The Disney Half Marathon

   There are things we do in life that we don't want to forget. Special things, events filled with memories so precious that we latch onto them even as they are still happening. Sights, sounds, smells, and feelings become tiny bits of joy that we store away in our souls, where they wait for just the right opportunity to creep back into our consciousness. Anyone who knows me well knows how I feel about Disney parks, so it will come as no surprise to them that the Disney Half Marathon fell into that special category for me.
   Anyone who takes up the sport of running has a reason, something or someone that inspires them to keep going when their body tries to tell them it wants to stop. For me, it was a high school classmate's leukemia diagnosis that spurred me back onto my treadmill several years ago. I was overweight, tired and irritable. I wanted to be healthy, to do what I could to ensure that I would be here for the precious moments yet to come in my children's lives.
   I started jogging, painfully slowly at first, having absolutely no intention of ever entering a foot race of any kind. I agreed to my first 5K only because it was a fundraiser for my friend with leukemia who inspired me to run in the first place, having no idea what I was getting myself into.
 Fast forward a couple of years and several hundred miles run later, to a cold, dark Florida morning at Epcot Center. Having completed my first half marathon earlier that year and training for several months, I was confident that I could handle the distance. The 3AM wakeup call had come way too early, and it was as unwelcome as the migraine that had arrived with it. I had no choice but to take a Relpax and pray that it would work, as I needed to be conscious and dressed, waiting in the hotel lobby for a bus by 4AM.
   Somehow I had conned my husband into taking up running as well, and when we entered the same races, he always beat me handily. When we talked about entering a Run Disney race, we agreed that in this case it would be really cool to run it together. So there we were, shivering in the same start corral, even though based on his previous half marathon time, he qualified to start one corral ahead of me. This was my first time to enter an event so large that it required start corrals. We were clear back in corral I, which seemed like a long way from the front...until I looked behind us. As it turned out, we were actually in the middle of the pack.
  The sights and sounds of such a large event were much different than anything I'd experienced before. If you've ever run a race, particularly a long one, you know how important a pre-race potty stop is. Realizing that you have to pee (or worse) at mile 2 of 13.1 is not a fun place to be, so we got in line. Ever seen a row of eighty porta potties? I hadn't, either! Using a portable toilet in the dark while trying not to drop your stuff or touch anything requires a certain amount of skill. I'm fairly certain that my extra $25 Relpax tablet fell out of my pocket in there, which hurt my feelings in more ways than one. As it turned out, I didn't need it and I was tremendously grateful that I didn't.  
   Fortunately, we had done enough research to know that we'd be standing around freezing our butts off before the start, so we had worn old clothes over our running clothes that we could toss into one of the fifty or so donation boxes that were put out just for that purpose. We'd also brought plastic bags to sit on, which are particularly handy if the ground is wet. I have to admit that I was surprised, however, to see an older man spread out his plastic bag and lie down. He then produced a sliver thermal recovery blanket, covered himself up, and actually went to sleep. I guess he figured the fireworks at the beginning of the race would wake him up.
  Of course, no Disney race would be complete without characters. Donald Duck was the mascot for our race, and as each wave of starters came to the line, he would count down and fireworks would signal the start of each new group. At various mile markers, there were different characters to visit and take pictures with. As we ran under and through Cinderella castle, we were greeted by Elsa, Anna, and Olaf from the movie "Frozen." In an effort to distract myself from the task at hand, I waved back and yelled, "Good morning!" I was treated to a "Good morning," in return from Kristoff, which my kids found terribly exciting when I told them about it.
