WDW Half Marathon 2019

2019 Walt Disney World Half Marathon 

I got to run my first half marathon this past weekend in the place where dreams come true! It was special for so many reasons and I couldn't stop smiling. It was the perfect segway into the Disney College Program, which I began today- it gave me a healthy way to channel all of the out-of-control Disney excitement I had. I've always kind of wanted to get in to running, but I felt like it was beyond me. My knees hurt, I have really crummy lungs, and I just hated running. Last summer I started to run super short distances more frequently, and even though it was still really difficult to turn out one single mile, I started to notice myself improving. In September, once I committed to the program I decided I wanted to run a race for Marathon Weekend since it was the day before I started down here. The 10K was sold out, and the rest is history! I was so intimidated to run a half marathon- the longest race I had ever run was a 5K, and it was miserable. But I had a ton of support from friends who encouraged me and ran with me. The progress was slow at first, but when it finally came it came quickly. I started to LOVE running. It was something that I had control over- little goals that I could set and achieve and still be proud of. I started to notice beautiful details on the streets and trails I would run that I never noticed before. I felt more comfortable in my own skin, and my self confidence blossomed. 

From all of this, I feel like the most obvious lesson I learned was the importance of having a clear and direct goal. I signed up for this race, I wanted to run the whole thing, and do it well. Committing myself to it by signing up was smart- if I had waited to sign up until after I started training I am sure I would have chickened out when running 3 miles turned out to be really difficult. 

The actual race was AMAZING. I couldn't take the smile off of my face. Race culture is awesome, and so filled with encouragement and love, but there is something extra special about adding in that Disney magic. Seeing the characters and cast members cheer runners on was so meaningful. Faith in humanity=restored. The costumes were incredibly fun. Everyone obviously loves the scenery. It was just the perfect experience. I will definitely be back year after year. I'm so grateful that I had the prompting to do this, because it helped me in so many ways and brought me so much joy.