Let's share our memorable moments from any runDisney event

[WVUFan]

-2010 was my first marathon and just before we entered Magic Kingdom at mile 10 (I loved the old course!) I asked my friend if he thought I would ever run another marathon. He said, "you are hooked!" 12 marathons later, he is correct!

-2011 Princess was the first race I really just enjoyed. I stopped at every character and had a ball.

- 2013 Goofy, my 7 year old daughter met me in France and decided she wanted to run with me. She stayed on the guest side of the cones while I was on the runners' side. We stopped at each country for a picture and all of the characters and met her sitter in Mexico. She can't wait until she can run the whole thing with me!

 

[AB6876]

OK, I was going to say my most memorable moment was crossing the finish line of the PHM 2012 cause it was my first half, but I changed my mind

Really, crossing the finish line of the TOT 10-miler in 2012 was very memorable for me! 2012 was a bad year for me in many ways, the worst was getting injured last July! But I picked myself back up every time I was smacked down by something, and prior to the Tower the longest I had run during a training run was 6 miles I was very afraid of getting swept, but I FINISHED and I did it in much less time than I had anticipated!!

And... for the first time... I ENJOYED myself on a race!! During the PHM I was very preoccupied with a lot of things, but at the Tower, I just let go and had FUN

And one more slightly gross add to this... after the Tower was my first-ever post-run puke

I heard the ToT 10 miler was tough with the heat and humidity congrats on having a great race even with the aftermath lol

 

[AB6876]

- 2013 Goofy, my 7 year old daughter met me in France and decided she wanted to run with me. She stayed on the guest side of the cones while I was on the runners' side. We stopped at each country for a picture and all of the characters and met her sitter in Mexico. She can't wait until she can run the whole thing with me!

What a sweet memory...

 

[scoolover]

My first Disney race was the 2007 Race for the Taste. I had been on the WISH boards for a while but had never met any wishers. About a mile into the race, I spotted a WISH shirt and approached who turned out to be Anne. She spotted me too and recognized me immediately. She made me feel like I was a celebrity and could not have been nicer. That is still one of my favorite Disney race memories!

 

[Optimator]

Lots of fun to think about all the good stuff:

General memories:
All the great WISHer friends I've made over the years, many of which give so much of themselves scream teaming and passing out goodies to everyone around the course.

Specific:
2007- DW and I running our first Donald together (I must have enjoyed it more than she did since she hasn't let me run a race with her since).

2007 - Watching the back of the packers running around the boardwalk in blistering heat on Sunday.

2008 - Running/sprinting the last mile of the full with WISher Jodi after completely bonking some 10 miles earlier.

2010 - Sleet hitting my face running through the MK entrance on Saturday. Cups of Powerade with a layer of ice on them on Sunday.

2010 - Running the Wine and Dine Relay with DW. Starting the second leg fresh when all those poor folks were only part way through with the half on a hot and muggy night, I felt like Superman cutting through the weary masses.

2012 - Running the first leg of the Chip and Dale relay all out. It was SOOO wonderful to be able to turn left and peel off the course and leave the last half to DW when all those other suckers had to turn right heading down the lonely road to AK.

2013 - Getting the "Go to Hell" look from our friend as DW looked fresh as a daisy outside Studios on their way to finishing his first marathon.

Good times!!

 

[Dagna]

I will always remember having a beer at mile 24 of this year's marathon, and laughing with all the people who thought I was nuts for doing that during the race. Very few of my fellow runners, but many of the spectators, appreciated the training and effort that goes into practicing drinking while running.

Dating myself, but 1970s/80s running guru Dr Sheehan used to say that beer was one of the best after-run recovery drinks. I don't remember exactly what he said about beer during a run .

I love McFlurry John's idea. The O'Doul's sounds perfect--all those lovely electrolytes in a delicious beer package without the extra dehydrating effects of alcohol

 

[Disneygymrat]

My favorite memory is not really my own. It was watching my husband cross the line in the 2010 marathon. It was his first marathon ever.

