Race Report: Wine & Dine Half Marathon 2017

Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon Weekend concluded with the half marathon on Sunday. Because I ran the 10K as well, I had the extra challenge medal to look forward to.

I kept my kit simple with my 10K wine and dine themed shirt from last year and a denim-look Sparkle Skirt.

The course for this race was different than the 2016 Wine & Dine Half Marathon. We started at the TTC (Transportation & Ticket Center) and ran through Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. Last year we started at Wide World of Sports and missed running through Hollywood Studios.

Training & Goals
Both the 10K and this half marathon fit nicely into my continuing training plan for Dopey, which called for back-to-back runs on this weekend. As usual for Disney races my goals were to have fun and finish healthy. Arthur was with me, waiting for me to finish, so I did plan to race and skip most photo stops.

Race Day: November 5, 2017
Arthur and I drove in the wee hours to make it in time for the start. Runner Drop Off was at the TTC and I was happy to have access to real facilities before walking to the corrals.

More of the same weather for this race: 66°F with 94% humidity. It was overcast for most of the morning, keeping it cool. I started at the front of the second wave of corral D and had a nice view of the stage while waiting for the gun.

Mile 1, 2, 3: 10:41, 10:51, 10:59
These were speedy highway miles heading towards Animal Kingdom. I tried to snap pictures of the photo ops on the run but they came out very blurry. The Mickey Mouse golf cart was out in the first mile. In the second mile we had Tinker Bell out with friends, and then some Adventurers Club style characters out, which I kind of immediately regretted not stopping for. Maybe next year. After this I stopped seriously trying to take photos of the characters as I ran by so I'm not sure what else there was going forward.

Mile 4, 5, 6: 11:03, 11:53, 12:01
We ran on to Animal Kingdom, passing through Pandora, and then back out via the parking lot. There were drummers playing in Pandora, which was neat. I know I passed by King Louie and Rafiki through Animal Kingdom and Pluto outside of the park.

Mile 7, 8, 9: 12:06, 11:57, 12:22
More highway miles on Osecola Parkway and World Drive on our way to Hollywood Studios. Here I ran by the Country Bears and the penguins from Mary Poppins.

Mile 10, 11, 12: 12:51, 13:22, 12:01
These miles took us through Hollywood Studios and the Boardwalk area on our way to Epcot. And here, just into mile 10, I made my first full stop, to see Oswald again. The line was a lot shorter and it was light out so I thought it was worth stopping once more for this relatively rare character.

Then Arthur was there spectating at the Boardwalk, and I stopped for a quick selfie. And then Remy and Emile were out in France when we ran through Epcot, and I can't resist these rats so I stopped again.

Mile 13+: 13:05, 6:30*
The fun run continued around World Showcase before leaving Epcot for the parking lot finish. We were treated to a marching band backstage before the finish line.

I got my medals and then I met up with Arthur. We waited to have a finisher photo with Donald before heading off to clean up and visit the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day.

Recommendation
A+

Chip time: 2:41:34
Placement details: 260th of 890 in Age Group, 5069th overall out of 13178 finishers
Race Amenities: Long sleeve tech shirts and sweet travel themed medals for the race and challenge.
Cost: $319.30 for the 10K & half marathon challenge.

*I often forget to turn off my Garmin after a race, so the final time is skewed.

Report written December 9, 2017