I gave myself a goal at the beginning of 2017. The goal was to sign up & complete all the virtual events hosted by Hogwarts Running Club this year.

This was my first experience with HRC and I’m quite impressed with the organization.

They host six events in a year, plus have a seventh challenge medal. The registration fees this year were reasonable at $25 per race. HRC is non profit and the majority of the registration cost goes straight to a charity of their choosing. Because of this, most of the registration cost is tax deductible.

For your $25 you are donating to a charity, receiving a medal in the mail, and can download a digital bib. There is also the option to purchase shirts.

They are active on Facebook for those who like the social aspects. They have multiple groups including the Great Hall and common rooms for each house. I am part of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Charity Miles

Hogwarts Running Club uses the Charity Miles app to track mileage for special events like the House Cup. By using the app, not only are you helping your house, but you are earning 25¢ per mile to a charity of your choice.

* 2017 Events *

Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody Constant Vigilance 5k

Charity Partner: Limbs for Life Foundation

The first event of 2017 was the Mad Eye Moody 5k. The medal is fun – the eye spins around.

Whether during a run or on a stroll with the kids, I enjoy spotting Great Blue Herons. They make me happy, even though they aren’t terribly fond of people. When I see one while running, I consider it good luck. It seemed fitting that I saw one during my first HRC event.

I printed my bib and brought it with me to Universal Studios, then stamped the back of it at the Owl Post.

The 10K and Spew

Charity Partner: Harry Potter Alliance and their Granger Leadership Academy

It’s all in the details.
When your owl delivers your mail, the package comes with a quirky saying. Love that! Also, many of the medals come with a saying or decor on the back.

This bib was also printed and stamped in Hogsmeade at Universal Studios.

I bought a basic athletic shirt and used my silhouette and heat press to create my own Ravenclaw shirt to run in.

Unmasked 10 mile Run for your life

Charity Partner: To Write Love On Her Arms

Sportin’ my Ravenclaw pride socks.

Even though it’s on the dark side, I love this medal. And, the charity is for an important cause.

Sirius Half Marathon

Charity Partner: Mission K9 Rescue

An event dedicated to Sirius Black.

The medal has a bit of a stained glass effect. The back is engraved with one of my favorite quotes:

If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.
– Sirius Black

The Eternal Glory Four Miler!

Charity Partner: Back on My Feet

A four mile event highlighting the Goblet of Fire.

You get to pick the name and number that goes on your digital bib. My number is always 262 – for the 26.2 miles I completed during the Portland Marathon. I chose a different name for each event.

Platform 9 3/4 Year Four

Charity Partner: Antarctic & Southern Ocean Coalition

Another amazing medal. The light on the train really turns on and off.

The bib is designed to look like a train ticket.

Again, I love all the attention to detail.

* Time Turner *

The Time Turner happens in October. This is when HRC turns back the clock and reopens registration for previous events. You can also sign up for the Challenge medal and the Perfect Prefect pin.

Challenge Medal

The Challenge medal was available to HRC members who registered for at least three of the 2017 events.

The fun part about being in the Facebook groups are the added encouragement and challenges along the way. For instance, The Ravenclaw Common Room provided us an optional challenge for earning this medal. Our “position” during our “Quidditch match” was based on our monthly total miles.  I ended up being a beater because I ran between 50 & 99 miles. You can be as active or inactive in the optional challenges as you would like.

The Patronus 5k

I had already registered for all the 2017 events. So, instead I registered for 2015’s Patronus 5K during the time turner.

I registered for this event in October, but technically there was no race date. I hadn’t gotten around to completing it until the first week in 2018. I brought the medal with me on a girl’s trip to the Dominican Republic as motivation to run at least once on the trip. And, I did. I ran only the one time during that week.

