Florida, take two!

During the summer of 2016, I decided I HAD to go back to Disney again and wanted the challenge of completing the Glass Slipper Challenge (5k, 10k, half marathon) for Girl Power 2 Cure! Little did I know… I’d be pregnant in February of 2017. I received permission from my OB to go and have fun but to be sure to listen to my body. I had been running throughout pregnancy so far and had had no issues… so onward we went!

Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!

My friend Becky decided to take on the adventure with me, because DISNEY!! Plus we are both HUGE Harry Potter fans and planned to spend a day visiting Harry Potter world. She’s also been a huge asset and support in fundraising for Rett Syndrome and Becky truly has a heart of gold. AND it was going to be her first half marathon! We could think of no better way to celebrate that than at Disney and running for others! Of course we had to get ready to head to the airport at 4 am. Plus every race start at Disney is early… so many early mornings right in a row! But totally worth it.

Our first day in Florida we hit up the expo to grab our goodies. Then we checked into the hotel, rested a bit and headed back to the expo to work the Sparkle Athletic booth! If you don’t know about Sparkle Athletic, these ladies are pretty amazing! The owners (Carrie, Elise and Kelly) are also big in the Rett Syndrome scene and are part of the SoCal Ultra Ragnar team I’ve ran on since 2015.

After the expo we headed back to the hotel, where my Aunt Vanessa had arrived. We settled in and tried to get a little sleep because I had the 5k the next morning!

The only Disney races I’ve completed have been the half marathons in Florida in 2014 and California in 2014, both were for Rett Syndrome. I didn’t stop for any character stops in those races and while I had fun, I knew there was more fun to be had if I stopped for pictures! Also being pregnant, I figured I should focus on having fun versus running hard.

5k start line. Let’s do it!

Just hanging out with Dopey!

Under water creatures!

After the 5k ended (still at zero-dark-thirty), Becky and I got ready to go to Harry Potter World! I won’t bore you with all the pictures, but we did everything we could in our power to see and eat everything there was. We bought wands at Ollivander’s, we went to Florean Fortescue’s ice cream shop, rode the Hogwarts Express, drank pumpkin juice and warm butterbeer and listened to the choir sing with the giant toads. Seriously an amazing day to be had! Back to the hotel for naps!

Saturday morning was going to be another early one for the 10k start time. I had told Allison (also an awesome Ragnar lady and Rett momma!) that I’d run with her during the 10k. She was planning to push her daughter, Emma, through the race! Disney has a rule that once kiddos are 14 they can run the race, but since Emma has Rett Syndrome we were able to get a running jogger approved. Now Allison is FAST. Like… REALLY FAST. Then we found out that she and Emma would be starting before the A corral, and about 2 minutes later the A corral (where I was) would get to go. Two minutes doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but remember when I said Allison was fast? I took off sprinting and it took close to a mile to catch her!

10k start line!

Queen Minnie Mouse!

Allison, Emma, and myself with some circus characters!

Once I caught up with Allison, we had so much fun running together! We stopped at quite a few character stops for pictures, and traded pushing Emma through the race. It was so neat to stop about 10 minutes from the finish line and get Emma out of her jogger so she could walk across the finish line. Emma is a very lucky girl in that she can walk, if she’s already been standing. Once she’s seated she cannot stand up by herself. Emma has been crossing finish lines (many at Disney) for years. I love that the Disney race announcers always highlight Emma (and other Rett girls) crossing the finish lines!

Working at the expo!

After the 10k Becky, Vanessa and I went and worked at the expo for Girl Power 2 Cure. Working with them can be so moving… raising awareness for Rett Syndrome and letting others know just what it is. Most people I talk to about Rett Syndrome have never heard of it (just like me, before I married into my husband’s family) so it’s truly moving to talk to them and have them ask questions, show concern and compassion. We have been able to spread so much awareness which is just amazing!

Sunday morning shows up… final race day! The half marathon! What we’ve all been waiting for! If you’ve never ran a Disney race, prepare yourself for the 3:30 am alarms. If you do a challenge, prepare yourself for this DAILY. By the time Sunday rolled around, I was tired! But we woke up and headed to the start line anyway. Becky and I headed up to our corral and made a game plan to stop at character stops and have as much fun as we could! Her longest training run was 10 miles and I knew she was a little nervous about adding the last three, so we knew we’d do what we needed to do (which turned, for me, to have 3 potty stops and eating cheez-its along the way). The sun, heat and humidity made the last few miles really tough, and unfortunately that’s where all the character stops are DONE. But Becky and I powered through and ran the entire race! I’m so proud of her… she did amazing!

Snow White & Prince Charming.

The castle is beautiful!

Cinderella & Prince Charming.

Coming into the finish line!!

Post finish line smiles. We did it!

After the race finished, Becky and I hung out at our finisher’s tent and cheered in other GP2C team runners as they finished. It’s amazing to see all the flowers and purple race shirts out there on the course, and so many people said hi and that they stopped at our booth at the expo and learned about Rett Syndrome because of us. Even better… they said they were going to share our story and join the team next year. Rett Syndrome, we will defeat you!

