4:00 came really early but I got up and got ready for everything. I headed out about 15 minutes later and started the walk to the race line. I saw some Wishers on the way but was behind them and never caught up to them. I passed Mile 13 on the way and saw where the finish line was. There was a large Mickey balloon that would be elevated after everything started.

I went to the start area and watched the Green Army Men have fun with the crowd. They found one grandmother who was wearing a green warm up suit and called out Hi Mom. She was properly embarrassed but did get her picture taken with them. The announcer played some dance tunes to get everyone warmed up since it was a little chilly outside this morning. Around 5:10, they started sending us to the start corrals. I made a quick rest stop and went off to find where I was going to start.

Several minutes and several statistics later, we got started. Some of the stats that I remember; all but 2 counties in California were represented, 62% of runners were female, there were several countries represented, the oldest runner is 81. The announcer also said that during the Diaper Dash the day before, one of the kids decided to take a nap in the middle of the run. They sung the National Anthem and then it was time to get started. We counted down for the wheelchairs and sent them off a couple of minutes early. Then we had our countdown and started off. They had the monorail out over the start line with some characters in it. Mickey and Minnie were there to start us off and I headed out. It took me about 3 minutes to cross the start line and there were only 2500-3000 people in front of me. I think there were about 2500 people per corral from looking at different race numbers. One lady wound up falling down close to the start and some runners were trying to keep her from being trampled.

One thing I noticed, in my area everyone starts out running. I wound up running the first half mile before I was able to start walking. We started out in California Adventure and headed through a back entrance. We went through Paradise Pier and then headed by Grizzly Bear Rapids. On the way we saw Flik, Atta, McQueen, Mater, Incredibles, Koda and Kenai. Then we headed by the side of Soarin to get out of the park. Disneyland was next and we entered through the main gates. We headed out and turned right after we got on main street. We went backstage for a little bit and wound up in Tomorrowland. From there we headed to Fantasyland and the castle. I ran through castle and tried to get in a picture this time. We then headed to Frontier land and then to Adventureland before heading back to Main Street. In this park I saw, Buzz, the fairies, Aurora and Prince Phillip, Buzz, Woody, Pirates, Jack Sparrow and Donald, Goofy, Chip and Dale in running outfits. The mile markers were just balloon towers and didn’t have the sayings that they do at Disney World. I got the first three and then stopped until Mile 10 which was a little different.

Outside the park, we headed down the tram route and wound up at Mile 4 which was close to the start, just on the other side of the street. This was the beginning of getting out of the Disney area and heading to the Anaheim area. From Mile 4 to about 9 we headed over overpasses, across train tracks, down streets and then back up others. They had marching bands, Marachi dancers, Hula dancers (didn’t get any pictures of these since my camera was put up by that point), cheerleaders and others out cheering everyone on. Just before mile 9 we came up on Arrowhead Pond where the Mighty Ducks play. There were some junior hockey players out banging sticks to cheer us on. Then we headed down the “river” that appears in some movies but it is more like a drainage canal. After this was Angel Stadium. We had to run around the parking lot first but wound up in one of the tunnels leading to the field. We ran around the infield track and had the announcer calling out some names. I actually got my name called out with Palm Bay, Florida announced as well. We ran by home plate and headed out of the stadium. They had a camera to show everyone on the jumbo tron and I made it up there as well.

Mile 10 happened right as we exited the tunnels. The last couple of miles were uneventful and soon we were back on Disney property. We headed back through California Adventure in the Hollywood Backlot area and went out through the side by Soarin again. They had a couple of the monsters out and the Wave Rider band. Out in Downtown Disney there were many spectators and it was almost the home stretch. I passed Mile 13 and was running in. I saw Lynnda and Billy right towards the finish line and went across around 2:30 chip time. This was my main goal so I hit what I wanted which was good since there was one stop and lots of slow times going through the park when I was looking around. The Garmin said I went 13.27 so it evened out through all my zig zagging. I think at one point I was almost .5 miles off.

I got my Mylar and then the Castle medal. I headed out to get a couple of drinks and then stood in line to get pictures. After this I went for more drinks and a little food and headed off to find Lynnda. I got there and after eating a little, we headed back towards the hotel. After navigating Downtown Disney and runners, we made it back and got back to the room. This is where I found out that the 5k and 10 mile split times weren’t posted. The finish was so I figured that was all that mattered. These were later updated so I don’t know what really happened.

All in all I had a great time and wouldn't mind doing it again sometime but I have a feeling that finances will keep me from doing it each year.

Bill