Disney Winter Racing Part Three - WDW Minnie Mouse 10k

Friday morning came way too early, earlier then Thursday, as the rest of the races started at 5:30am.  Today would be another short race, the Minnie Mouse 10k.  While the weather looked better, it would still be around 40F after wind chill, and my Flash costume would not keep me warm while we waited.  I left to hotel a bit earlier then for the 5k, and I skipped breakfast to allow me to sleep a bit longer.  Once I got to Epcot, I grabbed another bag and headed for the staging area.  This time, I found a different tent that was heated.  Several members of the Dopey Challenge Facebook group also found refuge in this tent, and we had a chat. 

One of these members, Mark Foley, had an issue of nipple protection for the coming races.  Specifically, he forgot his NipGuards, and he had inquired from the group how he could solve that problem.  While I offered my extras to him, ultimately he declined, going for body glide.  Since this was such a short race, chest protection would not be a problem until tomorrow.  While I did not see them in the tent, I did run into Karen Chu and Amanda Mavrakis, just outside the tent.   

Both of these runners are amazing costumers, who put in a large amount of their time creating unique costumes for each race that they run.  I don’t know of a race Karen has failed to dress up for.  At the 5k race, she dressed up as the Splash Mountain Ride "After Picture", and today she was Princess Lea.  While she will be running the following week in Disneyland for the Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend, she chose this race to debut such an amazing costume.  Here is the link for those who are curious on how she wove in a sports bra to the Lea top to allow support while running.

Now it was time to head to the corrals, and unlike yesterday, this march was much more leisurely and roomier, as the wind was limited today.  Again I warmed up by doing loops in the corral and stretching (always dynamic stretches!) and headed off to the starting line.   

The 10k course starts off by leaving Epcot through the front park vehicle entrance, wrapped around to the highway, and then back to the park.  As we reached the vehicle entrance/exit for Epcot, we ran under a bridge, where they had setup Elsa and Anna.  While the setup was interesting, the cool part about this first setup was the fact that they made it snow as you went under the bridge.

At this point, we entered the back stage of Epcot, and we were back running the 5k course again.  We went off course again as we reached France, at the World Showcase.  Instead of heading to the UK, we took a left towards the Boardwalk and did a mile loop there.  This is an interesting part of the course, as it was the only place where the runners cross the same path.  Here is also where we saw the first set of people cheating.  Some runners, who were either looking for a better time or trying to reduce a run they thought they could handle, jumped the cones and turned back onto the course, skipping the mile loop around the Boardwalk.  One runner actually caused a placement issue, as she took 2^nd place, with suspicious split times of 27 minutes for the first 5k, and 17 minutes for the second.

Disney's Boardwalk

One of the concerns I have about this part of the race is the wood on the Boardwalk.  Last year it had rained a bit before the race, making this section slippery and treacherous.  Luckily it was nice and dry, with a large amount of characters hanging out for pictures.  Obviously I had to stop and get a few!

We left the Boardwalk and reentered Epcot.  At this point, we took the final few miles of the 5k course and finished across the same finish line.  Just before the end, they had two puppets from Monsters, Inc, including Mikey, so I stopped to grab a photo. 

 

Since I was in my Flash costume, I turned to the two Disney employees watching me take the photos, smiled and pronounced that I had given everyone who I was running next to a big enough lead, and it was time to pass them before the finish line.  Seeing them smile, I bolted (full sprint) the last quarter of a mile to the finish, catching the majority of them, and passing Mark, who had been near me most of the race.  We greeted each other after getting medals, talked a bit and then headed out.  

Because it wasn’t as cold as yesterday, I decided to get my photos with Dopey and Minnie.  Here I was reminded of the wonder of the running community.  Standing in line for Dopey, I met a nice woman from Maryland who was doing the Dopey for the second time.  During our conversation, the Minnie Mouse line became quite long, as it was her race.  She stated it was good to have friends, and pointed to her friend in that line, holding a spot for them both.  When I stated I was there alone, she offered to let me join her, which I did.  That led to finding out that she had minor hypothermia waiting for the bus during the 5k, having to be warmed by two runners and then getting very sick.  While she is telling both her friend and I this, you could see her getting cold, so we got her through the lines quickly and off to her bus. 

 

 At this point it was time to head back to the hotel for a shower, food, and work, until Sallie, my wife, arrived.  She was doing her first Marathon this weekend, and I wanted to make sure her stress level stayed as low as possible.  It did not help that her flight was delayed to a point in which she missed the expo for today, but after picking her up, getting some food, and making sure she got as much rest as possible, she was on her way to an amazing weekend.  Now it was time for sleep and a silent escape to the half marathon while Sallie slept.