Saturday’s race was like none I’d tackled before.
For starters, we ran at night. We also tackled 10 miles in Florida’s heat and humidity.
But what really “made” the event? I ran, skipped and sashayed with Cinderella’s evil stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella.
That’s right! The zippy ladies bickered, hurled snide comments at Cinderella (and each other and some other runners) and chased each other, with me in tow. And they looked amazing!
Let me rewind. Last week, I headed to Walt Disney World for runDisney’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-miler.
I spent a few days in the parks with friends, visiting with our own Brooke and my dear friend Jen.
We headed to the race expo on Saturday, a self-inflicted move made in part to keep myself from spending too much money. (It worked!) There, I ran into pal Kelly, who runs Sparkle Athletic with several girlfriends. We started chatting, and before I knew it, I had agreed to run with Kelly. She assured me she wouldn’t be racing the 10-miler, which I greatly appreciated since the run fell the week between my two 20-milers in my training for NYC next month. (We won’t even delve into how crazy fast Kelly is…)
Fast forward to Saturday evening. I checked my bag, hit the port-o-lets and bid my friends and travel partners farewell. (They had all planned to race the event. So I took myself out if the mix as to not to be tempted to go too fast.)
The gang: Aaron, Jen, Ray and me
I entered my corral and quickly found my racing partners Kelly and Carrie. I’d love to give you a play-by-play of the run, but truth be told it was all a blur!
Fireworks signaled the start of the 11,000-person race, and scared the bejeezus out of me to boot. Our happy group set off, including the lovely Krissy (an Oiselle teammate) and Megan. We parted from Krissy quickly since she’s a speedy speedster.
I’d love to be able to share a detailed run down of all the quips, zings and silliness we encountered on our run, but the race went by in a flash!
We laughed, we ran and we laughed some more. We stopped for each and every character stationed along the 10-mile course, and yet the entire race flew by. I didn’t even look at my watch until our last mile through Hollywood Studios.
The gang’s all here, with villains from The Lion King.
“WHY ARE YOU SO FAST?” Drizella yelled to Anastasia around mile three. “What’s wrong with you and how did Cinderella trick us into this ball? It’s the worst. There aren’t any princes.”
Posing with Megan and Jafar (pic from Megan)
As we ran, the stepsisters graciously adopted me as a third and hurled “insults” my way as well. Anastasia (Kelly) repeatedly yelled out my name as we ran and as she hit the pavement, searching for a prince. Drizella (Carrie) accused me of being a mouse-sympathizer (aka, one of Cinderella’s friends). They chased each other, screaming and “cheered” for others as we ran.
“Move it people! There’s a ball to get to!”
I unwittingly started a game of tag just after mile four. oof! We dragged other runners into the game, laughing all the while. We heckled our way through the trail area as we entered the Wide World of Sports complex. We were thrilled by the bounce of the complex’s track and were spooked by several ghosts who weren’t ready to let us leave after posing for a photo.
“This is the worst champagne ever!” Anastasia yelled after downing a cup of lemon-lime Powerade at one of many water stations along the course. She hurled the cup with gusto and stomped forward. “The water?! Is it from Figi?”
The stepsisters also repeatedly reminded volunteers and supporters to cheer for all the runners. And they certainly let crowds know when they weren’t living up to their duties.
I can honestly say I’ve never had such a fun time running a road race. Carrie after the race said she couldn’t recall ever taking her race character so seriously before. She also giggled that they drew me into character as well.
Thank you, Kelly and Carrie, for an incredible run! I laughed so hard I nearly cried and I loved every moment, even in the crushing unseasonable Floridian heat. Can’t wait until my next runDisney event!
Have you ever run a night race? Have you chased others, or heckled running partners, along a course? Do you know which villain I portrayed?