Possible Fun Fact: Pottermore helped me discover that my patronus is a ragdoll cat.
A cat? That hardly seems correct. I don’t dislike cats, and ragdoll cats are beautiful. But, I’m more of a bird and aquatic animal person. Or, goat. I do love goats. We don’t even have a pet cat because we don’t want one in the house and the two we tried having outside both got eaten by coyotes. So, no cats for us. Yet, my patronus is a cat. Weird.

Perfect Prefect

I never thought it could be – but yet, it’s true. I am a Perfect Prefect. I highlighted my name on Ravenclaw’s Wall of Fame.

To be a Perfect Prefect you must register for all six events and the Challenge medal. The pin is free, as long as you tell them you want it.

HRC Cheer Squad

The Cheer Squad at this year’s Disneyland Half Marathon weekend. I don’t know these women personally, but I was more than happy to have their support during the 5K. The heat and humidity during the half marathon was brutal. The Cheer Squad had ice! I am not exaggerating when I say that it almost brought me to tears. I was miserable by this point in the race. I truly needed that ice to cool down. More than that, it just felt good knowing someone had my back. It was the encouragement I needed to finish.

Universal Studios Hollywood

To celebrate our son’s birthday, we surprised the kids with a quick trip to LA primarily to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I brought my Ravenclaw shirt to wear and created shirts for the rest of the family. All the boys, hubby included, are Hufflepuff and my daughter is Gryffindor.

We went early in the year, so I only had 2 event bibs to bring with me. I brought them for the sole purpose of stamping them with the Hogsmeade postmark.

I enjoyed these virtual events so much that I already preregistered for all 2018 events. So, yippy! I should be a Perfect Prefect in 2018, too. I can’t wait to see the themes for each event. The first event has already been announced – the Nargle 9K.

Because I’m a sucker for things I adore, and excuses to run, and themed events, I recently joined HRC’s sister group based on Gilmore Girls, the Chilton Running Club.

There is also the Whovian Running Club, if you are a Doctor Who fan.

Now to work on my 2018 Perfect Prefect status!
Happy Running!

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Doh! The big day. A Disney Half Marathon. And, not only that is was the second race of the Rebel Challenge. The Star Wars 10K + Star Wars Half Marathon = Star Wars Rebel Challenge. 2 races in 2 days. 3 medals.

I woke up at the should-still-be-sleeping time of 3:30am. I didn’t do much for costumes. But, I did decide to wear orange. I don’t know a lot about Star Wars, but I did see the Rebel pilot suits were orange. Plus, it seemed like good luck since I wore the same orange shirt and skirt during the Tinker Bell half.

Waiting to Start

I don’t know how to explain it, but the energy with this crowd was different than the last two days. You could just feel the excitement of everyone.

I was placed in Corral B for the half.

When our corral was just about to go, I spotted the balloon ladies. Oy! Just the reminder I needed to keep movin’. I had no desire to repeat the 10K fiasco.

The Start

MapMyRun logged my start time at 5:41am. These people were definitely ready to move. I was barely able to snap a pic of the starting moment.

Running Through Disneyland

I moved through here fairly quickly. I stopped to take a few quick pics, of course. But, other than that kept moving. I didn’t wait for character pics.

Running Through California Adventure

BB8 had a 25 minute wait line. Nope. Didn’t do it. My pace dwindles quite a bit between a 10K and a half, so I didn’t feel I had the time to spare. I snapped a quick pic as I ran by, though. I did the same thing with R2D2.

Running the Streets of Anaheim

By mile 5, we were out of the parks and running the streets. The crowds were awesome. There were a few cheer teams and bands, and a number of people dressed as Star Wars characters.

I don’t know enough about Star Wars to know who this group was. But, they were fantastic. They were somewhere between miles 8 & 9 and were just the pick me up I needed. Honestly, I was getting kinda bored and still had a few miles to go. They totally got me outta my slump. So, I thank you guys, whoever you were.

