 16 min mile pace and don't make stops for characters etc, you can fall just behind them and still be able to finish as they aren't an official sweep, but falling behind them indicates you're probably not keeping to the minimum pace.

The reason I mention the balloon ladies is that this is the first year I've actually seen them, they just overtook me as I was finishing up in the queue for Pain and Panic. This worried me more than I expected, I was less than 3km into the race and I was already behind pace, I was running with an injury, didn't know if there were any more characters ahead that I really wanted, and was starting to doubt my own ability to finish!

I pushed on and passed them quickly, we cut into the main park after a small backstage loop where I saw the fantastic Buffalo Bill statue above. The course went back into the parks and through Frontier Land, there was another character meet at Fort Comstock and I'd had a tip-off that Prince John was out! I thought all my Christmases had come at once, unfortunately, though, it wasn't to be, by the time I got there he had switched with Brer Bear and Brer Fox who I met the day before. The lovely Emma was one of the CMs looking after them again so I checked with her, but the next swap over wasn't for another 20 mins, and I was still feeling a little shaken from seeing the balloon ladies at the last character stop. So with a heavy heart, I made the difficult decision to skip waiting for Prince John and continue on with the race. I hope I'll get the chance to meet him again in the future.

I'm happy to say I wasn't left feeling bad about my decision for long as after Frontier land we ran the new loop of main street, we ran past Casey's corner towards the train station, ran around the gazebo on town square and then back up towards the castle. Now as a back of the pack runner I did find that the majority of the spectators had already cleared out of main street and in truth, this was a little disappointing and lacked some of the magic. But at the end of main street outside Victoria's, I was lucky enough to have my own little cheer section of wonderful friends. Sophie, Patrick, and the lovely Ben from ED92 were there to show their support and more than anything else, to stop me from giving up!

After Main street we dipped into Adventure Land where Shan Yu from Mulan was meeting guests near the Agrabah Cafe, I was still feeling really conscious about my time and had no way of gauging the gap between myself and the balloon ladies, so decided to skip the queue, the course went through Skull Rock where Flotsam and Jetsam were out again. They had pretty much no queue so I don't know why I didn't stop, and honestly looking back I'm kind of kicking myself for all the opportunities I missed.

We ran through the castle and back into Fantasy Land, before arriving in Discovery Land where the final character meet was, Darth Vader was hanging around just outside the StarPort, but as he's so easy to meet daily and rarely has a queue of more than 20 mins I didn't stop here either.

The Half Marathon is unlike the other races in that the majority of the course isn't in the two parks. At about 7 km the course took us out the back of Discovery Land and then it's time to experience Val D'Europe as well as some more areas of backstage Disney. I think these are the areas that people don't look forward to running through as much, perhaps its considered less interesting, or perhaps the character stops give natural rest breaks and break up the distance, which of course you don't have once you're outside of the parks.

I hope that I can reassure you that although the experience once you've left the main parks is much different, I found it just as interesting and enjoyable. Along the next 8-9 Km there's more than enough to keep you occupied and help you distract yourself from the remaining miles. In the Disney backstage area, there's a number of cool statues and show buildings to look out for, I particularly enjoyed seeing things that were an old show or meet and greet prop, including some Stitch branded palm trees that I don't remember from any of my visits since 2010! Not only that but backstage we were greeted by this most unusual and somewhat villainous musical group!

Once completely off Disney property, the entertainment didn't stop and at regular intervals, along the course, there were local music, dance and cheerleading groups which really helped to keep morale up and distract from the task at hand!

At 16 km we re-entered Disney property at the Hotel Santa Fe, mentally this is a huge wall to get passed and signals the final stretch. As we were staying in this hotel, Sophie had come down from the room to cheer us on, and seeing her there waiting for us was very emotional.

The finish line was again situated in the Studios, and once I got my medal I just had to stop for a selfie with the adorable Sorcerer Mickey. This is my favourite Mickey/Mickey costume of all time and I was so happy to see him!

We only got given our half marathon medals at the end of the race, if you had any challenge medals to collect you had to walk back to the expo to get these. I understand a few people were unhappy with this, and to an extent, yes I can understand that. You've just run 13.1 miles, you're tired, achey and you just want to sit down, so the extra walk to the expo is a little disappointing. However, the system at the expo was so well run, your bib was checked as you entered to ensure you were the same runner who collected the bib, and presumably to make sure you'd passed every timing map over all the eligible races. You then got fed into a queue to collect each medal and, if you wanted it, get a finisher photo. Then once you left the medal collection area, your bib was marked to prevent you going around again and collecting a 2nd medal. Yes, it was an extra walk, which I'm sure for some was out of the way, but if this process ensures everyone gets the medals they deserve, and people who haven't run/completed the challenge don't get medals they shouldn't have? I'm all for it.

Overall, I really enjoyed the half marathon, though I must say it wasn't the experience I wanted. It was mentally and physically exhausting, and I know I need to work harder to overcome the lack of training and injury next year in order to have a better race experience!

So that's a wrap on Run Disney in Paris for 2018, did you run? Which was your favourite race? Will you run next year? And what would you like to see as the next theme? As always, drop me a comment!

Hoodsie  xx

Hey guys!

