You Should Experience a runDisney Event, Even if You’re Not a Runner!
While in high school, I was a runner. I was on the Cross Country team and the Track & Field team. I was a middle-of-the-road athlete. I was not the worst but certainly not getting any college scholarships. I enjoyed the team itself more than the actual sport. I loved the camaraderie, I loved the spectators cheering, I loved the long Saturdays at regional meets where we all just had fun! And while I loved winning just as much as the next person, winning wasn’t always in the cards for me.
Side note – I was a part of the 4×110 team during my four-year high school track career. We were good and we held the school record for many years.
Fast forward to my mid-40s. I’ve had two surgeries on my left knee and my right knee is not too far behind. Running is not something I do often. And if I do, it is more of a run/walk scenario.
Five years ago, my son was turning 16, and I wanted to do something special with him. We felt a trip to Disney would be perfect. We started planning and learned the weekend we would be going was also the Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. We decided to go for it and register for the 5K.
This trip was also going to include a friend of mine and her son for his 16th birthday. We convinced them to sign up for the 5K, too.
This would not be my son’s first runDisney event but it would be mine. And no longer being a runner, I was a bit intimidated. PS My friend is also not a runner.
So, my girlfriend and I started planning our outfits. We bought matching shirts and borrowed cute, sparkly running skirts from our friend who is a runner. All the while, our sons were preparing by not preparing. I was trying to run/walk my way through some sort of training (more walk than run) in hopes of not having to walk the entire race.
November arrived and we traveled to Walt Disney World for our amazing trip with our newly turned 16-year-old sons.
On the morning of the races, you have to be up super early. Like 3 am early. We set our alarm clocks, donned our cutest “running” outfits and jumped on the bus to the race corrals in the Animal Kingdom theme park parking lot. And at 5 am, we were off.
The boys left their Moms in the dust. But we Moms, we had so much fun. We ran, we jogged, we walked. We laughed, we stopped for photos with characters, all the while enjoying the scenery of Animal Kingdom. I’m not sure how long it took us to finish, probably about 45 minutes to an hour. The boys were waiting for us at the finish line. We received our medals, took some fun photos and that was it. We had completed our runDisney 5K.
Yesterday, I signed up for another runDisney 5K during the 2022 Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend. My husband will be running the 5K with me, and he’ll be running the Half Marathon. Though it’s months away, I am already thinking about my running “costume” and whether I should force my husband to wear one, too.
You don’t need to be a runner to enjoy a runDisney event. You need to have the motivation to try and the ability to know the 5K event is about having fun. I can’t wait to experience my second runDisney event!
PS You won’t find me signing up for anything longer than the 5K. Those longer events are serious business and I don’t want to be swept up for being the last runner on the course!
To learn more about runDisney events visit www.rundisney.com