The Final Stretch

We came down the final stretch from a different direction than the previous two races, which was a fun change. We don’t have palm trees in Oregon, so running down a street lined with them is exciting. I remember loving it during the Tinker Bell Half, too.

The Finish

I did it!

I knew I would, but I was still nervous about it. I don’t train as much as I probably should. I was also unsure how running the 10K the day before would affect me during the half. I was concerned my legs would be tired, but they weren’t. I made a good decision by choosing not to play at the parks after the 10K. Instead we spent the day hanging around the hotel and Downtown Disney. If I were to do this again, I would absolutely make that decision again.

My time was about 10 minutes faster than the Tinker Bell half, but about 2 minutes longer than the Rock n Roll Las Vegas. I average a 12:00 mile during a 10K. So, I give myself the goal of a 14:00 mile for a half, including photo stops. My pace this race was almost exactly that. However, that doesn’t quite get me to my ultimate goal of completing a half in less than 3 hours. I have to shave off almost 11 minutes to beat the 3 hour mark. That’s nearly one minute every mile. I have some work to do.

By finishing the 10K (by the skin of my teeth), and now finishing the half earned me the extra Rebel Challenge medal. Woo hoo! I brought home 2 medals that day.

Snacks & Stuff

The snack box and drinks were exactly the same as the 5K and 10K.

3 days. 3 races. 4 new medals & 4 new shirts.

This was a must. I wanted my medal pic with the castle in the background.

To Sum it Up

I’m totally thrilled with how the entire weekend went. It wasn’t absolutely perfect. But, what is?

We didn’t have any issues with our flights. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, which was a first for us. It was great, of course. We also did a character breakfast, which we hadn’t done before. Packet pick up was easy peasy. I collected more pins. Pins! Bonus – I converted my kids into loving pin trading. I came to finish all 3 races and feel good when I was done. I did that.

The one looming bummer in the whole thing was that my hubby & kids didn’t get to do the 5K. I knew Disney races sold out, but I wasn’t expecting it in just a couple hours. I didn’t even sign up for the 5K during the Tinker Bell weekend until a day or two after registration opened. Them not doing it sucked for two reasons. One, I loved the Run Disney experience so much the first time, that I wanted my kids to experience it too. And second, I’m not even a Star Wars fan. I chose this weekend because of my kids. I earned all this Star Wars stuff and I don’t even know what half of it is. However, I did learn a lot about Star Wars this weekend.

Thoughts on bringing the kiddo’s: During the Tinker Bell weekend I came kid free. That was the first time I’d left my kids for so many days. However, I was there to run. And, that’s what I wanted to focus on. I’ll admit, it was great. I had a fabulous time as an adult with my friends at Disneyland. This time, though, I had wanted my kids to experience it with me. As it turned out, they didn’t get to actually experience the run, but they did get to cheer me on. It was great having them near the finish line hooting and hollering for me. And, of course, a day at Disney with your kids is magical. I certainly can’t complain about that. But… race weekends are crowded. I prefer Disneyland on less crowded days. It’s quite expensive for a family of 5 to do a Disney trip, with or without extra stuff. So as much as I loved them being there and even though it all worked out well, I’d prefer to go with my kids at off times – which aren’t race weekends. However, I’d still love to participate in race weekends.

I thought so the first time, and I still think so, Run Disney puts on great events. It’s amazingly calm even with thousands of people running about. I will say, though, they need to get rid of that rubbery 5K medal. It’s cheesy. I happen to love the one from the Neverland 5K. But, being made of rubber when the others are decent medals makes it seem as though a 5K just isn’t good enough. A 5K is good enough. Any distance you get off your buns is worthy.

