Well, we’ve got another runDisney race in the books and two more to go before the 2019 Disneyland Paris race weekend is over! This is the fourth year the event has been offered in Paris but it’s my second year participating in Paris and my husband’s first year.
I’ve been running Disney since 2012 and can you believe that tonight’s The Lion King 5K was my first runDisney 5K ever?! Now, I’ve done multiple 5Ks at home and usually use that distance for my regular training, so this was nothing new to me but, as far as a Disney event goes, I figured I’d be in for a few surprises.
Let’s start off with the pre-race entertainment. As we were waiting in our corral (and the last one at that), we were treated to live interviews with runners in the earlier corrals. Since the 5K is open to runners 5 and older, there were plenty of young athletes about to hit the course and they provided great answers to the Cast Member’s questions as part of the new (to me) runDisney Live.
First woman finisher was from the USA!
In addition to the live coverage at the start, there was also a team waiting just past the finish line ready to interview runners. We even enjoyed live course updates, seeing the first few runners as they approached the final stretch. In fact, we hadn’t even moved from our spot in Corral D when the first group of runners crossed the finish line!
runDisney Live team at the finish line
Eventually, we did get to take off, and we were in one of the final waves of runners. Unlike Walt Disney World and Disneyland (RIP) races, whole corrals aren’t released at once. That seemed strange to me at first, but the start of the course is very narrow, not to mention that runners must run a small path between fences through Disney Village. So there isn’t much room!
We didn’t stop to pose with character but we managed to grab a few quick shots along the way, and a picture of the Halloween decorations making their way into Frontierland.
Of course being a Disney race there were plenty of creative costumes on the course, but the winner for us was the Main Street Electrical Parade. Yep after returning to Disneyland for a limited-time MSEP made its way to Disneyland Paris for a one night engagement!
Kilometer markers:
Running backstage is one of the highlights of the Disney races and as we made our way through Walt Disney Studios Park, we got a look at the Catastrophe Canyon part of the Studio Tram Tour attraction.
Then we ran through Moteurs…Action! before finally crossing the finish line.
Hey, I'm in a stunt show!
Minnie and Pluto were cheering for finishers, the “Transformation” theme from Beauty and the Beast was playing, and Tower of Terror was lit up with The Lion King pictures and animations. How could you not love a night like this?
Now that I’ve completed my first runDisney 5K the big question is would I do it again? Yes! This race was fun, and the vibe for the evening was silly, but in a good way. It seemed the goal of this event was just to have a blast on the course. The race wasn’t timed so there’s no pressure to set a personal record or speed run. It’s an event the whole family can enjoy and that added to the lightheartedness of the evening. If you’re on the fence about runDisney, I can’t recommend it enough. I’m seven years in and have no plans of stopping anytime soon.
We hope to see you back here tomorrow for a recap of the Princess 10K!