Disneyland Half Marathon Meetup 2012 – Hello Cars Land! #DLHalfMeetup

On the Friday before the Disneyland Half Marathon, I was lucky enough to get my “kicks on Route 66” during a meet up and warm up run through Disneyland & Disney California Adventure park including it’s newest addition, Cars Land.

Not only did I get to run through the deserted Disney Parks along with one of my BRFs, Kelly, (in our best Sparkle Athletic running costumes) I got to meet lots of other social media fanatics & RunDisney fans.  If that wasn’t enough, we also got to meet (and run with) a few, very special, RunDisney guests.

Jeff Galloway has a wealth of running knowledge and a lifetime of running experience to back it up. This year, he did 3 miles on one crutch while recovering from a broken hip. That’s hard core. He led the warm up run using his walk/run method of injury free running.  After first meeting Jeff at the Tinkerbell Half Marathon, all my raving about his training plans convinced Todd to use the method to train for the Ogden Half Marathon.

RunDisney‘s vision is to make everyone’s running dreams come true. With training plans for every RunDisney race, Jeff can help make those dreams come true.

Then there was 3 time Olympian Suzy Favor Hamilton.  I’ve never met someone with such an infectious personality and such a wonderfully raw and inspirational life story. Love that girl (especially since she showed up wearing a matching Team Sparkle skirt).

We also got to hear from everyone’s favorite Mother Runners, Sarah Bowen Shea and Dimity McDowell. Their best advice? When you’re a mom, there’s no secret to finding time to run. You have to MAKE the time to run.  Did I mention they are very tall (and I am very short)?

Of course the most special RunDisney guest was Mickey Mouse himself all decked out in his workout suit. It was a great time for a photo op with all the Team Sparkle girls in attendance that morning. Loved seeing Jindy, Heather and Danica (all fun girls with running blogs).  And I can’t for the life of me remember the name of the cute girl in the gunmetal skirt.  If you happen to read this, please comment!!

There was no better way to end our morning warm-up run and motivational race prep with RunDisney’s special guests than a big plate of french toast covered with salted caramel and bananas from Flo’s V8 Cafe in Cars Land and a ride on Soarin’ Over California (including a sneak peak behind the screen of that fantastic ride).

At the end of the #DLHalfMeetup I was more excited than ever to run the Disneyland Half Marathon 2012 because if there is anyone that knows how to put on a magical and memorable race experience, it’s RunDisney.