Does This Tiara Make My Butt Look Fast?

Finally, time to chronicle the long-awaited Disney Princess Half Marathon - my chance to wear something semi-girly and run my way through Disney World. Who would have thought that carrying a camera while running wouldn't be such a bad idea? I took one because I didn't train for the race and knew that I was just going to enjoy it. It was so worth having the camera in hand.

With 13,498 other racers, about 13,200 of them females, it the air was full of estrogen as we had to be up on a FREEZING Orlando morning and on a bus to the start line at 3:30. The race didn't even start till 6am but with 13,500 racers to coordinate and get in place, Disney knew they had to give plenty of time. We froze for 2.5 hours as we waited for the race to start. So much for warming up before hand.

And... finally, the race begins with fireworks and lots of running. Kristin and I, however, were still standing in our corral, which was only the second of six. Luckily, they didn't let all 13,500 start at the same time. THAT would be crazy. Worse than trying to navigate the line of Space Mountain or something.

Running through the road entrance to Magic Kingdom and one of the mile markers along the way.

So, along the way, they had characters and people you could stop and take pictures with. Here I am with the Petty Experience Drivers, coming up on Space Mountain, on Disney Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, and running into Tomorrow Land.

The BEST part was we got to run through Cinderella's Castle. I know... you are all just a little, or a lot, envious of me. But really, it was pretty cool. So, here I am just before I ran through the castle, Cinderella/Prince Charming/and the Frog Princess people taking pictures with runners, and after I ran through the castle.

Pictures with Belle and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and whoever the prince's name is,

And, three of my favorite.... the Men Heroes, Captain Jack, and the green toy soldiers from Toy Story! I loved them!

So, finally, we finished, and amazingly, with only 4 days of training, my time within the same 2 min window of EVERY 1/2 marathon I've run. Crazy, I know, but it was fun! We got big princess medals and Kristin wore hers the rest of the day till she got home to AZ.

The day finally warmed up from the breath freezing temps of 3:30am and we relaxed around Downtown Disney a little before we packed up and headed home.