The Walt Disney World 5K took place on Thursday, January 4 at Epcot. The corrals were separated from A through F. Our family was spread apart into three different corrals, from C to E to F. We all began in F so we could stay together.
With the start time of 5:30 we all woke up at 4:00 with the intent to leave the hotel at 5:00. Knowing that we are just minutes away from the race and that our corral would start late since we are the last corral, I chose to leave as late as possible so the kids could sleep. We arrived to the Epcot parking lot at 5:22 a.m. and as we were walking to the corrals the wheelchair athletes were taking off and then the other corrals were releasing. I wasn’t worried though because I checked my Garmin from last year and we didn’t start our race until 6:48 a.m. I knew we had time to spare and to not rush into the race start and corrals. Even with a late arrival we had time to wait in the corral before we took off at 6:19 a.m.
Once it was time for our start Carissa handed the microphone to Adrienne and she got to say “GO!” with Rudy! As we started it was 28 degrees out! Adrienne and Kevin and I wore mylar blankets to keep warm in the corral and had to drop them before we crossed the start line. As we started walking the first mile, poor Adrienne was crying. Her feet were so cold from standing in the parking lot prior to the race and they were itching her. The first mile was rough for her; but then once we got into Epcot her spirits lifted. The distraction of the characters and seeing the sights in the park helped her.
We stopped for pictures with the Vikings in Norway, and Jiminy Cricket in Italy and then continued on throughout the course. Since we were the last racers to cross the start line we didn’t have time to stand in any long lines. However, the characters that were there were:
Flynn and Rapunzel in Germany
Chip and Dale
Kenai and Koda from Brother Bear
Horace Horsecollar
We finished the race in 1 hour 10 minutes and we couldn’t wait to get into the warm car and get some breakfast! I enjoyed this race as much as last year. The race course take place mostly in Epcot and there are a lot of character stops.
As much as I love doing this race with my family, I don’t know if they will be joining me for it any more. My son will be in middle school next year and my parents probably won’t be joining us for this trip. However, if I do Dopey one more time, I’ll get the chance to run this race. I have a lot to think about for the upcoming year. So we will see what happens!