This 10k was the first leg of the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge as a part of the RunDisney Super Heroes Half Marathon weekend. I also did the Spider-Man 5k the day before this even though it was not technically part of the challenge and this was my favorite of the three races. The entire race took place in and around the Disneyland Park with a great route through the California Adventure and the Magic Kingdom and it was so much fun exploring the park while it was dark/dawn without any one else in the park. The race started at 5:30am which was earlier than I was used to, but the energy generated by the pre-race entertainment (including awesome video displays above the start line), the park employees cheering everyone on in the park, and the course DJ's definitely woke me up. There were several Marvel character photo ops including one with a S.H.I.E.L.D military style vehicle and the characters were so much fun to interact with and the all of the pictures taken that day turned out amazing and are included in the Disney Photo pass. The expo took place at the Disneyland Convention Center so it was very large but the volunteers were well organized so we got our bags timely. The race shirt for this race was a long sleeved technical shirt from Champion and fit well and had a cool Thor design. The medal was very unique since it tied into the Thor movies and the middle of it actually spins with Thor's hammer on one side and Loki's horned helmet on the other. The course is very flat with the exception of two fairly steep hills up and down as we went under two road overpasses. We stayed at an onsite hotel so I cannot speak to the race parking. The post-race amenities were very good as well with a unique food box that was handed to participants that had Nutella, cookies, apple sauce squeeze, and a few other things I can't remember. The food box helped move people through the finish efficiently and made it easy to carry because I usually don't eat immediately after a race until my stomach has time to settle down.

This half marathon was the second and final leg of the Infinity Gauntlet Challenge as a part of the RunDisney Super Heroes Half Marathon weekend. This race had the least amount of course spent within the two Disneyland parks which was pretty disappointing, but I'm also not sure how they could squeeze 13 miles in the two parks (the 10k fit in it perfectly). Once the race got off the park grounds the scenery got boring in a hurry while running past strip mall after strip mall in Anaheim. The last third of the course got a lot better, however, as we passed The Honda Center and the Angels ball park where we actually got to run around the outfield and get our picture taken in park which was a pleasant surprise! The race started at 5:30am which was earlier than I was used to, but the energy generated by the pre-race entertainment (including awesome video displays above the start line), the park employees cheering everyone on in the park, and the course DJ's definitely woke me up while we were still on the park grounds. If you normally don't run with headphones because of the course entertainment and support you may want to reconsider for this race because once you get off of the park grounds the crowds support gets very sparse. I chose to wear headphones outside of the park but I still talked to other runners especially ones who were also dressed like The Hulk. This race had the least amount of Marvel character photo ops, but running 13.1 miles I didn't want to stop any more than I had to. The expo took place at the Disneyland Convention Center so it was very large but the volunteers were well organized so we got our bags timely. The race shirt for this race was a long sleeved technical shirt from Champion and fit well and had a cool Thor design. The medal was very unique since it tied into the Avenger movies with Black Widow's logo and the Infinity Gauntlet medal (if it was earned as part of the challenge) was awesome! The course is very flat with the exception of two fairly steep hills up and down as we went under two road overpasses and then getting down and out of the ballpark. We stayed at an onsite hotel so I cannot speak to the race parking. The post-race amenities were very good as well with a unique food box that was handed to participants that had Nutella, cookies, apple sauce squeeze, and a few other things I can't remember. The food box helped move people through the finish efficiently and made it easy to carry because I usually don't eat immediately after a race until my stomach has time to settle down. The race course support was very good with the usual hydration stations and many were well stocked with Vaseline and Biofreeze. I usually don't need to take Biofreeze during a race, but I had done the 5k, 10k, and many miles of post race walking around the parks that weekend so my legs definitely appreciated having it available. The races are quite expensive but I think it was definitely worth it for the experience!

This was my first RunDisney race and it did not disappoint! I did the race with my wife, brother, sister-in-law, and mother and I am the only runner in my family so we decided to walk the 5k together and it was an amazing experience! The start and finish was next to downtown Disney which is technically outside the park but is park adjacent. Most of the race took place inside the park and it was surreal running through the park when it was empty. The park staff were very enthusiastic and cheered everyone one! There were a few on course DJ's that helped with the energy level which was good because it started at 5:30am so it was the earliest race I've ever done. The Marvel character photo ops were great, but unfortunately one employee was telling us while we were in line that the balloon sweepers were about to get there and if we got swept up we risked not finishing the race so we got out of line which was very disappointing and it only got worse after we finished and didn't see the race sweepers finish 20 minutes later and counting. The race shirt was a little disappointing as it was cotton, but the design was great with the Spider-Man theme and the medal was huge and well designed! The course is very flat with the exception of two fairly steep hills up and down as we went under two road overpasses. We stayed at an on site hotel so I cannot speak to the race parking. The packet pickup was at the convention center on site and was very large but it was well managed and the store was expensive but had a lot of variety to choose from. The post race amenities were very good as well with a unique food box that was handed to participants that had Nutella, cookies, apple sauce squeeze, and a few other things I can't remember. The food box helped move people through the finish efficiently and made it easy to carry because I usually don't eat immediately after a race until my stomach has time to settle down. The race photographers were excellent as well they were well placed to get pictures of the runners with landmarks in the background. If you have a Disney photo pass the photos were included, but if you were not going to the park you had to purchase the pass separately.