Disney's Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon

The Donald Duck 1/2 Marathon was probably my favorite race during the Dopey Challenge.  We decided to take our time, have fun and take as many pictures as possible.  I almost had a heart attack race morning because my alarm never went off.  I was so tired the night before that I never once set my alarm clock.  Thank GOD I use my internal alarm clock all the time! I woke up 5 minutes after we were suppose too :)

The starting line was set up at a different location than the 5k/10k.  We knew that we would have to walk a good mile to even get to the starting line.  Corrals went from A all the way to P...that is certainly A LOT of people.  Each corral had it's own little party with fireworks with Donald Duck counting each corral down.  We saw a lot of fireworks.. which I LOVED.

The beginning of the race is a little blurry to me.  I think I was either still asleep or just in my zone.  I do remember it being hot and thinking this could be a terrible day.  Thankfully, the sun stayed away until we got close to the finish line.

My favorite moment of Disney weekend is running into Magical Kingdom.  I can't help but think of my childhood, my parents and my love for running.  There is this magic moment in the race where you make a sudden turn onto main street.  After that turn the magic starts pouring into your heart because the Castle is looking right at you.  I still get chills thinking about that moment...I almost felt like a little girl looking at it for the very first time.  The joy around you is something I can't even explain...AMAZING. 

Yep.. This is now my famous pose on main street! I plan on having many more like this in the future!

This is the very moment we stopped racing and starting playing :) I told Corinne I wanted to get as many pictures as possible! I mean heck why not take our time and enjoy this amazing experiences.  As we ran into Tomorrow land we made our first of many stops with Buzz Light year. 

 

Next the Queen of Hearts

My favorite moment of all was when we stopped for Tiger.  The line was super short so we had to stop.  I didn't really understand what Tiger wanted me to do.  I have a million pictures of me trying to figure it out.  At first I was thinking he wanted me to act like a Dog....As I was walking away I realized he wanted me to be a puppet.  DUH! I was Pinocchio... This is one of my favorite pictures!

 

 Then I stopped for a quick picture with this tall Dude!

Next up was the dead part of the half marathon....boring ville. 

Could be a Xmas card

After the dancing reindeer we ran into the beautiful golf course.  There was a line that was a little longer than the others so I knew it would be a good stop.  It took probably around 15 minutes to get this picture but it was WORTH it.

Mickey is so cute :) Don't you think.  We got serious after this picture and decided that we should head to the finish line.  After all our half marathon time wasn't looking so awesome.. PLUS, we really needed to get off our feet.  As we ran into Epcot I couldn't help but think how awesome this day really was.  Running to me is always my happy place! Disney plus running equals a little slice of heaven...I wish every run was like my Disney runs because they all seem to have a little bit of magic in them.

This is when we started to lose our minds :) I don't know how I got my leg up so high after running so many miles. Those cheerleaders thought we were awesome.

I have no idea what is going on here. 

I loved the finish line pictures since these guys are some of my favorite Disney friends.  Not many people stop before they get to the finish line... I figured what the heck!

Overall, this was my favorite half marathon of my life! I didn't worry about time or anything for that matter.  All I wanted to do was not focus on the stress and life I left back in Ohio.  I wanted my life to feel like a child even if it was just for a few hours.  I think this is why I love this race because it allows me to remember what it feels like to be carefree.

We also saw Chris HOTTIE Powell :) We spoke to his wife Heidi for a quick second.

Up next...
The Marathon