Unfortunately, my Run Disney days are over for awhile. I’m going to be rooting for all of the participants in the upcoming races, but I’ll be totally jealous, too. If I were to dream, though, I’d love to do the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend or any of the Walt Disney World runs to earn a Coast to Coast medal. Until then…

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Saturday was the first race of the Star Wars Rebel Challenge at Disneyland. It was a 10K, which at this point, is my favorite distance. It’s more challenging than a 5K. But not near as challenging as a half marathon. I still feel fairly new to running. I’ve actually not run many 10K’s and the next day would only be my 3rd half marathon. So, I was looking forward to this event.

I woke up bright and early at 3:30am. Left the hotel at 4:30 and headed to the start line. I followed this routine each of the race days.

Waiting to Start

The start line was in the same place for all 3 races, making it even simpler to find the next day. Based on my submitted time, I was placed in Corral C for the 10K.

The Start

MapMyRun says I started the race at 5:46am.

Running Through Disneyland

I kept a decent pace through the Disneyland section. I stopped for photos, of course. But, didn’t wait in lines for character pics. It was as amazing as ever running through the park.

One of My Favorite Things

I love running through the gated section between the parks. The crowd cheering the runners is amazing and I feel like I’ve already accomplished a section of the race and it’s exciting knowing I’m moving on to the next.

Running Through California Adventure

Well.. now things didn’t go quite as planned. A good learning experience, though.

Hollywood Blvd, beautiful as always.

This is the line for BB8. I missed him the day before at the 5K and knew I wouldn’t have time to spare the next day during the half. So, I got in line. We were told it was about a 45 minute wait – longer than I would have liked. But, I guess I didn’t feel in a huge hurry and I love the photo ops. So, I stayed. Not far behind me, they shut off the line and didn’t let anyone else in. I guess I thought since I was already in the line, I was safe from the balloon ladies…

I waited in line about half an hour. I didn’t mind. I was chit chatting with the others in line and watching the runners go by. Right about the time I was getting close to my photo op – just another zig and maybe a zag in the line – the sweeper guys came by. Not far in front of them were the balloon ladies. We saw them go by, but we didn’t know for sure if they were the official balloon ladies. I’ve never actually seen the balloon ladies and somebody near me said they carry much bigger balloons. We thought we were fine, although we knew we needed to hurry.

The sweeper guys said we were behind pace and if we didn’t hurry there was a chance we’d be swept.

Less than a minute later, a sweeper said if we didn’t leave now we would definitely be swept. We had to be at Mile 4 by a certain time – a time that was very soon. That was the incentive we needed. We got out of the line we’d just been waiting in forever.

I snapped this quickie selfie as I high tailed it outta there.

Things weren’t quite so fun anymore. It was stressful. I’ll be damned if I was going to get swept – especially just for a photo.

So, so happy to make it to mile 4. I didn’t even stop to take a decent pic. I snapped this as I was running by. At this point, I heard I was 45 seconds behind pace.

The rest of the race was uneventful. I took a few pics. But, I was mainly concerned about finishing before the balloon ladies. Once I passed them, I had no desire to see them again.

The Final Stretch

When I reached Downtown Disney I heard I was 4 minutes ahead of the pace. Ah, a sigh of relief. However, I wasn’t going to breath easy until I crossed the finish line.

My kids and hubby were near the finish line ringing cow bells and Farm Kid2 was holding the sign he made at the Expo. Amazing! Very, very rarely do I have supporters at a race. It was a great end to a stressful race.

I did cross the finish line in time and received the medal. Woop, woop!

Never again will I take the pace time for granted. It was way too stressful.

Snacks & Stuff

The drinks and snacks at the finish were the same as the 5K, plus we got a heat sheet.

The medal

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I’ve spent the last few days at the Star Wars Half Marathon weekend in Disneyland. This was my second Run Disney event weekend. They sure know how to put on a good event. That has to be one of the reasons their events are so popular.

