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Lilo and Stitch at the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

The 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon aka The Wine and Dine “Little More Than a 10k”

I’ve made no secret of my fondness for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon held each fall at Walt Disney World.

2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon Logo

2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

If nothing else, the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon will go down in history as the race that was but wasn’t.

And for those of us that were there, I doubt many of us will ever forget the happenings of the evening.

What Happened at the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon?

You’ve got to love Florida weather.

Even in November, when the crazy weather is supposed to have calmed down.

Here is a recap of the events leading up to the start of the race as I witnessed them:

I left the house with rumbling thunder and some rain, but according to the weather apps the Disney area was staying dry until about 2 AM.

I really wasn’t worried about the weather since isolated storms in Florida are pretty common, and just because there was a storm cell between the house and Disney it certainly didn’t mean there was a storm pushing across the state.

After parking at Epcot and riding the shuttle over to the Wide World of Sports complex, I found my friend Bill (who was spectating, not running) and we started chatting/catching up.

At about 9 PM (one hour before race time) the wind picked up like it does before a storm is about to blow in. There was a little bit of misty rain in the air, and the runDisney folks made an announcement that severe weather was in the area and that all runners and spectators needed to head to the buildings and take shelter.

So we did.

But that severe weather that looked to be in the area never showed up.

That said, if you looked at the radar it sure looked like we were about to get HAMMERED by all kinds of nastiness, but the skies never opened up and I never saw a bolt of lightning or heard any thunder.

Damn Florida weather…

The Race is Back On!

Wine and Dine Start

Wine and Dine Start

After about an hour, they made the announcement that we could head back toward the corrals and that the race would be starting soon.

People were obviously excited as we were still going to get to run. I mean, better late than never right?

Except for one thing: we were no longer going to be running a half marathon.

Due to the delay at the start, the decision was made that the race needed to be cut short by a little over 6 miles.

Needless to say, this wasn’t a popular decision.

My emotions ran the gamut from being pissed to being despondent to not even wanting to run anymore to just kind of feeling meh about the whole thing.

I trained for a half. I paid for a half. I really wanted to run a half.

Running a 10k+ just didn’t get my juices flowing.

But since I needed to get to Epcot somehow to get the car and head home, I didn’t have much of a choice.

My 2015 Wine and Dine “Little More Than a 10k”

My pity party lasted for about a mile.

I was in Corral A, planning on running hard and pushing for my second big half marathon PR of 2015, but when we were no longer running a half I didn’t feel like racing anymore.

So when the gun went off, everyone else in Corral A took off and I just ran at a comfortable pace listening to some music and trying to stay upset.

It’s funny how hard it is to stay mad when you’re running. It damn near impossible!

Somewhere around the mile mark, I looked ahead and saw the bears from the Country Bear Jamboree out cheering for runners and posing for photos.

At that point, I decided I was going to make the best of this situation and have some fun. So I stopped.

Country Bears at the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Straight Chillin with the Country Bears

I ran up a little farther, singing along to the music in my headphones and stopped for another photo.

Lilo and Stitch at the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Lilo, Stitch, and I

Next up was the Studios and while running through Pixar Place these two guys looked lonely so I stopped to say hi.

Buzz and Woody at the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

My Homies Buzz and Woody

After the Studios, I hit the trail toward the boardwalk which is my favorite place to run at Walt Disney World. I used to run there every day during my lunch breaks when I was working at the Studios, and for whatever reason I still really love running there.

At this point, things were looking up. Sure, I was still bummed but I was enjoying the people out cheering and then I ran past what is now my favorite race sign I’ve ever seen.

It was so good, I literally turned around and went back to get the picture.

Best Race Sign Ever at the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

Best. Race Sign. Ever.

From there, all that was left was about a mile and I could shut it down for the night.

But first, I needed to take a detour.

The Things You Can Do When You Don’t Care About Your Time

Riding Soarin During the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

My Mid-Race Detour

When I was talking with Bill during the “severe weather delay”, I was talking about trying to hit a new PR during the race. I told him if I was no longer on pace to PR, I’d probably just run off the course to ride Soarin’ and then I’d finish the race.