Welcome back. If you haven't caught up on my series of posts about this years Run Disney event in Paris you can find my overall review here and my 5 Km write up here. If you are all caught up, then let's jump straight back in!

Saturday 22nd and our alarm goes off at around 5:30 am, this can only mean one thing, another Disney race day! Today was the 10 Km and Soph and I were running together as Tinkerbell and Fawn from the Tinkerbell movies. We left the Santa Fe at around 6 am to make the short walk to the Disney Village, again the corrals were situated behind the expo and we were easily able to get right to the front of corral C to meet David, Matty, Megan, Leah and Emma. The wait wasn't too bad but it was a little bit colder in the morning than it had been the evening before. Luckily Matty gave us his foil blanket which really helped, it's a shame these weren't available at the event as it is something I would happily have bought! Better add it to next year's packing list.

The process was the same as the day before, with each corral being lead to the start line and then split into smaller waves. Initially Pain and Panic were on the stage to start the race, but by the time we started they had swapped out for Meg, it was still really cool to see her up close though.

The theme for the 10 Km race was Evil sidekicks, we speculated a bit between us what this might mean, but really we were hoping for at least Mr Smee to go with our costumes. Again the course started by cutting through the village and then into the studios park for a small loop before going back out and into the main park.

The first characters we saw were the Tremaine sisters from Cinderella who were meeting by castle stage, they were swapping out with Gideon and Honest John from Pinocchio who I can honestly say I was gutted to miss!

The course then went through Discovery land, did a backstage loop from Autopia and came back through Pizza Planet before cutting into Fantasy Land. The second character stop was located outside the Curious Labyrinth and was a rotation of Cheshire Cat, Mad Hatter and March Hare. I'm lucky enough to have met them all before, and Soph isn't a huge Alice fan, this was probably one of the longest queues we saw so we decided not to stop.

We ran through the castle (which is one of the most beautiful and emotional parts of any Run Disney race) and into Frontier Land, this is where my favourite meet of the weekend was. Just outside the entrance to Fort Comstock we had the chance to meet Br'er Bear and Br'er Fox from Song of the South! Now this is quickly becoming one of my favourite Disney films, despite all of its controversy, so being able to meet 2 of the characters was a dream meet!

 As we joined the queue we saw one of our favourite cast members Emma, who we met at the Marvel annual pass party. She explained the Br'ers would be going for their break shortly, and would be replaced by the Sheriff of Nottingham from Robin Hood. Neither of us had met him before so we stayed in the queue, once we met him we then queued again so that we were at the front when the Br'ers returned.

The course headed into Adventure Land and through Skull rock where you could meet Ursula's Eels Flotsam and Jetsam, but the queue was pretty long for them so we kept going, honestly I'm not even sure I would class them as a character meet, but they were certainly an unexpected surprise on the course!

Once we got round near Colonel Hathi's we could see the next character queue, Soph joined the back of the queue while I ran ahead a little to check who it was. I'm very happy to report it was our favourite Captain, Mr Smee! Now I know what you're probably thinking, why was I so excited and willing to queue for Smee when he's out all the time in Paris? Well honestly, it was just down to our costumes, if we hadn't been dressed as fairies, we probably wouldn't have waited. Mr Smee was switching out with King Louis from the Jungle book, which again I personally found quite disappointing as he's easy enough to meet on a regular park day. Lucky for us we managed to get to the front just before they swapped so we got our picture with Smee and off we went.

The course then dipped back stage before bringing us back into the tram tour, again a short loop of Catastrophe Canyon lead us to our final character meet, It was Bowler Hat Guy from Meet the Robinsons alternating with Kronk from Emperor's new Groove. As this was a character we really wanted, and the queue was growing quickly I offered to run up ahead and let Soph and Rach join me in the queue once they caught up. This worked perfectly and the cast members looking after Kronk were working really well with the Photo Pass photographers and the queue moved really quickly! I only watched ENG for the first time recently and I really enjoyed it, although Kuzco is my favourite by a mile meeting Kronk was so cool and he loved our Fairy costumes and pulled his own fairy pose for the camera!

Again we ran through the stunt show before running the final straight up to production court yard, what really surprised me this year is that only the 5 Km course featured any sort of meet in this space. The stunt show is fantastic for this because it's such a large space that it can easily hold a queue without being congested for those who aren't stopping. Even if it was just an unusual parade float or one of the old stars and cars vehicles it really felt like a wasted opportunity.

Once we finished the race we were awarded with our second medal of the weekend, I really love this medal and love that Pain and Panic were on it, I just wish they'd been on the course. At the stage in production courtyard Hades was there to welcome in all the runners, but truth be told I was too busy focusing on getting my medal to get a selfie!

As we headed out of the studios we were able to grab some water and a snack box, we did however notice that all of the Powerade for that day had already gone! Again we were by no means the fastest runners out on the course, but there were still a lot of people behind us, so it was disappointing that they'd underestimated the demand.

For the 10 Km the finisher boards were back up in the entrance to the studios so we took full advantage of this and got some individual and group photos and I love how they turned out! With 2 races down and one left to go it was time to go grab a shower before a fairly slow relaxing day.

What do you guys think of the characters on the 10 Km? Who would you like to have seen?

Hoodsie xx