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Reflections On My Star Wars 10k Race – Speed Matters Not

Posted on January 23, 2015 | Filed Under: Fitness | Tags: Disneyland, runDisney, Star Wars 10k, Star Wars Half Marathon | 18 Comments

Yoda once said, “Speed Matters Not, young padawan.” Ok, so maybe he didn’t say that & furthermore, I’m not young or a padawan BUT I did find this amazing shirt at the runDisney Health & Fitness Expo last Friday.

SpeedMattersNot

My original race outfit for the Inaugural Star Wars 10k was running pants & a Star Wars shirt. However when I saw this shirt at the Raw Threads booth, I just knew that I had to have it! I’m not a fast runner, more of a steady-paced jogger. Being that I was in Corral D, I felt that this shirt spoke to me. This was going to be my mantra to help me get through the race! Not only that but this was a moisture wicking shirt made with a blend of bamboo & organic cotton. The Star Wars tee that I had bought online last month wasn’t going to cut it in terms of the sweat factor.

While at the Health Expo, I checked out the different booths. I came across the official runDisney running shoe made by New Balance. What do you think? It’s very subtle. Some fans that I talked to said they liked that it was a neutral color because the shoes would match with everything. Personally I prefer colorful running shoes, but that’s just me.

SW10k_NewBalanceShoe

There were photo opportunities abound at the health expo. At the runDisney Instagram booth you could choose between two backgrounds. I chose to be in front of the Death Star. There were also two backdrops in the lobby of the convention hall.

Expo Pics

On Saturday morning, I woke up before dawn to get dressed in my race outfit. I boarded the shuttle bus at 4:30am, still bleary-eyed but excited. After getting dropped off at the Disneyland Resort Transportation area, it was a quick walk through Downtown Disney to get to the corrals.

Corral D

After I got to Corral D (which I like to think of as “D” for Disneyland Drive) I ran into my blogger friend, Camille Dashana of Sparks of Magic. It was so nice to chat with Camille while we waited for the race to start, as it kept my mind off of the fact that my legs were so cold. I don’t remember it being this cold last year when I ran the Never Land 5k. (Note to self: Must wear leggings under a race skirt next time!)

Me and Camille

Although the race officially started at 5:30am, we had to wait for Corrals A, B & C to go first. It wasn’t until about 6am when we got to the front. This is what greeted us when we got to the actual starting line.

SW10k_Starting Line

Then we were off! The course took us up Disneyland Drive, down Ball Road (we jogged on the overpass & could see the 5 Freeway below) & down Harbor Blvd before we finally got into the parks. As we headed down Main Street, I stopped for the obligatory selfie in front of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle.

Sleeping Beauty Castle

Just before Mile 3, I paused to take a photo in front of Small World.

SmallWorld

At the 3 Mile Marker, runners were greeted by R2-D2 who was hanging out in Dagobah.

SW10k_R2mile3

This cool backdrop of Cloud City was at Mile 4. At this point in the race, I was somewhere between Disneyland & California Adventure.

Mile 4 Cloud City

Over at the Hollywood Backlot, in front of the Hyperion Theatre, was Sabine & Ezra from Star Wars Rebels. The line for this character meet & greet wasn’t exactly the shortest, but it moved quickly. Plus my daughter is a big fan of the Disney Channel TV show, so I couldn’t resist.

SW10k_Rebels

Hanging out on Paradise Pier, between Mile 4 & 5, were some Jedi. Fortunately the line was short at this photo opp because there was NO WAY I was going to pass this up!!

Jedi

Whoo hoo, I made it to Mile 5, selfie time with the Millennium Falcon!

Millennium Falcon

The line was super long for Mile Marker 6. As much as I wanted to take a picture in front of Jabba’s Palace to commemorate  the (almost) end of the race, I just paused to take a pic & jogged on.

Mile 6

Finally I made it to the finish line where the Storm Troopers were waiting!

Storm Troopers

I completed it in 90 minutes (give or take). I didn’t beat my time from the Disneyland 10k back in August, but that’s ok. I just had too much fun enjoying the Star Wars experience! I have to say though that although I ran faster during the August race, my legs weren’t as sore afterwards this time around. I credit my leg strength to those extra workouts that I’ve been doing the past 5 weeks at Pilates Plus! In fact, the only pain I had was my left knee which probably could have been avoided had I remembered to tape my knee. I did remember to use KT Tape on my feet though!

For me, runDisney races are not about the finishing time (remember…Speed Matters Not). It’s all about the Disney experience, the camaraderie of fellow Star Wars fans & of course, the costumes! There were SO many cool ones but it was hard for me to take photos of them. I did get this cute father – daughter duo though. The girl was Wicket the Ewok & her dad was George Lucas with a megaphone…and “Action!”

