Good morning and greetings from Disney World!
I’m here for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend on behalf of New Balance, who is one of the race’s sponsors and partners. New Balance is covering the cost of my travel and accommodations while I am in Orlando. I am so excited to be here and very grateful to New Balance for the opportunity. I’ve always wanted to run a Disney race!
Last night, our media group, a mix of bloggers and magazine editors, met at 8:00 PM to head over to Epcot for a fun evening out, which included some tweeting, meeting, and running. I had never been to Epcot, so I was really excited to see what it was all about.
I loved the “IllumiNations” show””I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it. It included music, fireworks, and FIRE! There was actually one point where a big ball of fire rose into the air, and I could actually feel the heat from where I was standing!
I also loved hearing from running celebrities Jeff Galloway (inventor of the Galloway Run-Walk method) and Jenny Simpson (New Balance-sponsored athlete), who briefly addressed the group last night during a speaker series.
Fun fact about Jenny: She recently ran a 4:19-mile at the Fifth Avenue Mile race in New York City, which is the fastest mile run by an American woman this year. Incredible!
I also loved being reunited with a bunch of my blog buddies! Here I am with just a few of them: Monica, Meghann, and Julie! Yay!
A little after 11:00 PM, it was time to run! Our media group joined the folks from runDisney, so our large group broke into two smaller groups. One group went with Jeff Galloway and did his run-walk method and the other group ran the 1.5-mile loop around Epcot. I thought this was really cool and loved how accommodating runDisney is to ALL runners!
Right before we started running, there was a little dance party!
Our run took us all around Epcot, and it was so fun running at night when no one else was at the park!
The jackets and sneakers that New Balance gave us glowed in the dark! How cool is that?!
credit: @runeatrepeat Instagram
Our run finished at the big Epcot ball where the group enjoyed a little champagne as a celebration and kick-off to the weekend!
More adventures to come! So excited to be here!
Question of the Day
Have you ever been to Disney World? If so, that was your favorite part?
Have you ever run a Disney race?
P.S. Check on my holiday wreath on the Wayfair blog: 10 DIY Holiday Wreath Ideas!