There was only one down side to the weekend. The only reason I signed up for this particular weekend was because I wanted to do a Run Disney event with my family. My kids enjoy doing 5K’s and I knew it would be a fun thing for us to do together. I thought my boys would really get into the Star Wars theme. However, that’s not how it worked out. I got to my computer 10 minutes after registration opened. The rebel challenge was already 85% sold out, the 5K was at 50%. So, I got to clicking as fast as I could and eventually got signed up for the rebel challenge. Then the mission was to get 5 of us signed up for the 5K. Ha! What a joke. After probably over an hour, I finally got into the registration system and signed myself up for the 5K. There was no option for signing kids up with me. I never got back into the system. Within 2 hours it was completely sold out. I’m not gonna lie. I had tears after that. Literally, the only reason I wanted to do the Star Wars event was so I could do it with my kids. I’m not even a Star Wars fan. I’ve never seen the original movies. And, it took me about 10 tries to get through episode I. I’ve seen most of episode II. And, I took the kids to see the newest movie one night when our power was out. I’ll admit Rey is a great character and I’m fond of BB8. But, still bummed not to be doing the race with the kids.

Costumes, or lack of

My lack of Star Wars mania resulted in not much in the way of costumes for any of the races. I found 2 Star Wars themed shirts at Kohl’s I thought were cute and a pair of galaxy printed running pants. That’s it. Between those items and stuff I had at home, I put together 3 themed outfits. They weren’t fancy, but it was a little somethin’ Star Wars related.

Just because I’m not a Star Wars fanatic doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time. I was still frustrated about not getting to do the 5K with my family, but it wasn’t going to help the race any by being grumpy about it. So, I enjoyed being at Disneyland, had fun seeing all the costumes other runners wore, started my morning with a workout, and earned new bling. I certainly can’t complain… too much.

Packet Pick Up & Expo

First thing we did after checking into our hotel was head to the expo. Just like during the Tinker Bell Weekend, packet pick up was super simple. The lines weren’t long and I quickly grabbed my goodies and moved on to the expo. We looked around for a bit, but we were antsy to get to the park. The line for the official Disney merchandise was 2 hours. Ummm. No. I had preordered the 10k, half, and rebel challenge pins. I received them at packet pick up. Unfortunately, the 5K pins were sold out or not available at the time, so I couldn’t order them ahead of time. I wasn’t waiting in a 2 hour line for one pin. I was just going to have to risk them selling out. They didn’t. I came the next day, waited in a 10 minute line and bought the pin.

The second day it was just Farm Kid2 & I at the Expo. We listened to a couple speakers and he made me a sign to encourage me during the next two runs. Love that kid.

Waiting to Start

The race started on a street near the Disneyland hotel. I knew the general direction and headed that way. Once I got closer it was easy to figure out where to go. The 5K is not a timed race and I didn’t need to submit a proof of time. I was placed in Corral B, but I’m not sure why. I got to the corral around 5:00, which seemed to work out perfectly. I didn’t have to stress about being late and it wasn’t a horribly long time to wait.

The Start

The wheelchair racers and Corral A started at 5:30. My corral started at 5:40. The announcer counted us down, confetti was flying, and we were off.

The First Mile

Since the run started on the street, we circled around a bit until entering Disneyland.

Character Sighting

At about 3/4 of a mile into the run was our first character sighting. It was Chewbacca. The line was 15 – 20 minutes. I waited.

Running Through Disneyland

I run Disney for the entire experience. I don’t do it to get a pr. It gives me incentive to train. I train, then I enjoy the event. For me, enjoying the event involves taking pictures. So… I stop a lot during the run. I never took walk breaks during the 5K. But, I took plenty of stop, enjoy the scenery, and snap a photo breaks.

It’s a Small World was gorgeous.

I waited in a short line for a photo op with characters from the the cartoon Star Wars Rebels. I’ve never seen it. But, I loved the ladies outfit and hair.

Storm Troopers were hangin’ at the train station.

Running Through California Adventure

I apparently dilly dallied in Disneyland too long because by the time I got to the droids the lines were closed, which meant you couldn’t get a pic with them. Boo.

