Walt Disney World Marathon

Not exactly sure how to even start this blog post, can't seem to put the words together to describe how I feel right now. But the important thing is I ran 26.2 miles and completed my first marathon. 

Spent four days in the four different Disney World parks prior to the race. It was a lot of fun, however Florida was having a heat wave. 80+ degree weather with extreme humidity. Was really hoping that it would have been cooler. The race started at 5:30 a.m. EST. I had to board a bus at 3:30 a.m. to get to the start on time. That is two hours before I even begin to start running. Just to get an idea of the crowd, there were 20,680 total athletes participating in the marathon. 10,691 women!

The first park that the course takes you through was the Magic Kingdom. It was dark at this point and Cinderella's castle was glowing with lights. I was able to stop and take a quick photo with Ariel. She got excited to see my costume...and after seeing this photo did I realize I was doing "princess hands".  This photo was taken around mile 8.

Next was Animal Kingdom, it had my favorite ride, a roller coaster called "Expedition Everest". Evidently they were allowing people to ride the coaster during the race. 

The sun came up and so did the heat. It was a mental struggle to keep running with the intense heat and humidity. They added more water stations along the course and they had people dumping water on runners  to try to keep them cool. Mile 18-I wanted to go home. Mile 20-I wished it was mile 26. Mile 22-I wanted a margarita. Mile 24-my toes and my knees are begging me to stop. Mile 26- I wanted to die. And that last .2 I ran my heart out!

Some highlights of the race

*I only stopped twice for two photos with Ariel and Snow White. 

* When running people would scream "GO ARIEL!"

*One of the best parts of the course was where we got to run through the COSTUME department. Seeing all the thread and sewing machines and busts with costumes made me want to apply!!

*Best sign along the course read: YOU PAID MONEY TO DO THIS!

Official Results:

Time: 4:58:10

Pace: 11:22

Division: 438/1,693

Overall: 6,525/20,680

I am really happy that I finished but wasn't really excited about my time. I was planning a much faster finishing time, but mother nature was against me with the heat and humidity. 

How do I feel now? Well so far I have the worst blisters on my toes and lost two toenails. But the legs feel great and getting ready to walk Tinkerbell Half Marathon with my best friend Amy this weekend. 

Will I run a marathon again? 

Probably. 

"I don't run to win races. Nor do I run to get places. 

I run to escape this world, I run to find peace with myself. 

I run to feel free. I run to feel strong." -unknown

~Amanda