Ewok and George

Speaking of costumes, check out this Buzzfeed article that captures some great Star Wars race outfits! My fellow blogger buddy Mindy had her photo quoted (is it quoted or captured?) in Buzzfeed. Scroll down to #29 where you’ll see a much better pic of “George Lucas” with his megaphone in action.

I was so happy to meet my daughter & hubby for breakfast right after the race.

Me and C

You may ask, why do I run these runDisney races? I run it for the bling of course AND the Dole Whip treat afterwards!! 🙂

Bling and Dole

Tell me, have you ever participated in a runDisney race? If you could (and money was no object), which one would you run in?

Disclosure: No monetary compensation was received for this post. All images & opinions ar 100% my own.

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Comments

  1. Mindy says

    January 23, 2015 at 3:02 pm

    Congrats on finishing and thanks for the link love! I also finished in around 90 minutes. This was a really fun race!
    Mindy recently posted…Brides and Grooms, Know Who You Are HiringMy Profile

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 23, 2015 at 5:52 pm

      Congrats to you too Mindy for finishing the race & capturing that great photo of George Lucas!

      Reply
  2. Souzapalooza says

    January 23, 2015 at 4:08 pm

    I though the george Lucas costume was one of the best! Great out of the box on that idea!

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 23, 2015 at 5:53 pm

      There were a lot of cool race costumes! Thanks for dropping by my blog!

      Reply
  3. GiGi Eats says

    January 23, 2015 at 7:55 pm

    I don’t know what it is about themes but they just motivate you to keep on trucking!!! And dressing up is the BEST 🙂 Outfits put so much more pep in your step. I have this one ridiculous sweatshirt… Whenever I put it on, it makes me so happy! lol!
    GiGi Eats recently posted…Food Porn Alert: GiGi Eats Down UnderMy Profile

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 25, 2015 at 7:27 am

      I totally agree! If you’re happier in a fun race outfit, then you’re more likely to run faster or at the very least enjoy the run more!! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Laura Lohr says

    January 23, 2015 at 10:01 pm

    I’ve wanted to do a run Disney race for so long, but they’re always sold out when I check. Looks like a blast! I’m with you, speed matters not!
    Laura Lohr recently posted…The Fit Expo Los Angeles February 2015My Profile

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 25, 2015 at 7:30 am

      I know, it is a challenge to be able to even register for these races, let alone run them! I have to literally set a reminder on my Google calendar for when these races go on sale! I have both a 3-day & 1-day reminder…crazy! Thanks for dropping by my blog. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Lisa @ RunWiki says

    January 25, 2015 at 6:54 am

    My husband finally is considering running a race after seeing the Star Wars 10K on social media. Disney has done it again, they will get nerds across America running! haha! it looks like it was so much fun and the Dole Whip is certainly the frosting on the cake.
    Lisa @ RunWiki recently posted…Comment on Is it okay to feel sorry for yourself? by LisaMy Profile

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 25, 2015 at 7:34 am

      I know what you mean! My husband had never done a 5k before in his life, although he does play in a basketball league for fun. However when he heard about the Avengers runDisney race last November, he just had to sign up for it! Whatever works to get people running & being active, right?! 😉

      Thanks for checking out my blog!

      Reply
  6. Camille says

    January 25, 2015 at 10:41 am

    Love the recap! It was so awesome to see you! Let’s do another! 🙂
    Camille recently posted…Our Disney Side is Going to the Dark Side: Theme RevealMy Profile

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      January 27, 2015 at 8:46 pm

      We should definitely do another runDisney race in the future! Thanks for keeping me company in the beginning of the race. 🙂

      Reply
  7. Christie says

    January 28, 2015 at 7:36 pm

    So much adventure so early in the morning. How fun! :O)

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      February 1, 2015 at 8:22 pm

      It was a blast Christie! 🙂

      Reply
  8. Denise @ Healthy Disney Family says

    February 5, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    Love your recap of the Star Wars 10k, Jen! Great photos, characters, and awesome medal :)I want to do that race too someday too!
    Denise @ Healthy Disney Family recently posted…Ladybug Run 5k, 10k, Kids RacesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      February 8, 2015 at 7:41 pm

      Thanks Denise! I hope you do get to come out here one day for a Star Wars race. Then we can meet up like I did with Camille! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Nora C says

    August 1, 2015 at 1:00 pm

    Awesome! I’ve been thinking about doing this next year. You’re really convincing me! Haha

    Reply
    • Jennifer says

      August 2, 2015 at 5:03 pm

      runDisney races are super fun! If you have never done a 5k or 10k, I’d highly recommend one of their races – whether it is the Star Wars one or any other themed race!

      Reply

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