This was my first Disney half marathon, while it wasn't my first runDisney event there were a few rookie mistakes that happened. Trying to save a few dollars my friend and I decided to skip the first day of the expo and fly down for the second day. HUGE rookie mistake. When you think black Friday shoppers are bad, runDisney shoppers are worse. The crowd for the 2nd day of the expo was no where compared to last years 1st day madness, so I thought that's great we can really enjoy ourselves. All of the "hot" expo merchandise was GONE! If you were looking to get a simple wine glass or tumbler too bad they were sold out. A big disappointment with the amount of runners runDisney brings to the events.

On the morning of the race the buses to the start line were easy to find at the hotel, but the traffic is horrific. So make sure you are on one of the first few buses that leave at 3:30am. It seems crazy but the amount of traffic you sit in is worth it and you don't have to worry about rushing to the start line.

No one warns you that you have a mile hike to get to the start line. Luckily another friend of mine was already there and was able to shoot me a text telling me to start the long hike. If that had never happened I don't know if I would have made it to my corral in time to start with the correct pace. If we walk a mile to the start line that means that we can shave a mile off the run, right?

The highlight of the race is obviously the course. The characters every few miles make the "boring" scenery exciting trying to guess what character is available. The lines to wait for the characters are super long, so as long as you are not there to run for a time then definitely stop and take the photos. The BIGGEST photo op would be the Princes. The line is always long but definitely worth the wait. Running through Magic Kingdom to get to the castle is an amazing experience. There are so many people lining main street waiting to cheer you on it makes it seem like you are a Princess.

The last half of the course is extremely boring. While there are characters along the route, it is just basic and boring roads to head back to Epcot. Those 4-5 miles are extremely grueling to the point where I was ready to catch the monorail to the finish line. Once you get to Epcot there are of course more photo ops to end the race on a high with a few more characters and the obligatory Epcot ball picture. The last turn to the finish line is always welcomed but with a little extra pixie dust runDisney makes the finish well worth the 13.. I mean really 14 miles Magical.