   One fabulous thing about races run at Disney is the abundance of costumes. Not being an accomplished runner, I was more worried about finishing than how I looked doing it, so I skipped that part. The rest of the thousand or so people standing near me was a different story. A couple dressed as Cruella DeVille and one of her Dalmations was in our corral. There were all the usual suspects, everyone from Minnie Mouse, Cinderella, and Elsa to Peter Pan and Tink. There were groups dressed like the Seven Dwarves and princesses. There were tutus, fairy wings, and Mickey ears. There were costumes that I couldn't possibly imagine wearing while running for that length of time. And there was this guy, make that THE guy dressed as Lumiere, the talking candelabra from "Beauty and the Beast." He ran 26.2 miles in a shiny gold bodysuit, with a cardboard candle in each hand and one on top of his head. Now that's a costume!
   My favorite part of big races is the crowd lining parts of the racecourse. Certain stretches of our adventure were long, dark and lonely. (Think running on a closed parkway before dawn with a few thousand of your closest friends.) Other parts of the course took us through the Magic Kingdom and Epcot before business hours. (How cool is that?) Coming into and through the parks, there were lots of people. With people come cowbells (which I love, being a Mississippi State fan) and my other favorite thing - signs! Handmade on race-issued cardboard, hand-lettered at home, or professionally printed...signs at big races are fun. I saw one that read, "You run better than our government." Another was a picture of a button that said, "Touch here for power!" There was the classic "Motivational Sign" written in huge letters on a piece of cardboard. A few said things like, "That looks painful" and "Cupcakes at the Finish Line!" There were multiple "Just keep running," and "Not far now" type signs. And then there was my personal favorite: a big bold double sided sign that said, "Go Becky! I'm Proud of You!" on one side and,"Go Random Stranger! I'm Proud of You, Too!" on the other. 
   The theme at Disney races is, "Every Mile is Magic." Each mile had the coolest distractions, such as a set from the "Peter Pan" broadway show, multiple high school marching bands, and at mile 12, a full gospel choir in robes singing, "Hallelujah!" Put together, it was almost enough to distract you from the fact that you were indeed running 13.1 miles. Running that race was one of the most fantastic things I've ever done, although I'll never look at a freeway on ramp the same way again. Think they aren't that steep? Try running up one ten miles into a 13 mile race. It was pure torture on my calves!
   As much fun as we had, there were a few serious moments in our experience. One happened at about mile 2 of 13.1. Remember when I said that you didn't want to have to use the bathroom that early in a long race? My running partner had to have a break. Since we had never run a race together, we didn't plan very well. He stopped, assuring me that he would catch up, and I kept running at a much slower pace. I moved out to the edge, hoping he would be able to see me more easily. He couldn't. Suddenly we were separated, and I had no idea how we would ever find each other again. (I had my phone on me, but he didn't.) As tears began to fill my eyes, all I could think about was how hard this was going to be without him there for support. I looked and looked for him in those thousands of people. Then, just as I was about to have myself a good old-fashioned pity party, my Prince Charming found me! Standing among those thousands of runners, he found his way back to me. I'm not sure I've ever been quite so glad to see him! Somehow he had gotten ahead of me while running to catch up, so when he got to mile marker 3, he just stopped and waited on me to get there. I was afraid I wouldn't see him again until we got back to the hotel!
   Much later in the race,  I was struggling along about mile 11. This whole race thing was becoming decidedly less fun. My feet hurt and my thighs ached. My clothes were completely drenched with sweat, and it was becoming much more difficult to make small talk. Suddenly we came up behind and proceeded to pass a soldier with a prosthetic leg who had run just as far as we. With tears in my eyes, I looked at him as we passed and choked out, "You're doing great, Sir! Keep it up!" A little further along, we came upon a blind runner who was being guided through the course by an employee. Needless to say, I was out of excuses and done complaining. Nothing like a little reality check!
   When we finally made it to the end, crossing the finish line with my husband was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. I'll never forget that feeling of accomplishment. Distance running is a physical test, but it's much more of a mental one. If your mind believes you can, your body will get you there. We've all heard the saying, "Whether you believe you can, or you can't, either way you're correct." We did something incredibly difficult, and we did it together, all because we decided that we could. There's something pretty special about that.