I wasn't sure if I should make this post and I tend to ramble, but here it goes:
WDW MW and DL was pretty amazing, mostly because of the people I met. You guys are honestly the best - so kind and welcoming. It *almost* makes me want to attempt Dopey one day.
I only did the WDW Half (of a Half). I know so many people were disappointed and I applaud everyone who ran the extra 6 miles, but I was seriously relieved due to my injuries. The on course characters were amazing and I took pictures with just about each one. Transportation (rideshare) wasn't as smooth as I had hoped and ended up getting stuck waiting in the rain for a long time.
I did DL Dumbo Dare and am so thankful for all the kind members who helped me (
@The Expert ,
@Naomeri , and
@RunWI1265 ). It was so awesome to finally make it to a meet up and see everyone, especially
@DopeyBadger (and his lovely family) who has been coaching me all these years.
When it comes the races, I cringe to see the complaints. I knew this one would have a lot of issues because it's the first one back since 2017 and WDW is a well oiled machine. I've only done 2 other runDisney events (Tinkerbell 2016 and Rebel Challenge 2017). I didn't stop for any pictures at Tinkerbell, but think there were only 3-4 character stops for the 10k and half for the Light Side? They also had some cool pre and post race picture opportunities plus 501st legion at the half. Spectator support in Anaheim has been sparse since they stopped giving out tickets but loved the Up house as well as the Star Wars cosplayers along the course (I remembered them from the Light Side!).
Running near the Anaheim Ducks and Angels stadiums and seeing the mascot and cars was fun, but would have been cool to run through the stadium. The switchbacks along the river were rough, but I remember lots of complaints about how boring running through the suburbs were. Hope rD can find a better solution eventually. Special shout out to
@RunWI1265 who made the Anaheim miles fly by. Can't believe how strong she was after running Dopey!
I was disappointed there were so many repeat characters from WDW at the DL 10k, but bummed I missed Darkwing Duck thinking it was just Launchpad (a repeat). Agree the lines were pretty long for WDW Half and DL races, but maybe it was because of my slower paces?
This weekend was actually supposed to be pretty low key. But lots of family and friends ended up coming last minute and my schedule became packed, which made it super fun and heartwarming but a little stressful trying to see everyone. Also I had a truly amazing sprinkle of Pixie dust and an absolute bonkers dream came true for me. I
never thought I'd experience this and still can't believe it!