January 14, 2017 The Star Wars 10K
A 4:15am wake up call. Definitely too late to rethink my life. I'm so sleepy that I almost forget my lightsaber after the security checkpoint. Fortunately, the security guard admonished me for forgetting my lightsaber. “This weapon is your life. So don’t leave it at the security table.” Padawan mistake. I know better. This isn’t my first runDisney race.
Having made my way to a corral far, far away I began to wait. And wait. And wait.
Eventually, my corral started. And like last year’s 10K, it was extremely congested right from the start. We’re talking walking congested. I trained at a 14:37 minute per mile pace and it took 20 minutes or so to complete my first mile because the course was so crowded.
Carsland is absolutely beautiful to run through. I can’t wait to run through Star Wars Land in a few years.
You know I could get through the course a lot faster if they let us use speeders. But couldn’t we all?
One thing I love about the 10K is the mile marker signs. They’re each different and each Star Wars. Mile 1 was Rey, arguably my favorite new character from The Force Awakens. After mile 1 the course started to settle into a manageable level. I still walked more than I would have liked, but that was owing more to some areas that were a touch slippery. Take chances I will not.
I’m not a fan of selfies, but I do take them during races when I don’t want to risk getting swept because I stopped for a photo.
Actually these are droids I’m looking for. But I’m not looking for this line, so it’s time to move along.
Another reason why I love running in Disney is the lack of crowds (relatively speaking) and the sights. Paradise Bay with the World of Color fountains going in the last gasp of night before the dawn is beautiful.
One of the things I love about the 10Ks is that sometimes the backdrops have no characters, so they have much smaller lines and there are some great backdrop photos available.
*Insert TIE Fighter noise here*
“You can go about your run. Move along.”
See my point about the unique mile marker signs for the 10K.
Backstage had the castle turrets being refurbished so that was really cool to see.
Soon I would see the stormtroopers causing trouble over by Star Wars Launch Bay. Apparently shouting “Long Live the Resistance” as I went by causes them to keep an eye on me.
“That is one heck of a pilot!”
Running over by Dumbo, I thought of my little 4 year old niece. Her favorite ride is Dumbo. She might ride it all day if we let her. Soon we were running through the castle. That’s always a thrill and it’s such a beautiful sight to see the early light of morning shine on Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Rebel on base!
“Is there s garbage chute nearby?” But how cool is it that they have Captain Phasma here?
Here a runner was a bit miffed at people stopping to take pictures because they were taking photos and he wanted to cut through the small crowd. Seriously? You don’t go cutting through the small line of people taking photos of a photo op here. You just slow down, move around them, and deal with it. I know I’m not fast. But I also know that if I want to run a race where everyone is focused on the fastest time possible, Disneyland is definitely not the place to do it. So, think about where you’re running and why you’re running there. And don’t run through crowds. Okay, rant over.
Next it was on to the esplanade where I saw my little sister, dressed in her ewok robe, and holding one of her stuffed ewoks cheering me on.
Ewok Photo Bomb!
One of the things I love about runDisney events is the creativity of the runners. In the corral in front of me was a group doing a Monsters Inc/Star Wars mashup. Sully Chewbacca. It was too dark and they were just far in front of me enough that I could see their costumes, but no photos would turn out.
Many Bothans died waking up this early. This is way too true. Good thing I enjoy these events.
Wookiees have been known to tear peoples arms off if they lose or if you mess with their friends.
Rolling to the finish line. . . . An awesome mile marker especially with the 10K medal.
6.2 down. 13.1 to go. By the clock, it’s my slowest 10K ever at 1:39 something. I hope they do something about the course crowding because it got worse from last year. That said, I’m over it now. Probably helps me take it slower like I should and conserves my legs for the 1/2. But that doesn’t mean I want to slowly walk the first mile.
“You must feel the Force flow through you. Between you, the snow, the lightsaber. And the Ewok???”
Really glad they moved this to after the race this year. No need to worry about the lines to get a really cool photo.
The BB-8 medal celebration photo tour.
I did make it back to continental breakfast in the hotel and a cold bath and hot shower. This always feels good after the race, but then it’s back into the parks. Made my 11:20 lunch at Carnation Cafe. I had hoped this would be a breakfast instead, but I waited too long to make my reservation and had to settle for lunch instead. This probably worked out for the better anyways given the time I spent doing photos after the 10K.
I had intended to tell Cinderella that my 4 year old niece says hello. I never did get the chance because of what unfolded next. Upon seeing my medal, Cinderella asked me if I had run this morning and congratulated me. She then told me that she had only run once in her life. And while her experience with running from that ball wound up being a really good one, she still didn’t like running very much. This is why I wear my medals and take character photos. You never know when something like this is going to happen.
Little bit nicer shot of the BB-8 medal.
The park was really crowded, but I expected that. Between the post holiday cleanup, all the attractions down for Star Wars Land, and no parade, there were quite a few crowd eaters that were not available to eat the crowds. I toyed with waiting in line 60 minutes for Hyperspace Mountain, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. I am supposedly trying to conserve my legs for tomorrow. So I watched Path of the Jedi, including my now traditional post 10K John Williams power nap. This involves sitting in that theater with my eyes closed and just absorbing the John Williams music.
I watched Jedi Training Trials of the Temple for the first time ever. Not bad. My lone issue is the 7th Sister coming out. I’ve got nothing against the character. But she’s not Darth Vader. She’s not Darth Maul. And having a friend whose son was all excited to fight Vader, but instead fought a random character he’d never even heard of drove the point home to me. I enjoy Star Wars Rebels. But not everyone watches it. So put Darth Maul back in the show. Rant aside the show really is well done. And Kylo Ren getting angry at the end is priceless.
While in line for Pirates, I talked with a runner who completed the 10K that morning. He’s running Avengers in November with his daughter for his first 1/2 for the year he turns 50. Really inspiring and neat stuff to see. He told me how his friends are all encouraging him in training for the 1/2. I threw in my words of encouragement as well. There was a time when I thought I could never do this. That gave way to I want to do this, but will probably fail spectacularly. And now there’s confidence that I can do this because I have done this.
“Twilight is upon me. And soon night must fall.”
Because long before the rising of the dawn, the Star Wars 1/2 Marathon will begin. . . .