Even though I really, truly love running and would run these races no matter what… it’s nice to remember WHY I run a lot of these races. Rett Syndrome affects so many families, including my own. My cousin has Rett Syndrome, a neurological disorder that has stolen her ability to walk, talk, use her hands in a functional way and has given her many things to fight against. So when my aunt Vanessa told me about this race back in 2014, I learned all I could about Rett Syndrome and Girl Power 2 Cure. I love running for Martilee and all the other girls with Rett Syndrome and will continue to #untilshecan because I truly believe that someday she will run with me!

To go back to the race report archives, click here.

I like to run and love to travel

Welcome to my blog! A little about me… I’ve always been fairly athletic and loved playing sports (watching is a different story… unless it’s a track meet or some type of running event). Growing up I played every sport I could and eventually found track in middle school and immediately fell in love.

From middle school through college, anything over 400 meters seemed much too far to run, though I did run cross country in high school my first three years. I had a successful sprinting/hurdling career during that time achieving school records and qualifying for the State meet the NCAA DII national meet. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Health and Human Performance from Fort Hays State University in 2012 and no longer having a coach expecting me to show up for practice daily, I had to figure out what was next for myself. 

I turned to distance running in the summer of 2012 mostly to keep health and fitness as a large part of my life as I worked towards my personal training certification. I didn't realize I'd become hooked to distance running while training for my first half marathon in spring of 2013! Since then, I have successfully completed multiple 5ks, over 20 half marathons, 4 full marathons, two Half Ironman triathlons and one Full Ironman triathlon. In these accomplishments I've also raced in 19 states and qualified for (and ran) the Boston Marathon.

Now that the Boston Marathon has passed, I plan to continue learning how to run as a new mom and build my fitness back to my previous abilities. I have a goal of running a half marathon in all 50 states, as well as running all six World Marathon Majors.

I’ll write up a short race recap of all my races over half marathon distance for you to follow along on my journey. They will also post chronologically right here on this blog. I plan to eventually post other tips and tricks, recipes, and the “whys” of distance running. I hope you enjoy!

Florida

State four. Half marathon five. Florida. DISNEY WORLD. Running for a cause. Girl Power 2 Cure.

I decided to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon in February 2014 a year before I actually ran it when I saw my aunt Vanessa and many others raise funds and run for girls all over the world. My cousin (by marriage, but still my cousin) has Rett Syndrome; this is a disease I'd never heard of until my husband and I had been dating for a few years and one I've found is still very much in the dark. 

Rett Syndrome is a neurological disorder that steals many abilities away from these girls, things we take for granted. Things like talking, walking, using our hands, swallowing, breathing. My cousin is now 15 and suffers from many of the issues I listed plus many more. This race was going to be more than just a trip to Disney World. It was for her, as many of my races have since been.

I hit up the expo with Vanessa and got everything I needed for the race. I was also able to volunteer to work at the Girl Power 2 Cure booth spreading awareness, selling items and handing out stickers and tattoos. 

Vanessa and I woke up early (if you have ever run Disney races, you know what I mean) to go cheer on our runners competing in the 10k Saturday morning.

We had a team dinner that evening with a few speakers and I was able to meet many more of the families and girls I was running and fighting for. It was a seriously humbling and emotional evening. 

Found my name on the wall!

Start line of the Disney Princess Half Marathon!

Race morning was another early morning, but it was so worth it! My coach and I had decided to use this run as a training run for my upcoming marathon. We opted for steady pace miles, especially with the heat and humidity. Disney races always have character stops, a trip through the park and some of the behind-the-scenes areas and some open road. I was lucky enough to begin in Corral A, so I had smooth sailing from the get-go.

The course is fairly flat with the only "hills" being over passes above crossing highways, but that doesn't make them any less daunting or hill-like! They are still tough! The race was going pretty smoothly until about mile 9, when the heat and humidity were starting to get to me. You have to remember it's February and I'd been running and training in Wisconsin! As the race was drawing to a close, a few girls I had just met passed me and told me to "do it for the girls... when it gets tough, think of them!" I'll never forget Carrie telling me that because it helped me finish strong. Her support, even though we had just met that morning, meant the world to me at mile 11.5 when I was really hurting! 

I ended up finishing the race in 1:51:24 (8:30 avg) which is still a great time! I had so much fun running through the park and seeing the characters, even though I didn't stop for any pictures. 

Back at the GP2C tent with my picture of Martilee.

Allison (Rett mom), Abby and me after the race. Allison would soon become a huge role in my running races with Rett Syndrome as a cause.

After the race was over, I headed back to the Girl Power 2 Cure tent to wait for other racers to come in. I met Allison, an amazing Rett mom and runner, as well as a few other families and runners who were a part of Team GP2C. This race was a huge turning point for me. It's where Vanessa gave me the idea about running a race in every state, where I decided to continue to run for Martilee and GP2C, where I had my first non-PR half marathon and knew it was okay to not always improve, and where I knew I was just beginning what would be quite an adventure.

The Girl Power 2 Cure Disney Princess Half Marathon team!

To go back to the race report archives, click here.