Monday, March 3, 2014

The 2014 Inaugural Enchanted 10k (Glass Slipper Challenge part 1)

Thanks to a serious flight delay, the morning of the Enchanted 10k was deja vu from the WDW 10k- an hour of sleep to kick off a challenge weekend. I specifically got an earlier flight, so I wouldn't have to deal with the sleep deprivation, but apparently that wasn't in the cards for me. It looks like I'm going to have to start getting to race weekends earlier, but I'd much rather have more time post-race(s) to enjoy myself. Thankfully, I already had Jaime pick up my bib for me. Here we go! 

 


But the real awesome part, is I got to see these ladies:

Go Corral C!!

I see these ladies more in Orlando than the actual city we live in.

We all stuck together for awhile, but half the group was run/walking and the other half was stopping for character photos- and in the end, we all ended up finishing around the same time. I'm sure you can guess which group I was in. 

Good news: I'm pretty sure runDisney listened to the feedback from the WDW 10k and added entertainment! Either that, or it was more entertainment that I was actually interested in. Either way, I was really excited about it and it made running sleep deprived that much easier. 


Instead of a random DJ, Elsa was on the overpass making it snow in Florida. Kudos for incorporating Frozen into the weekend, especially considering that was the most popular costumes I saw all weekend. It would've been awesome to have her and Anna meeting and greeting somewhere, but I completely understand the utter madness that would've entailed. 

The white rabbit was the first official character stop kicking off the fun and much sooner on the course as well.  

Sadly, I forgot my camera charger in NOLA, and went into the entire race weekend relying on my iphone camera. Verdict? Never again. The majority of the photos were blurry and not worth wasting your time in line for character stops. I have no idea how anyone uses only a phone for pictures during these races. 

Case in point:

What. The. Hell. and thank you for making me waste 5 minutes of my life for this. Granted, none of us were heartbroken over it, but it was still annoying. 


LOVED that the toy soldiers were out! I was hoping for some reindeer after they showed up on the WDW Half Marathon course, but I'm cool with this.

Once we got into Epcot, we were having fun running to and from character stops. Hello Speedwork! That was pretty much the only time we really pushed ourselves. The consensus was just to enjoy this race because we had another one to get through the next day.

Emily and I jumped in line for Jiminy Cricket while Pam stopped in the bathroom, we met back up as soon as we were at the front of the line. Talk about perfect timing!

When Louis was out without Tiana, I had to stop!

I was really excited to meet Marie! 

and we even stood in line for Baseball Goofy! 

The puppets from the 20 mile spectacular were out as well, but I already got a photo there last month. 

and last but not least, Donald! 

Then it was time for the finish!

I got my favorite medal of the weekend and since our dining reservation wasn't until 9:30, we got in line to meet Rapunzel. I love that there are characters to meet at the finish line with your medals. 

Excited to see Punzie!


I'm really glad they stepped up the on-course entertainment for this one. I love that the 10k course has the boardwalk addition, but the 3 miles of highway in the beginning is a little rough. I do agree with the point that it spreads the crowds out well, but again, even with the additional entertainment, you're pretty bored for half of the race. Now, if they could get rid of that and then some how loop in Hollywood Studios (maybe a point to point course like Wine and Dine?). . . now that would be pretty awesome :) While we're at it, can we please boycott the white shirt trend, runDisney? Also, it wouldn't hurt to have a tad more merch for the shorter races at the expo. Yes, half marathons are awesome accomplishments, but so are 5/10ks. Granted, the one 10k shirt you could buy was cute, I'm just not a fan of cotton. But I digress.  

Either way, I really enjoyed this race and was glad I got to be a part of it. 

14 comments:

  1. Loved this recap! I couldn't agree more with everything you've said! I too wish there were more merchandise for the smaller races! I've never once see anything for those people who are completing the 5K ( besides a pin). This is an accomplishment too and for some folks it is their first race and may only be the only distance they will ever complete! Okay, I'll get off my soap box now! I also hate when my characters pictures from the races don't turn out! I guess it just annoys me that I took the time to stop and then I have nothing to show for it..haha. Great recap Abby!

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    1. Thanks, hun! Glad I'm not the only one who gets on soap boxes about this stuff ;)

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  2. You got some really cute character pics! Always fun to see you! And yes, there should definitely be more merch. ..and you already know how I feel about the white. Ugh.

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    1. SOOOO glad to see you!! Thank goodness for the internets and finding awesome friends :)

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  3. Sucks that your photo's didn't turn out! I always just use my phone and 9 out of 10 times they are good (there's always the 1 cast member who doesn't wait quite long enough!). I also loved having Elsa out there!

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    1. I don't know how you do it! It frustrates me to no end. Oh well!

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  4. I had no problem with phone photos on Sunday. Not sure why yours didn't although it could have been user error? The merchandise seemed weak to me and I hated the GSC "I Did It" shirt. Not a fan of white tech shirts either. Hopefully runDisney will get the memo, but they sell out, so maybe they don't care.

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    1. Sigh, you're probably right. Glad you had a good experience, though!

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  5. Loved all your pics! I'm guessing they were from someone else. I tried to take pics with my cell at Disneyland and agree it was impossible until later in the day, just way too dark. Looks like you had another great time!

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  6. Oh my gosh 1 hour of sleep?! Girl you're a rockstar! Great recap, congrats on the 10K!! I'm with you - let's boycott white shirts!!

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  7. Your EVE costume turned out ADORABLE! oh I'm sad I didn't see you on the course that morning. One hour or sleep... I don't know how you did it. These early morning starts are crazy. Sorry about your camera, I understand about wanting to capture memories and also the poor quality of phone cameras images. But these photos you published here turned out great (except for Pocahontas). It still looks like you had a great time! And the Enchanted 10K is my fave rD medal so far. :)

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  8. I think I actually spotted you before the 10K! Well, I spotted the plant part of your costume lol. It looks like you had a blast! Sorry all the pictures didn't come out, but at least you still enjoyed yourself! I don't know how you did it on so little sleep! I was DYING the 2nd half of the race :( And the 1st half of the race was definitely booooooooring!

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  9. Yes and yes - no more white shirts and more merch! I forgot about Elsa and the snow! But yes, I think we need to start a petition for a point to point race for the 10K. SOOOOOOO glad we got to do the 10K together. And the pic with Marie is seriously one of my all-time fave race pics.

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