The Rosy Wanderer

2:30 am on February 26, and I was excited to get going! The alarm went off, and I tried to be very quiet getting ready so I didn’t wake my mom. I decided just to wear my race shirt since I didn’t do a good job trying to put together a costume. It was a pretty purple shirt with Tiana on it, who was the focus for this Enchanted 10K.

The bus ride was very easy, and we got to see a beautiful Spaceship Earth as we walked to the corrals. The 10K is probably my favorite race distance. It’s long enough to be a challenge, yet it is doable for all people. It’s a distance I feel comfortable it trying to get faster, yet it isn’t taxing like a marathon.

It was a busy day again and so many fun costumes! I love seeing the designs people put together; they are so cleaver. It’s amazing how many people were there doing the challenge. The 5K is not included in the Fairy Tale Challenge, like it is in Dopey. Our bib was different today and had Moana on it. There were A LOT of Moana bibs. I assume that if you enjoy running and you just have to do one more early morning, why not do it and get the extra medal?

The Course

The race started at 5 am, which was earlier than in past years, but the time they tried to get the marathon to start in 2020. I’m not sure what they did in 2021, but I assume the earlier timing helps with 1. traffic in the parks and 2. getting people out of the heat sooner.

This course was really exciting for me! I couldn’t wait to do Hollywood Studios AND Epcot, plus getting to go around the Boardwalk. I remembered doing the 10K during Dopey, and it was my favorite course. Since there was another course, this had to be better!

Afterwards, I heard people say they don’t like this course because there is a lot of highway running. I kind of understand what they are saying, but I don’t know what the option is. I don’t know if the highway running here bothered me like it does during the half marathon. They had a lot more characters out in that space, and getting to go through 2 parks (even if it is for the last 2 miles or so), still makes the race a lot of fun in my opinion. I’m not sure what the construction situation will be for 2023 Marathon Weekend, but I hope they keep this multi-park course in the plan.

Character Stops

There were lots of characters out on the race course, which I found exciting. Many princesses were out like they were out the day before. I always try to take pictures of them, and I think I got all of them on the Enchanted 10K course. I was making good time, so I even stopped for a few of the later ones who had more manageable lines. The Frozen sisters, Tiana, and Aurora had INSANELY long lines. I always feel like I’ll get swept by the balloon ladies if I were to stop and wait for them.

The Finish

The sun was coming out when I crossed the finish line for my first Enchanted 10K, and I felt great! I took the race easy because of the half tomorrow. The Disney photographer even got a great finish line picture for me!

I finished the 6.2 miles in 1:35:42, which I thought was pretty good given my restroom stop and my several character stops. My PR is around 1:08, but the goal at Disney is to have fun and not to PR.

We got a really beautiful medal – it has the EARadecent look like from the 2022 Marathon Weekend medals to celebrate the 50th Anniversary. The green and gold just looks so good together! I think this was most people’s favorite medal from the weekend, and I would have to agree. It was the most beautiful one.

After getting my medal and box of Disney race food, I stopped to get my celebratory picture at the photo booth. I was a sweaty mess (it was humid that day!), but I was excited! I had two medals in my position, and I was ready to accomplish the half tomorrow to get my final two. Before then, I had to get back to the room so Mom and I could tackle Animal Kingdom and get some pictures with our new bling!