I had a great time. Race wise it was one of the best ever. There were circumstances surrounding it that put a dampener on things, but I loved the actual race.

The registration went great for me. I got there around 3:30 and was out around 3:40. Very quick. There was a long line outside and finally one of people working said, you don't need to stand in line, just get one of the forms and go inside. I did and there were maybe 5 people in front of me. I picked up my additional band for the party and was out in a flash. I didn’t buy any of the merchandise nor did I buy the pin so I didn't have to stand in that long line.

That night we went to the Halloween Party. First time as we usually go to the Christmas party. It was fun, but definitely geared towards the younger kids. But I did go trick or treating! Lots of good candy. Parade and fireworks were pretty cool too. Saturday we had errands to run so we didn’t get to meet up with anyone.

We left POP a little before 8:00 and got to the park after 9:00. What is that, 3 miles? Ask the attendant where to go and he told us to go to the light. Now I have seen enough movies where you don’t want to go to the light. That is not good, but we followed directions anyway. When we walked up we found a bunch of WISHers very easily. After a few minutes Robert said to follow him so we were off trying to keep him in sight (not as easy as it sounds). Low and behold he led us to a bunch more WISHers. I almost needed my sunglasses because of the shirts. Got to meet lot's of nice people and put faces to names.

As everyone mentioned, the race started late. They were trying to make the best of it but could have been a bit more honest about why. I always try to start near the front as long as there is an area so I can move over for some of the fast runners. The start line opened up into a 6 lane road so that was not an issue. It is just so exciting at the start. My problem is keeping my pace down so I don’t burn out.

Can't say much more about the race except; the nighttime run was awesome. Best time to run. I wonder why more places don’t do this. I really didn’t think I'd like the course because it looked like it was too much highway. But it was great. Thought it was neat that they ran through the gravel road, a nice change of pace. Also enjoyed running through Wide World of Sports. I have been going to Disney for 20 years and had never gone to WWoS until this month. Now between the RFTT and the ToT race I feel like a WWoS veteran. We actually spent a lot of time running in the park. It was so great coming down the "street" with all the people lined up cheering you on. I get turned around a lot so I have no idea where we were at but it seemed we went down 2 "streets" with a lot of people. You can't help get pumped up running through that.

Around mile 6 I was behind the 9 minute mark by about 30 seconds. I said OK, let's pick it up a bit to see if I can make it under 9 per mile (I'm not real fast). So I picked it up and ran for what seemed like 2 miles. I am dying thinking I haven’t even hit the 7 mile marker yet. Well later I found out I missed it. Psychologically that killed me because I thought I had at least another mile after the 7 mile marker. Then I hear someone say 1/2 mile to go. And shortly after I saw mile marker 8. Anyway, I made it just under 9 min per mile with at least 8 seconds to spare.

Again, I LOVED the race. Couple of issues of course was the traffic. All Disney's fault. They tell you that you have to drive then they provide no support to get people into the park. I mean how many lanes of traffic and it all funnels down to 1 lane in the parking area? They need to take blame for this one. Not an ideal way to start a race.

The 20 minute delay, although a bummer, was not an issue because if I was still in the road at 9:30 I'd be a little bit upset.

Catching up to the 6.5 K people was a bummer. That was dangerous. It's not like they could even stay to the inside or outside because the course weaved so much in MGM. But I was with a group that was running about 8:45 and it was tough getting around a lot of people. These were not the walkers that normally come to a race, they were the "I'm going to walk around Disney" walkers. There is a big difference. That's OK, but just know what to expect. At one point the guy in front of me tried to be polite and said "a group of runners coming through" and the reply was "ohhhh runners" very sarcastically. I know I was weaving a lot the last mile or so. No ones fault but the race organizer. At the end I wanted 2 bottles of water. I was told I could have only 1 bottle, not 2. But they did give me Powerade. Yahoo.

This is the first time my wife could actually see me run as she is usually asleep when I run. Anyway, she was there at the start and I told her, somewhere around 1 hour and 20 minutes I'd see her at the finish. Well I finish and am looking all over for her. Finally called her and she is on the Great Movie Ride! Long story short, no pictures and she still didn’t see me run. To be fair, I did tell her to go have fun and I'd see here at the finish. I guess I never said "when I finish".

On the way out of the parking lot we passed an a couple walking and asked them where they were going. They were going to the Hess station so we put them in the car and drove them over. She said she had to park there and run over to the start because she wasn't going to make it on time sitting in the traffic. I wonder how many didn't make the start?

I am sure they will learn from this and make it a great race. If I had to decide between this and the Race for The Taste I'm not sure which one I'd do. I like this race better as it is at night and it is more of an "event". But, I didn’t care for the Halloween party that much (Christmas sis much better). On the flip side, even though the Race for the Taste is not as cool of a race, the special tickets to the Food and Wine Festival are better. Decisions, decisions…..

Had a great time and enjoyed meeting everyone.
Duane