Here we go for round 2! As with the 5k, the aim of the 10k was to run gently (not walk too much to be mindful of time on feet) and of course enjoy it. The alarm was again set for 3:20am, and we arrived at the Epcot parking area at about 4am again. After knowing how long it would take from the previous day, we sat in the car a little longer before walking the mile to the start (through the car park, through security and through the race village). I really liked that this was the same each day as it helped with nerves a lot. We had decided to run seperately, so Andy was going to head into his corral so he knew what it would be like for the two longer races. We also used the bag drop for the first time- this was super easy as at the expo they give you your race shirts in a large clear plastic drawstring bag (I still have an old one which I use sometimes as they are strong and thick), so the idea is you use that and then they write your bib number on it, and give you a little sticker with a number on that you can stick on the back of your bib. They used (I think) large shipping containers, so you chose one and then they hung your bag on a numbered hook- it was very organised (of course, it’s Disney, so of course it’s organised). They were right by the finish line so you had to walk past them to get back to the race village, so no going out of your way or doing extra steps when you’re tired. As it had been a little chilly the previous morning, I put the race shirt in there to put on when I finished, plus a snack as I didn’t like any of the food in the food box we were given at the finish line.
Start gantry themed to the 10k, boardwalk and world showcase lit up mid-race and one of the best costumes- people dressed as the monorail running together in a line.
We timed it pretty well and so didn’t have to hang about in the corrals for long. This time I could see the ribbon being used in the corral to keep the various waves apart, and again the race was off like clockwork, with the fireworks going off for each wave within each corral. Again I was in C (it went up to G) so as I ran I could hear the fireworks still going off and people cheering for each wave. The temperature was good for running, nice and cool, but it was weirdly humid so you got weirdly sweaty quite quickly which did make me wonder more about how I’d cope with the two longer runs as I knew I’d finish in the daylight (sunrise was around 7:20am so as these began at 5 I was done before the sun came up for the first two races).
The route started on the same road as the 5k, looping out of the car park and around the back before going into Epcot. Again you got to run around World Showcase (my favourite) and then out to the boardwalk area (this is an area next to Epcot that has various Disney hotels set around a lake (on the left of the above screenshot). As it was so early I was surprised to see a few hotel guests out cheering, but there were signs saying “silent cheer spot” as obviously they would not want to upset all their guests by being woken up at 5am with all these noisy runners going past!
When you were in the parks there were loads of cast members out cheering, and I must say that running past the bakery in the Norway pavilion was like torture as we could smell the baking (they do a kringla in there which is like a soft spiced pretzel type thing with raisins and drizzled in dark chocolate and I was thinking about that a lot!). By the Japan pavilion there were cast members with the Japanese flag (as they employ people from those countries for the pavilions) but also the rides had different cast members out cheering us all on.
Running by Spaceship Earth and by the Japan pavilion
There were lots of photo-pass photographers too- you could generally tell that they were coming up as the area would be very well lit and the photographers were in bright green tents (they wear bright green jackets in the parks) – the photos were included which was a nice touch and also they actually took nice flattering photos compared to regular races! They would usually be in pairs (one on each side of the path) so you would be captured by one or the other.
There were also points where you could queue for a photo- I had missed the Spaceship Earth photo in the 5K as I didn’t realise what it was until I’d run past, so on this race I made sure to queue up for that. It was well organised with spots on the ground and cast members moving the queues along so you were not waiting for long at all (and they used your race number to match up the photos rather than in the parks when you tap your magic band, so again this sped up the process).
Some of the mile markers, character stops and bands
There was so much entertainment and things to look at on the route, as well as seeing the Disney park sights. There were bands playing, local high school cheerleaders, marching bands, rock bands, you name it (apart from steel pan bands!) it was there. Each mile marker was themed and they were sometimes playing music. There were frequent character stops (again with photo pass photographers, but also lots of them had cast members who would take a photo on your phone for you)- I had seen a “leaked” list of characters for the 10k and Duffy was one of them. I was looking at each queue to see- they usually had a cast member with a lollypop sign saying “end of line” on one side and then the character or group (eg “friends from Toy Story”) on the other side, and I was pretty disappointed when I finished and I hadn’t seen Duffy on the route…
I also loved looking at all of the costumes that people were wearing. I have no idea how people cope with them, some of them were proper costumes and not just character coloured shorts and a hat. I wore my Minnie ears for the 5k but that was enough for me and didn’t even bother with them for the 10k. Total respect to those that do, but I could definitely not do that. (see the monorail photo above for an example!)
As you run through the parks, the toilets in the parks are open for use (and there were also loads of port-a-loos out on the route too) so I popped into one in Epcot which thankfully didn’t have much of a queue. This was definitely preferable to using a port-a-loo in the race village or along the race route- a definite bonus of the Run Disney events. There were also so many drink stations with water and also powerade, so I stopped on a couple of the water stations to have a drink as I was mindful that even though it was cold it was also quite sweaty.
The run was themed around Chip and Dale solving a mystery (each race was linked to a genre of book as the overall theme was “what’s your story?” so again all the music and characters linked to the theme. My favourite was as I was running around World Showcase they were playing The Interrogation Song from Muppets Most Wanted- just such a fun song and such a great atmosphere.
As I finished I was looking for Andy at our pre-agreed meeting place, and couldn’t see him, but I saw that one of the character meets was Duffy! So of course I had to queue up! Apparently I have never looked happier than in that photo! Dopey was also there so when I saw Andy we queued to meet Dopey too as he was the namesake for this mad challenge.
I was glad I’d put the long sleeved top in the bag drop bag as I was sweaty so started getting a bit chilly quickly. We took a few more photos and made our way back to the car, with many many cast members saying to us “see you again tomorrow!”- so many people do the Dopey challenge and it felt great that so many people were doing this crazy challenge.
The sun coming up as we headed out of the race village and back to the car
A repeat of the Thursday, it was walk back to the car as the sun was coming up, drive back to the hotel, shower, make porridge and then head to a park for some walking about (but not too much!). We’d booked a sit down meal for 4:30 so we would again eat nice and early and head back to the hotel with plenty of time to get things ready for the half. It was beautiful weather though and I took my medal with me for some castle photos- me and half of Magic Kingdom I think!
Some medal/castle pics
So there we have it- race 2 of 4 finished. Again, a nice gentle pace in about 1hr 20. Onwards to the weekend…
