Enchanted 10k 2017 recap

This year was my 4^th time running Disney’s Enchanted 10k, as I have participated in the event since its inaugural race in 2014.  It’s one of my favorites, with a fun course and a great theme.  This year, with the princess theme being Beauty and the Beast, it was extra exciting for me.  I ran as Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph.

I got on the bus from All-Star Sports bright and early around 3:40am.  I was off the bus in Epcot and in the race area by 4 o’clock.  There was a DJ playing music and characters out for photos (though the lines for them were ridiculous).  I met up with some friends and we waited around together until about 4:45, when we went to our individual corrals.

This year I was in corral B (out of A-F), my first time not being in C for the enchanted 10k.  And I have to say, it was so much better being in B.  Not only did I get to start sooner, I felt like I was actually running with people who were my pace this year.  Pretty much every other RunDisney event I’ve done I’ve felt held back in the beginning by being surrounded by people moving slower than I was.  This was the first time I felt like I could run at the speed I wanted to.

It was around 60 degrees that morning so not too terrible, but I still had a throwaway blanket at the start, which I tossed just before we crossed the starting line.  It got warmer throughout the race but was pretty comfortable running weather.  We went out through the parking lot and around the outside of the park for the first 3 miles.  I was probably going a little too fast for someone who was planning to run at half marathon the next day (I was at about an 11 min/mile pace), so I tried to keep that in check.

We entered World Showcase, which is one of the most beautiful parts of this race and why I love the course.  It was still dark when I got there but still pretty.  I’d been observing the characters and hadn’t seen any I felt like I had to stop for, but when we got to Germany I decided to take a photo with Dopey, someone I hadn’t met before!  The line was rather long and pushed my pace up to about a 13 min/mile, but that was fine.  I slowly made my way back to about a 12, though time didn’t really matter that much for me.

Before I knew it we were going around the Boardwalk, another very pretty area to run through.  It’s nice too because spectators come out to cheer around here.  You loop around the Boardwalk, past Beach and Yacht Club, and then go back into Epcot.  Right before we re-entered Epcot there was a photo spot with Princess Minnie.  This is usually the longest line during the 10k so I’ve never stopped for it before, but this year I decided “Why not?” So I got in line for a character photo.  I probably waited almost 10 minutes for this one.

When we went back into World Showcase the course was a little different than it had been in the past.  We entered into the UK and got to run through more of Epcot than previously, and went around Spaceship Earth the opposite side from previous courses.  It was fun to switch it up a little!  And then just outside of Epcot the finish line was there and I was done with the first portion of the Glass Slipper Challenge!

All told I finished this year’s Enchanted 10k is 1:21:19 with a pace of 13:06 min/mile.  Which is pretty good considering I probably spent  10-15 minutes waiting in lines for characters!  And really the 10k was just the warm-up to the Half Marathon the next morning.  So I headed back to All-Star Sports, showered, and went off to spend my day in Animal Kingdom!

Characters on the course:

• Elena of Avalor
• Tink and fairy friends
• Witch from Snow White
• Dopey
• Pose with giant champagne bottles in France
• Marie (Aristocats)
• Vacation Genie
• Princess Minnie

Have you ever run the Enchanted 10k?  Which characters would you want to stop for?