There are so many beautiful sites in California Adventure including Hollywood Blvd, Cars Land and the Fun Wheel.

The Final Stretch

Somewhere around the 2.75 mile mark you enter Downtown Disney. Run passed the shops towards the Disneyland Hotel, veer right and you have reached the finish line. Woop! Woop! Race 1 of 3 complete.

Time wise, this was probably my slowest 5K ever. That’s ok. I had a good time and I completed the event – my two goals accomplished.

Snacks & Stuff

First up, the water and powerade tents. Then comes the little box of snacks and a banana. I had never heard of the 3 items on the right of the snack photo. I gotta say, all 3 were quite tasty.

Woo hoo! The medal to go with the matching tshirt and bib.

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About a year ago, I gave myself the goal of completing a half marathon. 13.1 miles is a long way & I wanted my first one to be fun. So, I chose the Tinker Bell Half Marathon at Disneyland. I trained & the event had finally arrived. I completed the half and it was better than I dared to think it could be. Here’s my recap of this awesome event hosted by Run Disney:

COSTUME

Since this was going to be my first Disney run & it is Tinker Bell themed, I really wanted to dress as a fairy. I chose Fawn. In reality, my costume resembles Fawn very little. But she was my inspiration. I wouldn’t typically pay good money for an orange shirt.
Headband: From Sparkly Soul. I hadn’t decided what I was going to do with my hair. Typically I do a basic pony tail. But, Fawn wears a braid. I also wanted to add a dash of green to my costume & hadn’t quite figured that out. When my friends & I went to the Expo Sparkly Soul was selling sparkly green headbands. The day of the race I wore the sparkly green headband and put my hair in a side braid. It worked perfectly. The headband stayed put and the side braid didn’t drive me crazy like I was afraid it might.
Shirt: Nike
Skirt: From Sweet Spot Skirts. When I ran the Heartbreaker 10k, Sweet Spot Skirts was there as a vendor selling their reversible skirts.
Leggings: Nike
Socks: Nike
Wings: From Sparkle Athletic. Before I left home I sewed the middle part of the wings to my shirt. The day of the run, I put one safety pin near the top of each shoulder. Totally worked. The wings didn’t shift or bobble. I could hardly tell they were even there. Awesome! I should run with wings more often.

I also wore pretty magenta Jamberry nail wraps that had a woman running on them. Super cute. However, I really don’t like the nail wraps. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe my nails are too curved. Maybe I’m too picky. But, I can’t get them to be wrinkle free no matter what I do. And, it never fails that whenever I do my hair one strand gets caught under a wrap. Annoying. I knew I wouldn’t like wearing them, but I had them and saved them for this run. So I wore them.

WAITING TO START

The run started at 5:30am. I left the hotel at 4:30 and headed over. It was a little bit of a jaunt, but I figured it was a good warm up. I stopped at a restroom in Downtown Disney for one last tinkle. I’m glad I did because the lines at the porta potties closer to the start were crazy long. I didn’t really know where the start line was, but I just followed the crowd & eventually found my corral, which was D. Then, I waited impatiently. Right around 5:30 the elite racers & Corral A began their run. According to my phone, I crossed the start line at 5:56am.
I was happy to see the 3 hour pacer nearby, as that was my goal. I figured if I stayed near her, I would make my goal and have no need to worry about getting picked up by the sweeper. However, I lost sight of her by Mile 2, probably from me stopping to take a million photos once we entered the parks.

AWAY WE GO!

I was so excited & could hardly believe I was about to actually run this race. Tinker Bell began the countdown and Minnie & Daisy cheered us on. The first mile, or so, was outside the park. Rounding a corner and seeing the beautiful California sunrise was a perfect start to the race.

RUNNING THROUGH THE DISNEY PARKS

Right around Mile 1 we made it into the Disney parks. We ran through California Adventure, Disneyland, Downtown Disney & the Disney back lots. I had the music on my phone playing like I usually do while running. But, there was so much excitement & other music around that I ended up taking out my earbuds.

