Disney Princess Half Marathon

Our daughter Kelly recently ran in a half marathon throughout the Disney World theme parks in Orlando Florida. It was marketed as the Princess run because the runners wore princess outfits representing the legendary list of Disney princesses. The field consisted of over twenty-five thousand runners of all ages and athletic ability. Not only were they all having "fun" but they were running and raising awareness and contributions for various charitable causes. Kelly was part of a group that included her cousin, her roommate and some friends. The coordination of their schedules, flights and hotel reservations was like an athletic event in itself. For Kelly, completing a half marathon consisting of 13.1 miles was one of her bucket list items. She had heard about this particular race from several different people who had participated in a prior Princess run and was so excited to compete for herself.

Cathy and I as well as Paul and his wife Jill made the trek to Disney to show our support for the runners and of course to cheer for Kelly as she crossed the finish line. Ironically, the event fell on Kelly's 25th birthday so there was more than one reason to celebrate that weekend. What a way to celebrate your birthday by completing a bucket list item. I am certain that she will never forget the accomplishment and all runners were presented with a gold medal for successfully finishing the race.

The runners started at 6:00 AM outside the iconic castle of Magic Kingdom to a fantastic fireworks display to kick off the race. The theme parks opened at 9:00 so by starting three hours earlier allowed Disney to close many of the roads connecting the theme parks normally used for cars and buses to allow for the runners. We were not there for the start of the race but we waited anxiously at the finish line and did see Kelly cross and cheered loudly for her as she completed such a tremendous event. We were so proud of her and happy for her because we know how hard she trained throughout the winter preparing for the race.

I could not imagine running 13.1 miles. I get tired driving a car that distance. Ahh to be 25...way to go Kelly!

Until The Next Tom's Take...