The Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Fitness

Jul 28

Running through Magic Kingdom during The Disney Princess Half Marathon! (2020)

Our cousin, Katie, rocking The Disney Princess 10k! (2020)

The Disney Princess Half Marathon in Orlando, Florida was on my bucket list for YEARS. I had seen pictures of people dressed up as Disney princesses running through Magic Kingdom and I knew it was at the TOP of my list of things I wanted to accomplish. My family was very blessed to spend many (probably 15 out of 25) years going on trips to Disney World when I was growing up. Like many other families, this is a magical place that holds a very special place in our hearts. The rest of my family are not “runners” but we set out together to make this dream a reality!

Please keep in mind, I am no natural runner myself. I’m pretty slow; I’m not good at long distance and sometimes I don’t even enjoy running. You know what I do love though? Making and crushing goals! So I keep finding myself signing up for half marathons. Let me tell you why The Disney Princess Half Marathon rises high above the rest, and why even those that claim to be couch potatoes need to put this on their bucket list too!

The Atmosphere

Can you beat it?! Talk about MAGICAL to run through Epcot and Magic Kingdom with fellow runners that had waited so long and worked so hard to be there.

The Costumes

Perhaps the best part? My sister, Brianna, and I were Ana and Elsa! My mom was Cinderella and our cousin, Katie, was Ariel. We saw so many creative costumes. You couldn’t help but smile the whole time you were running.

The Music

I usually have a running playlist blaring in my ears or lately I have loved running to podcasts. My sister and I ran the entire race together without earphones. Instead, we listened to the amazing, inspiring Disney soundtrack being played throughout the parks. We kept a steady 10 min per mile pace so we could chat the whole time and take in everything around us.

The Characters

A great way to take a breather was to get in line to get your picture taken with your favorite character along the way! This race is truly what you make it. A lot of people are not worried about their time in the least, they are just there to enjoy and soak up every minute.

Going to the parks after

Only being in Disney World could motivate you to walk extra miles through parks after accomplishing huge long distance running goals. So worth it!

How we prepared… There was A LOT that went into this.

I’ll give you a couple of our top tips.

Restaurant Reservations

Nutrition is obviously a very important part of preparing for a long distance race. The parks can be packed and it can be very difficult to find seating at some of the popular restaurants and you might feel inclined to get in the nearest line for a corny dog, DON’T DO IT. You worked too hard to get to this point. We had reservations every day to ensure we were fueling properly.

Hotel Location

We stayed at The Beach Club Hotel which was walking distance to the start line of the race. Just know that you are signing up for extremely early mornings. I’m talking be on a bus at 3:30am early. Don’t worry though! Most people can’t sleep well the night before a big race any way so you might as well get up and let adrenaline take over. You my friend, are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for, our bodies are capable of incredible things.

If you would like me to go into serious detail on how we planned, prepared, and executed this trip of a life time, let me know in the comments! We planned months in advance where to stay, places to eat, parks to visit, and of course there was the whole training for a half marathon!

My biggest piece of advice: do the hard things, say yes, and sign up for The Disney Princess Half Marathon!