Hello, this is the one and only Nana, and yes, I am doing another marathon again even though I had a hard time last marathon. But this time, it is just 5 km, a little over 3 miles. As a reporter, 3 miles are nothing. My average distance is about 7 miles per report.
runDisney Expo
Every marathon starts with the RunDisney Expo to pick up your bib, buy all the merchandise for your race, and see rare characters. But to buy the merchandise, you need a Virtual Queue for the first day, and it will drop at 8:30 a.m.
Princess Half Marathon’s merchandise is usually purple/pink colors every year. Purple is absolutely my favorite color. If you read our merchandise post yesterday you know they had lots of pink and purple merchandise.
I did my best to not spend a lot, but I ended up with a skort and ears. (Tom didn’t like the ears, by the way.)
I left Advent Health Arena, and went to State Farm Fieldhouse.
Since it’s themed to Princesses, Minnie was wearing a princess dress.
And they had Mulan and Shang. (They were meeting together for some guests!)
After you pick up your bib, MAKE SURE your runner tag is working so you get the race time. *5km doesn’t come with it since it is not a timed race.
I think they started doing this in January, due to some of the runner’s tags not working.
The Race Day Morning
I got group A this time, so my starting time was 5:00 a.m. – 5:05 a.m. so I woke up at 1:50 a.m. and left Oviedo around 2:20 a.m., and drove to EPCOT by 3:00 a.m. This is the hardest part of the day. Battling with sleepy Nana.
I signed up for the race with two friends, so I didn’t have any anxiety. BUT there was ONE issue. THE WEATHER! Every time I run a marathon, it’s cold. Today was 42° but feels like 38°. While waiting for my group to get started, I was freezing.
5K Race
We started around 5:03 a.m. Legit runners on the left side, walkers on the right side. I didn’t have any plans to run since one of my friends was injured. The 5K race is easy; you just run through the parking lot and backstage, World Showcase, the front of the park, then finish.
On the course, they had five characters. I waited for Minnie, Mushu, and Goofy. I got in line for Cinderella’s Stepsister and Stepmother, but the line was insane so I escaped the line. It was 30 to 45 minutes. Usually, the character’s meet and greet during the marathon goes quicker.
By the American Adventure, they had a water station, but no Powerade. (Sorry, I didn’t take a picture…) In some countries, they have their CR standing outside and cheering the guests.
Post Race
It took two hours to finish the race since I waited in line to see some characters. At the finish line, Daisy was waiting for us.
After you finish the race, they will give you a snack box, bananas, water, and Powerade.
And, of course, your medal.
There were more characters meet and greet in the reunion area, but it was so cold… I couldn’t stay in the line to wait.
The 5 K race was nice, not crazy; just a stroll in EPCOT. The price is not cheap but if you ever thought about a runDisney race, this is a good one. I have a 10K race in April and another 5K in November this year. I am still debating about going to California for the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon to get a Coast to Coast medal… I am telling you, runDisney is a trap. Once you start, you can’t stop. March 11 is the registration for Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend 2026. I am planning to NOT register for any marathon… but something inside of me is whispering, “Nana, you should do another full marathon.”
Anyway, thank you for reading all the way ’till the end. I hope you will have a magical weekend and see you real soon!
P.S. If you were wondering what we were running as… we were Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po.
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