CHARACTER SIGHTINGS & PHOTO OPS

Throughout the parks were various characters ready for photos. No offense to the others, but I only stopped for the fairies. Oh, and a horse. I took a picture with a Disneyland horse. Yes, I did.
I was thoroughly impressed with how efficient the lines for the character photos were. At the main characters, there was a professional photographer. But also there were plenty of Disney cast members ready to take the photo with your own camera. The lines moved quickly with everyone antsy to continue their run.

Holy cow, there’s Jack Sparrow! He was up on a ledge, so we couldn’t take a pic with him. But, it was still fun to see him.

Left: While running through the back lots, there were a variety of items on display – like this Toy Story float from a parade. So, so awesome!
Right: The Lost Boys on King Arthur’s Carrousel. I loved those guys.

RUNNING THE STREETS OF ANAHEIM

This was the section I was worried about. I was afraid I’d get bored once out of the parks and therefore notice how tired I was. There was still about half the race to go and no Disney fun to entertain me. But, nope, I didn’t get bored.
While running through the parks, I stopped a lot. Outside the park, I focused more on my running. But, took walk breaks when needed. I know the reason my spirit was high even at Mile 10. It was all the people cheering us on. It’s hard to feel defeated when so many people are rooting for you. Hundreds, thousands, of amazing people making my first half marathon a truly great experience.

NEARING THE FINISH

I DID IT!

I don’t even know how to describe the feeling I had at that moment. I did it! I completed a half marathon! And, I even felt good at the end.

PLAYING IN THE PARKS THE REST OF THE DAY

After I finished, I was tired. But, not too tired to enjoy the parks. I absolutely wore my medal that entire day. I was/am proud of it.

FIT BIT

A little extra bonus for me that day was my phone chiming at me telling me I had new messages. Five messages throughout the day, to be exact. It was Fit Bit alerting me that I earned a new badge. I’ve been wearing my Fit Bit for almost a year and the highest step badge I’d earned was for 25,000 steps. That day in May, I earned the 30,000, 35,000, 40,000, 45,000 & 50,000 steps badges. A half marathon + playing at Disneyland the rest of the day = 51,746 steps.

SWAG

I couldn’t have dreamt about a better race experience. My costume came together and worked well for 13+ miles. 16,000 runners/joggers/walkers and very little chaos. Many bathrooms & porta potties throughout the entire race, so lines weren’t long. Running down Main Street, USA! Captain Jack Sparrow & The Lost Boys spunky attitudes to make me giggle. Hundreds of Red Hat Ladies. So many fun signs to read & entertain me. The weather was coolish & only started getting warm near the end. Plenty of water & powerade stops. My friends that came with me on the trip were so, so encouraging and proud of me. An awesome medal with a twirling Tink.

There is only one damper on the whole event. And, that is that I do not have an official race time. My e-chip never registered me going over the start line. Boo! This explains why my hubby never received email notifications as I was running. Thank goodness I had set both my Nike+ and Map My Walk apps to record. I also took plenty of pictures with the time listed in their properties. So, I have an idea of my finish time. The Nike app recorded about a half an hour less than the Map My Walk. That’s because whenever I stopped & waited in line for a photo or bathroom break the app paused. Which tells me, I stood in line about half an hour through the course. On my Bib & Bling Board, I recorded my time at 3:19:56. If I had an official time, it should have been close to that. It wasn’t quite the 3 hour mark I was aiming for. Although, the Nike app recorded it at under 3 hours. I don’t mind that my “official” time is 20 minutes more than I was hoping for mainly because I felt good all the way to the end. Had I pushed myself even more, I don’t think I would have felt as great when I finished. So, I’m glad I went at a comfortable pace, finished strong & was able to spend the rest of the day enjoying Disneyland.

