Thanks to the busy, messy, craziness of life, my race recap is much later than I anticipated. But I enjoyed these two races so much that I still wanted to share that experience!
Disney’s Inaugural Wine & Dine 10k
It was another early morning, with race transportation starting at 3:30 a.m. for the first leg of Lumiere’s Two-Course Challenge. The Challenge consists of the 10k and the Half Marathon, and runners who complete the challenge earn an extra medal. I boarded one of the first buses to head to the start line, which was in the Epcot parking lot. The first thing I noticed was that there were significantly more people here than there had been for the 5k. Even though I knew this would be the case, it was still a bummer to see how long the lines were already for characters in the pre-race area. I quickly jumped in line for Lumiere, but after about 20 minutes, I realized that I was still back so far that I probably needed to ditch the line and head to my corral. The other characters available were Mickey & Minnie, Remy & Emile, and Donald & Goofy.
I like being early to my corral, and today that was especially important – it was my first time in corral A! I was thrilled to be there. Once we started moving toward the official start line, I was able to meet up with my co-blogger Jacqueline. We run about the same pace and we both love character stops, so we decided to run together. I’m so glad we did! We ended up having a blast.
The first three miles of the race are out on the road – fairly boring, other than the character stops. We stopped for a spot of tea with Mary Poppins’ penguins, then saw Flik and Atta.
Before we knew it, we were backstage at Epcot and heading for my absolute favorite part of this course. Just past mile 3, you enter World Showcase. It’s dark, the torches are lit, and music is playing. It’s absolute magic!
There are also some good character stops back here – Pinnochio & Gepetto, Vacation Genie, as well as lots of Cast Members offering support.
We left World Showcase and headed down the International Gateway over to the Boardwalk – another gorgeous place to run! We stopped for a picture with our sporty pals Chip & Dale, and then ran on past the Beach Club and Yacht Club and made our way back toward Epcot.
We ran past Spaceship Earth, and before we knew it, we were crossing the finish line!
After we got our hands on the coveted post-race boxes and had our pictures taken with our medals, we split up for pictures. Lumiere is one of my favorites, so meeting him was a must-do for me. Jacqueline got to show her new bling to Remy & Emile. I think they approve!
I’ll never get tired of running this course – I loved it. Starting in Corral A was a new experience for me, and it was awesome – the course was never crowded and the character lines were short! This was such a fun experience, and I can’t wait to do it again.
Disney’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon
For the third morning in a row, I was up in the middle of the night. Only this time, we did get the benefit of an extra hour of sleep, thanks to Daylight Savings Time! Transportation began at 3:00 a.m. again for another 5:30 start, but this time at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. The same characters from the 10k were at the pre-race area, so I got a quick picture with Mickey & Minnie and then I made a quick stop to see some of my Mickey Miler teammates before heading to my corral.
Once I was in my corral (I would be starting from D today), I met up with Jacqueline, and we decided to run together again. It really is awesome when people that you’ve met online turn out to be someone you want to be friends with IRL! We didn’t have to wait long to hear those magic words: “Runners, Set, Goooooooo!” And we were off!
This was a bit of a different course. We ran down Victory Way and then onto Osceola Parkway. For the first 3 miles, it was nothing but highway, with a couple of character stops that we opted not to stop for (Country Bears), and a screen playing old-school Disney cartoons and music. We arrived at Animal Kingdom (Rafiki was out front, just like at the 5k, but we didn’t stop this time). The Tree of Life Awakenings was playing as we entered the park. It was beautiful! I’m a big fan of AK and I absolutely love the Tree of Life, so this was a great moment for me.
We ran on through the park, stopping for pictures at Everest but passing up character stops that had also been available at the 5k.
We exited backstage and stopped to say hello to Meeko. We also ran past the Tembo House (for Elephant Care and Conservation), and past the greenhouses where we saw some fun topiaries. Chip and Dale were also back here in their Western gear, but we opted to skip them.
From there, it was back to the highway for about the next 6 miles, as we made our way toward Epcot. There were some fun characters out, and all of the lines were short. Mike and Sully, Darkwing Duck and Launchpad McQuack (AWESOME!!!), Lilo and Stitch (who seem to be a staple of runDisney events), and the Green Army Man who motivates runners to get up the hill. Hint: if you want a selfie with him, you’ll have to earn it by doing push-ups!
As we approached Epcot, the crowd support increased, and that always gives me a second wind. It’s so fun to see all the creative ways that people cheer! There was also an unexpected rare character stop – Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horsecollar!
Once inside Epcot, we ran past Spaceship Earth and did a turnaround at the entrance to World Showcase. I got my first-ever jumping picture – and it was a success!
The gospel choir sang us home right before Mile 13, and Jacqueline got her first-ever finish line shout-out! And deservedly so – she PR’d both races!
Final thoughts: This race was vastly different than it has been in years past, switching from a night race to morning. This was my third time doing it, and this course wasn’t my favorite. However, I am hopeful that will change once all the construction is done at DHS. I still had a great time – running with a friend is always fun, and to be running on a course that isn’t congested can make all the difference!
I thought they did a great job with on-course photos. There were so many photographers inside the parks, and since I’m an annual passholder, they were all included and I was able to download them shortly after the race. I was also happy to see some new – and rare – characters out on the course. I would’ve liked to have seen a couple more stops, especially with sooooo much highway running. But there’s nothing like the atmosphere of running at Disney – the level of energy, camaraderie, and crowd support is just phenomenal. I’m addicted, and this is one that I’ll be doing again!
