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Hello, this is your one and only character specialist, Nana. Yes, I paid money to go see characters from a distance; it doesn’t matter how far I go. This is my third runDisney race this year!
runDisney Expo Day
We were lucky enough to get Group 1, but they started calling the groups earlier than usual. Usually, they start calling groups at 9:45 a.m., but this time, they called Group 1 at 9:15 a.m.
I try not to spend ANY money on marathon merchandise, but this was easily a failure. I ended up buying a Baymax T-shirt.
After that, I went to pick up my race bib and see characters. This time, Hercules and Meg were meeting and greeting. I waited 2 hours to see them, it was a mess.
Finally, I went to pick up my participant T-shirt for this race. The T-shirts for Springtime Surprise are from Brooks, so the material is much nicer than in previous years. I ended up staying four hours at the expo, including two hours of waiting for characters.
The Race Day
I woke up at 2 a.m. (but only slept for about 45 minutes), left my house at 3 a.m., and got to the EPCOT parking lot by 3:40 a.m. I met my friend around 3:45 a.m., got in a huge line for the bathroom, and then got into our coral by 4:30 a.m. This time, I got the A group, but all my other friends were in D, so we decided to start from D.
Since the 10K race was Hercules-themed, we dressed as the Muses (except for one friend). I was crazy enough to wear my work sandals for the marathon since it was only a 10K. (Ten kilometers is our usual loop distance.)
I love these Reef sandals, and this is about the fifth pair I’ve owned. If you’d like to get a pair yourself, you can find them on Amazon.
At 5:30 a.m., we finally started the race!
Characters along the course included Mirabel, Meg, Merida, Clopin and Esmeralda, Pain and Panic, Robin Hood, Hades, Mickey and Minnie, Stitch, and a Green Army Man.
I realized that all those short distance races have a LONG wait for the characters. Pain and Panic was a 35- to 45-minute wait, and it was the same thing for Hades. My first runDisney event was the full marathon, and I didn’t see any crazy line that was longer than 10 minutes.
We ended up meeting Hades, but he was the only character we waited in line for. Hades is rare at Walt Disney World, but you can see him at Oogie Boogie Bash, and the line usually isn’t that long. What is crazy is I got to see Oogie at the full marathon, and his line was less than 5 minutes. You can’t touch him at Oogie Boogie Bash, and you can’t meet him at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Oogie Boogie is rarer than Hades but less of a wait.
This is my conclusion as a character meet-and-greet specialist: if you want to meet rare characters, do the full marathon in January. (Maybe that’s why I am doing the full marathon again next year even though I said “never again.”)
At the finish line, Donald was cheering all the runners.
After the race, I got a snack box and banana as usual, and this time, we got a “cooling towel” instead of a Mylar blanket! This marathon was really humid, and I was sweating a lot. This cooling towel was so refreshing!
And Nana found this garbage bin exclusively for banana peels! I am not quite sure how many runners took part in the Springtime Surprise, and how many bananas have been distributed, but the bin was pretty full! I guess I was not paying attention for the last two races.
Now, I’ve done a 5K, a 10K, and a full marathon. At the 5K and 10K, runDisney won’t distribute Powerade during the race. I think we had three water stations during the race, but in the humidity, I wanted Powerade more than just plain water.
Lesson learned: If there is a next time that I run any of the Springtime Surprise races, I will bring my own Powerade or some sort of salt. (There is always a first time, right?)
I was going to go home after this, but then Disney decided to drop new menus at Pop! Century’s food court, so I had to review them after the race.
On the way back to my car, I found this pin on the Skyliner. At first, I thought this was from a random Disney Facebook group, but then I realized this is from Disney!
After a long day, this definitely made my day. I was a super happy kid. The pin is old, from the Skyliner preview; however, it doesn’t matter. I love those tiny magical moments. This is so Disney. Thank you, Skyliner Cast Member, or whoever put this pin in the Skyliner cabin.
This will conclude Nana’s runDisney report. I hope you guys have a magical day! and hope to see you real soon!
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