After doing several other 5Ks that ran through the Disney parks, I was a little apprehensive to do Mickey's Haunted trail run.
The trail run is held on the grounds of the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Since we had a car, we decided to drive ourselves instead of taking the race bus. If you do drive, you are allowed to park right in the ESPN parking lot and it was no hassle at all.
When we arrived at ESPN it was raining. I did pack a rain jacket for this trip but I did not bring it with me to the race. Fortunately, Champion stadium was open so we were able to hang out in there and wait till it was time to start walking down to the corrals. (Side Note: Bathrooms are plentiful at Champion stadium.)
As we walked to our corral the rain changed to just a sprinkle and then as we lined up, it stopped. That's made me so happy! The corrals were on the grassy area behind the Jostens Center ( where the expo is). I believe they went from A to F. There were also port o potties lined up behind the corrals.
I will admit that I thought the start line ( and finish line) was a little underwhelming compared to the other Disney 5Ks I have done. No big arch, just a flag. It was cute though. They had the little stage with the DJ and Scarecrow Mickey up on the right. A few minutes before the race began, the headless horseman ran through the field on the left.
Then it was our turn to start the race. We were in Corral "B" and we waited like 5 minutes after corral "A" went, which I thought was a little long. We started out running, but the grass was of course still wet so we slowed down. We were on the grassy area for maybe 3/10 of a mile before we headed out on to the trail. I now realized why they gave 5 minutes between each corral. The path was pretty narrow so I'm sure they wanted to alleviate congestion. Once we got on the trail, very few people were actually running.
I know this is a poor quality picture but I wanted to show you what most of the trail was like. There were several types of terrain, but I never felt that it was unsafe. I think the rain had packed down the sandy surfaces and there were not any roots sticking up or anything else that could be a tripping hazard. It was still a trail though, and the rain had made some of it muddy. I was still not looking forward to running this trail again at night ( as part of the 10 Miler).
Here are some of the characters that were on the course. At one point there were giant bugs hanging from some of the trees as well. Over all I think Disney did a good job putting stuff out on the course.
And of course since I was in my Steeler's outfit, I had to get a picture with the Steeler's Zombie.
After seeing the football zombies, we were headed to the finish line! It was fun running into the finish line because we had people cheering for us yelling "Go Steelers".
We completed our first official race together! We decided we would save our "costumes" for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and just wear our Steelers tech gear for the race. Amy from Rock City Skirts sent me the yellow sparkle skirt to try out. Before I received the skirts, I was going to just wear a plain black skirt but I think the yellow sparkle skirt looks so much better! She warned me that the fabric for the yellow skirt was a little lighter weight then the fabrics for the other ones ( and when I got my skirts I compared the two and I understood what she meant). That didn't bother me one bit though. I still thought it was fabulous! I was able to pair this skirt up with my Steelers top, but if you wanted to do something more Disney related, Rock City has some Disney inspired skirts that are really fantastic, (think scales for little mermaid, cow print for Jessie, Dalmatian print, Pocahontas, and many more). I'll be sporting another Rock City skirt for a future Disney race for sure! Any guesses what I might dress up as?
And Finally, this was absolutely the cutest runner that came across the finish line.
This is Kasey. He is a yellow Labrador and is a therapy dog. That is why he was allowed to run the race. He even got his own medallion. Isn't that SO cute? I would love to run with Belle and Baylee at a Disney race!
This is our cute shirt and medallion. I'm pretty sure both of them glow in the dark.
That's it folks! Overall, this race wasn't that bad. I prefer the 5Ks that run through the parks, but this was okay for something different. And I have to say that the snack box at the end was one of the best they've given out...haha! I'm glad I got the same box later that night! ~M
Have you ever run with your dog at a race? Have you run races where there were also dogs running?
Aw, I love trail races! Although, this one seems a little less Disney magical. They need an arch at that cart line! haha
ReplyDeleteYea, the start line was a little less "magical" than the other disney races but it was all good!
DeleteThat looks like a fun Disney run! WE have a yellow lab too- he is 14 now, still very active. I have never run with him though- he is to busy stopping to smell everything!!!
ReplyDeleteMy lab is very "curious" when we run too!
