Race Recap: Enchanted 10K

Sorry for the little bit of radio silence - this past week was crazy with work and when work gets crazy, blogging goes out the window.  Anyway, I'm back with my Enchanted 10K recap!

Enchanted 10K
February 22, 2014

As is the norm with all Disney races, my alarm went off nice and early at 3am.  I should be getting better at these early wake up calls, but I am not.  Always rough.  My mom, aunt, Pam and I headed to the buses at 3:45 and quickly board with no wait.  There was also no traffic, so we made it to the start pretty quicker.

Once we got to the start area, we saw Abby and Jaime before making our way to the start.  My mom was has been having knee problems and up until the day before, she wasn't sure if she would do it.  But she figured she'd at least try!  Unfortunately, the pain was too much and she (and my aunt) stopped at mile 3.  Still super proud of her for getting out there!

Rapunzel, Aurora and Eve must have pre-race photo

I said goodbye to the group and headed to the A corral to wait for the start.  The corral was more crowded then I remember during Dopey, but I may just not be remembering it correctly.  After some sponsor announcements and fireworks, we were off!

It was the same course as the WDW 10K, so I knew what to expect.  Since I had the half the next day, I was taking it easy.  Right near the beginning on one of the overpasses, was Elsa!  I was really excited to see her on the course.  She was cheering everyone on and it was snowing.  Definitely a nice break at the beginning.

There was definitely some more entertainment on this section course this time vs. the WDW 10K, but it could still use some more.  It's a pretty boring stretch of highway.  They had the White Rabbit out as well as Pocahontas and Meeko.  The lines were pretty long so I skipped those.

After the highway, we headed back into Epcot via the backstage area.  They had some Toy Soliders there and even though there was no line, I didn't stop.

Once we leave the highway, I love this course.  The loop around World Showcase when it's dark with the lights and torches going - it's magical.  For me, the course wasn't too crowded so I could run my own pace and take it easy.

I did stop for a photo in France with Marie from the Aristocats (you never see her!) but the one on my phone is super blurry.

After leaving Epcot, the course heads to the resort area.  Up first is Boardwalk.  During the WDW 10K, they had football Goofy out and this time it was baseball Goofy!  Shockingly, the line wasn't long so I stopped.

After passing Boardwalk we made a right turn and heads towards Beach and Yacht Club.  I won't lie, I actually got a little sentimental during this portion because it reminded me of the marathon.  Not sure if I'll ever run this part of the course without thinking about that again!  At least this time the tiny uphill heading back into Epcot didn't seem like a mountain.

We headed back into Epcot the same way we do for Wine and Dine (right near Figment and into Future World).  Right near Innovations, Classic Donald was out.  The line was short and I don't have a photo with Classic Donald, so I decided to stop.  Not the best quality on my phone, but still super cute!

After Donald, it was on to the finish!  I tried not to sprint to the finish (which I've been known to do) and use up extra energy.  Upon crossing the finish, I collected my 10K medal (one of my faves!) and my GSC bracelet.

As I waited for everyone else, I was able to get some photo's with the Princess is at the finish.  They had Belle and Cinderella out.  It was pretty warm out, not sure why Belle is dressed for snow!

Overall, I thought the race went pretty well.  I kept it easy and conserved energy for the Half.  I do wish they would rework the course a bit, the first 3 miles are incredibly boring.  We aren't that far from Hollywood Studio's - wouldn't it be great if that could be incorporated somehow?

Results
Official: 6.2 mi, 1:04:03, 10:19 pace
Garmin: 6.33 mi, 1:04:05, 10:07 pace