Well, since I wasn’t running hard and the time was irrelevant due to the random route we were now running, I decided I was definitely going to have fun and go ride Soarin’ before I finished the race.

So I did.

I got a couple of weird looks when I jumped over the cones marking the course, took a hard left instead of a right, and ran up the hill to enter the Land.

But who cares?

I went in, cooled down, enjoyed my flight over California, and came back out to finish the race.

The Best Thing About the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon

It took about a mile, but I made the decision to let go of the things that I had no control over (the weather and the decision of the race officials) and found a way to still have fun and have a memorable experience during this race.

Was it ideal?

Not hardly, but this race was a necessary reminder that I can only control what I can control and nothing else.

Running is absolutely one of the best teachers I have in my life, and class was definitely in session during the 2015 Wine and Dine Half Marathon!

Do You Have Any Experiences With Last Minute Race Issues That Were 100% Out of Your Control? Share Your Story Below!

Walt Disney World Marathon, Low Lights, Negatives,

11 Less Than Magical Moments About the WDW Marathon

The Walt Disney World Marathon is widely regarded as one of the most “magical” marathons by many runners.

I’ve run the race three times, and I’ll likely do it again, but let’s accept the fact that there are plenty of “less than magical” moments over the course of the 26.2 miles as well.

Walt Disney World Marathon, Low Lights, Negatives,

Where the Pixie Dust is Missing

  1. The mile (or more) walk to the starting line. I mean, as if 26.2 miles wasn’t already far enough…
  2. The excitement as race time draws near is great, unless you’re in a corral that doesn’t begin until an hour after the race actually starts.
  3. Honestly, how many stinky dumpsters are there backstage?
  4. Speaking of stinky, there’s nothing quite like the smell of (literally) tons of animal poo as you start to get close to Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
  5. Running in the parks is really awesome, but the bottlenecks that are created can be brutal.
  6. Two words–Osceola Boulevard.
  7. The guests at the Studios that have no clue there is a race going on and step off the curb right in front of you and expect you to avoid them. Seriously?!?! I’m 23 miles deep into a marathon, and you think I’ve got the energy to get out of your way? Just be glad I didn’t lower the shoulder, because I REALLY wanted to. (Can you tell this one hits close to home?)
  8. Guaranteed you’ll see at least 50 people (men and women) stopped along the side of the road to pee. I’m not condemning or casting judgement, because I’ve done it every time I’ve run the race, but it does take a little bit of the “magicalness” away
  9. The swag bag is basically swagless. Unless of course you bring your credit card, then you can get lots of swag. But seriously, for the price of this race, they can’t give us a 26.2 sticker with a Mickey head in place of the decimal point?
  10. Speaking of sparing no expense, I hope you’re not looking for much to eat after the race. I’ve run 5ks with a better post-race spread than a runDisney event.
  11. The last mile takes FOREVER! When you’re just walking around in the World Showcase the trip from England to Mexico doesn’t seem like it’s that big of a deal. But when you’re 25 miles into your race, that route seems unending!

If you’ve run the Walt Disney World Marathon, either this year or in the past, did I miss anything? Where else could runDisney use a little more pixie dust to cover up the less than magical moments and make an enjoyable race even better?

What They Don’t Tell You About WDW Marathon Weekend

I can still remember back to 2010, the year I ran my first runDisney race–the full marathon during the WDW Marathon Weekend.

I remember going to the expo, feeling completely lost but eventually finding my way to get my bib and race shirt, before literally reading every word that was written about what to do on the morning of the race.

After running the race, however, I realized there were quite a few things that they didn’t tell me about making the most of out of the WDW Marathon Weekend and some of what they did say was complete BS.

I’m taking this year’s WDW Marathon Weekend off, but having run either the full or the half in each of the past 4 years, I’ve got a pretty good handle on what one needs to do in order to successfully navigate the expo, get to the starting line, finish the race, and enjoy the parks afterward.

If you’re running any of the WDW Marathon Weekend races this year, I hope this helps and that you have a great race.

And if you’re running the full on Sunday, there’s a pretty good chance I’ll be watching outside of the Studios. Look for the beard and make sure to say hi!