This was my second time coming back to Disney for their marathon weekend. I have run plenty of half marathons but this was my first time going for a full. I sat in Epcot last year, drinking my coffee, as I watched the marathoners finish up their last mile. I felt something inside me stir and I knew that if I ever ran a full marathon, it would be here.

Fast forward to September - it was real, it was happening. I signed up for the marathon after my last half and began a journey I never thought I would.

The only bad thing I can say about this race was the weather! Of course, Disney can't control this. The jokes about Disney building a dome over the park made their way through the runners. It was a frigid morning (in the 30s) with about 15 mph wind. Waiting for my corral to start was the worst and I was so ready to go once my wave started.

The course was jam packed (definitely a potential con for some people) the entire time. There was plenty of visible support along the course and TONS of aid stations!! I was pretty impressed with that. There were also spectators along the course (especially in Wide World of Sports/Boardwalk areas that had mini "aid" stations too). There was entertainment/music/something to see every mile and, of course, the parks!

We spend the most time in Magic Kingdom, Wide World of Sports, and Epcot. We pretty much just blipped through Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. There was one point along the course we had to run down a road and then turn around and that was definitely my least favorite part of the course. So many people and a pretty narrow course. But other than that, it was awesome!

I most likely will not do another marathon simply because it's just too long for me. I was pretty much over it at mile 22 and this helped solidify that a half marathon is definitely the race for me. But I am so glad I did it and SO glad I chose to do it at Disney!

The medal was shaped like Mickey's ears and it was perfect. As a former cast member, this meant a lot to me. When you are being trained at Disney, you wear a little sticker on your name tag that says "earning my ears". And that's what I did that morning. I "earned my ears" in the form of a marathon medal and I will always cherish this accomplishment!!

This was my fifth RunDisney half marathon and it did not disappoint! As a former cast member, it is always fun to go back to my old stomping grounds for events like this.

The route is not the most exciting and I definitely prefer other WDW running event routes over this one. This event's route is the same as the Princess Half Marathon, which is basically running out of the EPCOT parking lot, down a long road to Magic Kingdom, spending maybe 15 minutes in MK, and then down back the long road to finish up with 15 minutes in EPCOT. If you are looking for a race that has a lot of "park time", this one probably will not be for you. However, Disney has made up for the lack of park time with plenty of entertainment spots along the way. There were characters galore on the route - more than any previous Disney race I have run. I was particularly excited with the Oogie Boogie character stop in the first few miles!

There are plenty of water stops and medical stops along the way. These are always fully stocked not matter where you are in the pack of runners. Around mile 9 there is a Clif Bar energy gel stop as well. There are plenty of port-a-potties AND real bathrooms when you get into the parks. Big perk there for me!

RunDisney events are definitely ones where you need to remember that you probably won't get a PR that day. There are thousands of people around you at all times. This can be kind of worrisome at times. I have seen "ambitious" runners trying to get ahead in the first mile or two, which has led to others being pushed or tripped up as they tried to get through. Definitely not a fun sight. I highly recommend submitting a previous race time to help with corral placement.

Going into the race, my sister drilled our race manta into my head - that we were going for a fun time, not a best time. We definitely didn't get a best time (+30 minutes with bathroom and photo op stops) but we sure had an awesome time!