Another year and another Magical weekend at runDisney.
While the course did not change there were a few changes that were addressed from last year.
The EXPO! The amount of merchandise that was available this year was great! There were no cat fights over a wine glass or t-shirt. There were even an ample amount of merchandise available the second day of the expo. SHOCKER!
On the morning of the race with the high volume of traffic runDisney was awesome in delaying the race start time to ensure more runners could get to their corrals. While it might have been annoying to us early risers that plan ahead, it really helped the rookie runners or the late risers.
All in all after learning from last years mistakes, this runDisney event met every expectation that I had.

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.

Never having been to Virginia Beach I honestly did not know what to expect, but with a Rock 'n' Roll event my friend and I decided to give it a try. The race being Labor Day weekend was awesome to be able to give us a mini vacation while earning our swag. RNR's website was extremely helpful in helping us pick out a hotel that was not only convenient to the race but also access to the beach. We stayed at the Hilton Double Tree next to the convention center, which was the best choice. Not only was the start line right out side our hotel but so was the race expo. The hotel even had a shuttle that dropped you off a block from the beach. Who could beat that? When we were finished with the race we were able to hope right on the shuttle to head back to the hotel instead of having to walk back.
The scenery for the race was nothing spectacular but it was nice views of a beach town. And over 90% of the race was FLAT! Can't beat that either. The finish line being on the beach was icing on the cake. After running a humid 13.1 miles you were able to grab your free beer and sit on the beach and enjoy the views. As a beach person, can't get much better than that.
A bonus with RNR's race was that you also had access to the Labor Day weekend concert that was held in Virginia Beach. While the headliner might not have been someone that you wanted to see, I think a free Sheryl Crow concert is awesome. We were able to get there early to sit right along the general admission line, so we were able to sit and enjoy an end of summer beach concert. Definitely a great way to end the 2015 summer season.