Now my dilemma is which half to do next?

Click here to read my recap of the Neverland 5K.

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Last week I completed my first ever Run Disney event – the Neverland 5K. It was a great experience, even if it did rain.

I flew to California with two friends on Thursday & we spent the entire weekend enjoying Disneyland & California Adventure.

This post contains affiliate links.

COSTUME

A couple years ago, I made myself a Red Queen costume to go along with my kids Mad Hatter & Alice Halloween costumes. I cut off the long sleeves & shortened the skirt & voila a Red Queen costume fit for a 5K.

Crown: I made a crown using glittery gold craft foam and tied it to a headband. It worked splendidly. I wore it all day.
Dress: The pattern I used before my recent alterations, when I first made the dress, was McCall’s M5954.
Bra: Panache Underwire Sports Bra – I have a couple of these bras. They are absolutely my favorite while running.
Leggings: Nike

EARLY MORNING

The 5K started at 5:00am. So, so early. We left the hotel about 4:30 and headed towards the castle, which is where the race started. So, so awesome.

I, obviously, dressed as the Red Queen. One of my friends pulled off a fantastic Sully costume. And, my other friend wore the Neverland 5k shirt.

Fireworks & Tink flying over the castle were the signals that the race was about to begin! We were so excited, to say the least. It was an emotional moment for my friends. Two years prior, they completed this very same 5K. That was their  very first 5K. They’ve gone on to do over 40 5K’s in the 2 years since. I’m so proud of them. And, here we are in the most Magical Place ready to tackle another.

RAIN. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Southern California was in desperate need of rain. However, we are from Oregon & see plenty of rain. So we were not impressed. It started out just sprinkling, which was ok. But, then it got heavier and we realized there was no way we were going to finish this 5K before turning into wet rags. The Disney Cast Members wore ponchos while handing out the water. Smart people.

WALKING THROUGH THE PARKS

The course took us through Disneyland, California Adventure & the back lots. It was fun seeing the back lots & the items they had on display for us. While on the course, when you saw Peter’s shadow you were supposed to cock-a-doodle-doo. My friend with the dark hair was an awesome cock-a-doodle-doo-er. We tried to enjoy ourselves despite the rain.

CHARACTER PHOTO OPS

There were plenty of Neverland characters available for your photo taking pleasure. Hook & Smee were popular. As were Wendy & Peter near the end. We opted not to take photos with those characters. I’m thinking we just had no desire to stand in line while it was raining. We did, however, get a quick pic with these fun pirates.

THE FINISH & OUR MEDAL

One of the best things about this 5K was all the great costumes. Definitely one of my favorites were 3 ladies dressed as Flora, Fauna & Merryweather.

The Neverland 5K medal is made of a rubbery plastic material making it seem kind of chincy. However, it is super cute with the Lost Boys decorating it.

SWAG

At the finish we received a box of goodies. It had all sorts of things in it: goldfish, a clif bar, hummus, cashew roca, and a couple things I’ve never heard about. It was great stuff to snack on throughout our weekend at Disneyland.

HOW WE SPENT THE REST OF THE DAY

After resting for a bit, we headed back to the parks and spent the rest of the day enjoying Disneyland & California Adventure. We had a lunch reservation at the Blue Bayou. My friends raved about the Monte Cristo, so that’s what I ordered too. Oh! So good! It’s not the type of thing I usually eat. But, it was delicious.

My friend with the dark hair did our Red Queen & Sully hair earlier that morning for the 5K. She did such a good job that it stayed even through the rain. We chose to keep our hair dos throughout the day. I’ll admit, I felt a wee bit silly walking around with a crown all day.

Two days later, I ran my first half marathon. Check that post out here.

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The rainforest dome.

Saffron Finch

Violaceous euphonia

Blue necked tanager

I haven’t been able to get out birding these days, so I don’t have any new birds to add to my list.

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 81 of 100

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