​Over Labor Day Weekend I participated in “the happiest race on earth!” A couple of years ago my Papa (father) and I tossed around the idea of doing one of the Disneyland races but we never got around to registering. My family has always been a big fan of Disney and Disneyland so it would make sense for us to schedule a visit around one of the race weekends. This year, as I dedicated myself to running more, I suggested we sign up for the Disneyland race together and we did.

We ran in the 10K race and it was an excellent experience. There were more than 8,000 finishers and many runners and spectators dressed up as their favorite Disney characters – some of whom did a really good job designing their costumes. Probably the coolest part was getting the chance to run through California Adventure and the Magic Kingdom. Ordinarily there are rules against running in Disneyland but there’s obviously an exception for the races. It’s oddly satisfying when you get permission to break the rules and running through Disneyland certainly fits that feeling. I just wish they would have let me keep running through the park after the race ended so that I could be the first rider on Indiana Jones.

The race is marketed as a “fun run” so many participants stopped to pose with characters along the course. I decided to forego those photo opportunities due to the lines. I guess it’s just the Disneyland way to have lines form for everything.

I clocked in at 1:12:02. I didn’t run as well as my last 10K (51:14) but I am giving myself a pass since my training was limited by injury. Fortunately, I was healed by race weekend and able to run injury free – just slower.

I tried my best to capture the experience via Snapchat but it’s tough to run and take pictures at the same time. The video below is my Snapchat Story of the run.