As for my running, I think the post race party at 2009 Everest Challenge. It was pouring down rain after I finished. They kept the party going for a little bit so I rode Primeval Whirl about 4 or 5 times completely drenched.

 

[Figment1990]

Dating myself, but 1970s/80s running guru Dr Sheehan used to say that beer was one of the best after-run recovery drinks. I don't remember exactly what he said about beer during a run .

I love McFlurry John's idea. The O'Doul's sounds perfect--all those lovely electrolytes in a delicious beer package without the extra dehydrating effects of alcohol

I've got to find that dr Sheehan advice to validate my post-run beer recovery habit.

My favorite race moments were two from last years wine and dine, my first half.

First, at mile 10, I stopped for a pic w wreck it Ralph because he was my sons favorite at the moment. Even though stopping meant I would not make my goal time. At that time, I realized that no matter how much my running was for me, my family was also there every step and somehow, my hours spent training alone made me an even better mom than I thought I could be.

Second, the starting line of the wine and dine half. I was so so excited and the adrenaline was crazy! I could not believe how far I'd come and what I was about to do. I was more excited than anything in recent memory. What a thrill!

 

[goofeygirl]

I would have to say for me it would be crossing the finish line of the full and getting my Mickey and then Goofy medal. It was my first full marathon ever and so obviously my first Goofy.

 

[mikamah]

Such a great thread, so enjoyed reading all your memories.

My only Disney race to date is PHM 2011, but a highlight was the wish meet beforehand where I met so many Dis-ers that I knew from here, and then had them to hang out with before the half and meet at the W tent after.

As I was coming through the castle, I saw a familiar face, and it was a guy, Lee, from youtube who's "Disney Half marathon all along the route" I must have watched 50 times before the PHM, my first half. I talked to him, and then he taped me and I'm in his PHM video a few times. He was videoing his wife's first half.

My absolute favorite memory was coming past the 13 mile sign and seeing my 9 yo son, niece and sil cheering me on screaming as loud as they could and looking so proud of me. I was so proud of myself, and worked so hard to get there, and just thinking about it brings up that awesome feeling that I can do anything I set my mind to.

 

[FFigawi]

I cannot believe you can drink a beer and run.. I cannot even drink a sip of water without dumping it all over myself lol.....what a great memory.

Practice, lots and lots of practice

 

[MaryJ]

Okay...I also have to pick two:

The first one would be the deep freeze of 2010 when I did the half marathon. Because I walk/run, I dressed warm for the start. I had on a pair of sweat pants over my running tights. By the time I entered the MK I was getting a bit warm, so I shed the pants. To this day I love going into Tomorrowland with friends and pointing to a specific bench and saying "And there's the bench where I took off my pants!" You should see the looks I get before I explain!

The second would be when my husband and I did the DL Half Marathon in 2011 to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. We went to DL for our honeymoon and stayed at the Disneyland Hotel. We stayed there again, and my time for that race remains my best ever. I also completed my goal of getting the Coast to Coast medal with this race.

 

[johde]

I've only done one RunDisney event, the 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon. Two memories stick out in my mind from the event.

First, this was my first trip to California and Disneyland. Because of work, I needed to fly in Saturday afternoon for packet pickup prior to the race on Sunday. So, the first time I entered Disneyland was traveling under the Railroad tracks and up Main Street during the race. Seeing the Castle for the first time then was probably the best memory from the race.

The second one was not that great. It was a warm day in Anaheim, and once you leave Disneyland, the course has very little shade. Most of my training had been on a shaded Rail/Trail. Just past Angel Field, about mile 11, I bonked harder than I ever had during training or a previous race. I went from about 13:00 mile to about a 19:00 mile. But, like others had said, I kept telling myself "you're not going to quit." "If you quit not, you spent all this money and won't have a medal to show for it". I ended up meeting some of the nicest fellow competitors. One person gave me a packet of sun screen. We all tried to encourage each other.

 

[Mommy to Two Princes]

My favorite memory came at the end of the 2013 PHM. I wore a blingy Mickey shirt. Minnie saw it, pointed at me, then ran full speed at me. She gave me the biggest hug! Such a great memory at the end of a race!