DeleteDefinitely the cutest runner ever! Congratulations on the race! I haven't done a Disney race before so I loved seeing the pictures of the characters that were out on the race course. The medal and shirt look so fun!
ReplyDeleteDisney races are always fun for sure! You should put one on your race list!
DeleteI hadn't heard of that race-it looks like so much fun. We were there once during Halloween and the kids loved all of the character's costumes
ReplyDeleteIt was really fun that it was a Halloween race. We visit the parks later and enjoyed all the fall decorations!
DeleteWhat a cute race! I'd totally do this one but like you, I think I'd prefer the runs through the parks though!
ReplyDeleteRunning through the parks is great but it was definitely nice to experience this one once!
DeleteI'm glad the rain stopped at just the right time and stayed away for the 10 miler too! It looks like a fun experience overall. I love the photo with the Steelers zombie. I think I may have convinced Mike to do a Disney 5k with me next year :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I hope he does. I wonder if Disney will replace this 5K with something else now that TOT won't be going on next year?
DeleteCute outfits! That looks like a fun race, although the trail part might have worried me with the rain. Glad it wasn't too muddy for you guys.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was definitely glad that it wasn't muddy but I was still hesitant to run it in the dark later that night!
DeleteOh that sounds like such a fun race!!!! I've got to run ToT and this 5K one day!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope they bring this race combo back in 2016!
DeleteI wish my pro teams would have some running gear. I need running specific shirts otherwise I start chafing. And now you have me shopping those running skirts. I already found one I like.
ReplyDeleteRock City has some of the cutest Disney inspired skirts I have seen!
DeleteI love they gave the dog a medal!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou look great in your Steeler's outfit! How awesome you found a Steeler Zombie too :) Meant to be
Thank you! Yes,, I too loved that the dog got a medal!
DeleteThe picture of you and the Steeler's zombie is perfection! I love the shirts they give out for the 5k, so cute!
ReplyDeleteThank you Courtney!
DeleteThis looks like so much fun! I just totally sent a link to one of my co-workers who is obsessed (in a good way) about everything DIsney :)
ReplyDeletePS. Congrats on your first race together! I love it when my husband joins me! xoxo
Haha, I hope she likes it!
DeleteI love Rock City Skirts! Great Steelers Spirit with that outfit - you should wear it to the games. :) AND OH I JUST LOVE THE THERAPY DOG!!! So sweet! I saw a therapy dog at the Villains Bash too, but his human was a spectator, not a runner. It is a not so secret wish of mine to do a Disney race with my puppy. ~DB
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I wonder if it was the same dog?
DeleteGlad we skipped the 5k. It looked like fun, but after being up late for MNSSHP the night before, we needed a bit more sleep Sat!
ReplyDeleteI don't blame you. I wouldn't have wanted to be out late the night before a morning race. That's why we went to the Halloween Party on Sunday instead.
DeleteThe skirt was a size small and I think it was perfect!
ReplyDeleteKasey is adorable...I love that he got a medallion!
ReplyDeleteThe 5K looks like a lot of fun ... I wish I would have done it last year when I did TOT and now I'm worried they won't bring TOT back again since it's not on the schedule for next year!
I'm curious to see if this race combo gets replaced with something else or an October race gets eliminated completely!
DeleteThis sounds like a fun race! Glad the rain let up and the trails were ok for running! Kasey is SO cute! I love that he received his own medal!!
ReplyDeleteYea, the trail wasn't as bad as I was expecting, especially after all the rain!
DeleteIt's taken me all day to finally get online and read your post, I saw on FB yesterday you were going to do your recap today.
ReplyDeleteThat is odd they didn't have a flashy start, but it sounds like they made up for it with all the fun along the course. I knew you were doing this race, but I had no idea it was a trail race, how fun is that!!
Love your Steelers outfit, and love that you and the Hubs both went in Steelers:) Loving that skirt, I really need a fun skirt like that!!!!
And OMG how cute is that medal... Seriously one of the funnest medals I have seen, love it, love it! Congrats on your race and I am so happy you had what sounds like such a great trip too!!!!
We dressed in Steelers attire cus it was a Halloween theme! Other than that you can bet we would have been in Disney inspired outfits,,,haha. Thanks for reading!
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