This is the second part of my 2013 Disney Goofy Challenge Recap. Check out the first part here!
We woke up bright and early on Friday to get ready for the day. Originally, I had planned on running the Disney Family 5K with my mom and grandmother, however the runDisney meetup was scheduled for the same time so I wasn’t able to do both. My mom and grandmother went to the 5K (their first races EVER!), and I headed to Hollywood Studios for the meetup.
Boardwalk early in the morning
I really struggle am not the best with directions, but after a while I finally found my way to Hollywood Studios
I arrived at 6:30, and the runDisney staff had us fill out paperwork and then gave us our event T-Shirts, specially designed for the 20th Anniversary of the marathon (usually at the meetups they give out the tech black runDisney shirts). After we all registered, it was time for photos with Mickey, Donald and Goofy!
Around 7am, we were split into two groups for the 2.5 mile run: a 9-10 minute mile group and a 12 minute run/walk group. I went with the 9-10 minute group (I think we were closer to 8-8:30 min/mile). The course was around Hollywood Studios, and along the way we had a few characters join us!
It was really cool running through the closed park with such a small group of people! My favorite part of the run was running through a tunnel that we could see into where the seamstresses and costumes were.
After the run, we had a chance to grab water and breakfast sandwiches before the Q&A session began!
Once we took our seats, we were welcomed to the event and shown a brief video. After the video, one of the first special guests arrived: Joey Fatone from NSYNC!
Joey’s wife was originally going to run Goofy, but she was injured so Joey took her spot. Joey talked to us about his training, his strategy for the races, and (unfortunately) confirmed that there will be no NSYNC reunion.
After Joey talked to us, representatives from New Balance came up to show us the new shoe designed specifically for runDisney! The shoes are the New Balance 860v3 with limited edition Mickey and Minnie versions:
Mickey Limited Edition (photo: runDisney)
Minnie Limited Edition (photo: runDisney)
The shoes were VERY popular at the expo: only 1,000 had been made and sold out the first day of the expo! New Balance had a few extra pairs shipped in overnight for the expo and those also sold out very quickly.
After the New Balance team spoke to us, it was time for a Q&A session with Jeff Galloway, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Bart Yasso, Dick Beardsley and Desi Davila! They discussed various topics ranging from training to their race experiences.
After the Q&A, Eddie Mason spoke to us about the importance of cross training and core strengthening. He also invited us to a core workout he was hosting that afternoon at ESPN!
After Eddie Mason spoke to us, Disney surprised us with another celebrity guest speaker: Drew Carey!
Drew was HILARIOUS! He gave us Price is Right tips (go for the middle in Plinko!) to the crazy prizes he’s given away on the show – like a shower with a phone built in.
After Drew spoke to us, Disney raffled off a ton of prizes ranging from pairs of the New Balance sneakers to complimentary entry into 2014 Disney half or full marathon! I didn’t win any of the raffle prizes, but that’s ok – I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to this event! At the end of the event, we had opportunities to take photos and talk more with everyone.
The 4th grader in me was going CRAZY!
Drew Carey!
At the end of the event, runDisney and the weekend sponsors gave us fun (and very generous) gift bags!
The bags consisted of:
- H2O Plus Softening Mint Foot Rub
- H2O Plus Face Oasis Mist
- iFitness Belt
- New Balance Shoelaces
- 1 Day Disney Theme Park Ticket
Thank you runDisney and sponsors!!
After the event, I walked back to the Boardwalk to meetup with my mom and grandmother. On my way back, I was quickly reminded of the upcoming marathon.
My mom and grandmother had a great time at the Family Fun 5K, and are now hooked on running! As soon as they got back to the hotel room they started looking up local 5Ks to train for.
The rest of the day we took it really easy by the pool – we had the half marathon bright and early the next morning!
Awesome weekend! I was there too running the half and did my recap yesterday with the stay review today. I missed the meetup! Booooo
Kat recently posted…WDW Weekend: The stay
Congrats on the half!
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Half Marathon
SO SO SO SO FUN.
and jealous :-0)
Miz recently posted…Blog post titles you’ll never see…
I had a blast! I’m so thankful to have had this opportunity!
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Half Marathon
Oh my gosh what an AWESOME event! Each post you do about this makes me want to do it next year even more!! I love your skirt, too. Your recaps are so detailed that it makes it easier to picture what the whole experience was really like.
sarah recently posted…You Look Good
Thanks Sarah! If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend runDisney races..they’re such an amazing experience!
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Half Marathon
glad you had a good time! I told Joey that I lost my voice at their concert when I was in high school lol!
Heather recently posted…I Just Ran a Marathon…What Now?
Too funny!! I thought it was hilarious when someone brought his yearbook!
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Half Marathon
Can I just say how incredibly jealous I am? What an incredible weekend and you haven’t even gotten to the races yet!!
Bari recently posted…Three Things Thursday: Breakfast Ideas
I am so thankful to have had this opportunity! It was amazing
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Half Marathon
Oh how I hope I’m still a blogger when I do my Disney Run I so want to do the meet up…of course then I’ll have to be accepted….See I told you every post you do makes me more excited for 2014!
Amber recently posted…Thoughts on Thursday {1st Date}
if you have the chance, definitely do a runDisney race! They’re so much fun!
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Half Marathon
That was so cool! How did you register for the meet up?
Andrea recently posted…Jill Conyers Answers Your Questions – Part 2
About a week before all runDisney races, the runDisney blog will post an invite to a meetup before the race. Usually they accept 30-40 people, but because this race weekend was so big they accepted 100!
Ali recently posted…2013 Disney Half Marathon
The meet up sounds like so much fun! I had never heard of them before this year’s marathon, so I’ll have to be on the lookout for them for any Disney races in the future!
Leana recently posted…If it could go wrong it probably did
Hi Ali,
I’m curious if you’ve had an opportunity to use the iFitness Belt from the swag bag. I’ve never run with a belt before (for various reasons), but I’ve been thinking about getting that one. I have my armband for the iPod and want something just big enough for that and maybe a camera. I guess my biggest concerns are 1) Does it bounce? 2) Does it stay in place?, and 3) How dry do things stay inside? I sweat a LOT when I run and I’m mainly worried about my iPod (waterproof camera).
Any feedback you could give is greatly appreciated
Thanks,
Robert
The iFitness belts are actually the only belts I wear (I was wearing a pink one during the meetup) because they don’t bounce. They stay completely still and in place while running! My longest run I’ve done with it is a half marathon with my camera in it, and had no issues at all with it moving. For that run, I wore a regular Nike tank top and my camera stayed dry the entire time. I highly recommend checking out iFitness belts!
Ali recently posted…Catching up with Puppy
Thanks for the feedback!