In just one week, the doors of the expo will open to kick off the 2015 Disneyland Half Marathon. This year is the 10th anniversary of the race weekend, hosted by Cigna.
It’s one of my favorite race weekends on the runDisney calendar and I didn’t want to miss it- even if it meant training in the hot Arizona summer. I won’t lie: it’s been tough. Running on the surface of the sun is hard, yo!
The payoff is just around the corner though: Disneyland is decked out for the 60th birthday, the race is celebrating the 10th year, and I’ll be hanging out with all my running friends in the Happiest Place on Earth.
Oh, and then there are these babies!
That’s what I call a payoff.
I’m thrilled to be heading back to this race for my 3rd year.
To plus the experience, my friends at Cigna invited me to attend their blogger/social media meet-up at the Napa Rose Restaurant on Friday morning.
We’re grabbing “backstage passes” and visiting the kitchen for a session on healthy cooking. Some of your favorite runDisney bloggers will be there making sure you don’t miss out on the information.
We will be live-Instagramming, Tweeting, and ‘Scoping. Be sure to follow along on Instagram, Twitter, and Periscope (longhorns2). The hashtag is #CignaRunTogether.
Cigna hosts these events to help celebrate our choices for a healthy lifestyle & accomplishments (like meeting that goal of finishing your first or 50th race!). They’ve got some tips you can use to train for your next race:
I think number 7 is my favorite. 😉
Some of you have the Walt Disney World Marathon lurking around the corner in January, right? Cigna is hosting that race weekend too.
Thanks, Cigna, for hosting all of us at the heart of the magic!
Here are a few links you may have missed that can help you plan for next week:
Disneyland App Released (download this one- it’s good! Review to come next week)
2015 Disneyland Half Corrals, Waivers, and Event Guide
2014 Disneyland Half Race Re-Cap (Not my finest race!)
2014 Disneyland 10K Race Re-Cap
Bathrooms on the Disneyland Half Course
Bathrooms on the Disneyland 10K Course
2014 Disneyland Half Virtual Blog Hop
Who will I be seeing in Anaheim? I’m cheering the half and plan to be out on the course from the start to the very last finisher! Leave me a comment telling me what you plan on wearing so I can look for you!
Patty Holliday has been running Disney since 2011. She knows just about every tip, trick, and hack there is to cover the runDisney Magical Miles at Disney World and Disneyland. She knows every mile isn’t *always* magical- but with training, tips, and a little bit of pixie dust, they can be a lot of fun! You can also find her at noguiltlife.com and noguiltfangirl.com
Jesse James
Tuesday 1st of September 2015
Hiya Patty! Been following your blog for about a year now (since I started obsessively planning for my first RunDisney race, the 2015 Disney World Dopey). I'm getting into high anxiety/excitement mode for the Disneyland 1/2 this weekend (excited enough to comment on blogs I usually an content to just stalk). I'll keep an eye out for you and might even be weird and want a picture (remains to be seen). If you see a 33 year old man running in a 1960's Disneyland Tour Guide Outfit (complete with red plaid skirt, riding hat and crop) be sure to wave!
patty
Tuesday 1st of September 2015
I will be on the lookout for you! Because: that's a fantastic costume!
Jennifer Sapone
Thursday 27th of August 2015
Hi Patty, thanks for all of your info., and for your 1/2 recap from last year, it is giving me a little more confidence. I just started run/walking last year and this is going to be my first ever 1/2 marathon! I am able to keep a 15-16 min pace the first 6-8 miles then I start falling off, so I'll be in the back of the pack trying to stay ahead of the balloon ladies! I'll be volunteering for the 5k and 10k this year also, are you running those? For the 1/2, I'll be in the diamond celebration colors - blue fantasy sparkle skirt, white tank top with a sparkly diamond on it and turquoise writing that says diamond are forever, and white compression socks with a light & dark blue argyle diamond pattern. Do you know approximately where you are going to be standing yet so we can look out for you? Jennifer
patty
Thursday 27th of August 2015
Thank you for volunteering- yes! I'm running both the 5 and 10K. And I'll be wearing Diamond celebration colors on Sunday. I think I'm going to try to be on Katella at the start, then over at the gate back into DCA at mile 12. I will have signs of some sort!