Tinkerbell Half Marathon Race Recap

The Tinkerbell Half was a sea of green and glitter with a lot of wings-  definitely a sparkly event!

The race is the West coast version of the Princess Half, marketed to women.  Eleven thousand ran and only 920 were men.  I was lucky enough to get placed in corral A and that was very exciting.  I have never been that close to the start before and I got to see all the pre-race action on the stage which helped pass the time. There were two celebrities running the race that were introduced, Sean Astin from Lord of the Rings and Megyn Price from Rules of Engagement.  


Starting temperatures were around 46 degrees which is great running weather, but a little chilly when you are just standing around.  Deciding what to wear was tricky and having to pack it in advance was even more difficult.  I am not used to traveling for races and am not a good packer. I decided to go with arm warmers, that I could take off if I got too hot. I was going bright and pink!  (Compression socks were a last minute addition as my legs were tired from my park hopping the day before)  It ended up being a good choice, and I probably could have taken my sleeves off, but I wasn't sure how easily they would come off over my garmin.  (I know this is a big No No, but this was my first time wearing them, and I hadn't practiced taking them off, so I kept them on for the entire race.)

The beach ball pillows were part of the decor and there was a sign in the room that stated "should you choose to allow the beach ball pillow to travel home with you, please be advised that you will be charged $65".  I suppose a few have walked.


Because Disneyland is so compact, I was able to walk out of my hotel at 5:05am to make it to my corral by 5:15am.  It was just down the road - couldn't be more convenient than that!

In the lobby before heading out to line up.

The race started in the dark at 5:45am.  The first few miles had a few hills, nothing too steep or too long, but I would rather have them in the beginning them have to tackle them at the end.  The beginning was very crowded and it was hard to set a decent pace.  Little did I know it would get more crowed before it got better.  When we entered the parks the path got more narrow and curvy.  

Running down Main St.

I had decided I would not have any expectations about this race, but would run the best I could based on the conditions and how I felt.  This was a freeing feeling.  This would most likely be my only race in Disney Land and I knew the little bit of extra time it took to take pictures would be worth the memories I would have.  I did not stop for every photo, but there were some characters I had not seen on a race before and I couldn't resist.  Unfortunately, I was most excited about my photo with Tarzan and Hercules and that one did not turn out.  But here are the others.

Aurora & Phillip

John Smith and Pocahontas

Wendy and Peter

After running through both Disney Land and California Adventure we headed out the streets on Anaheim.  The remainder of the course was flat and wide.    The course had some good entertainment along the way: marching bands, cheerleaders, DJs and some awesome spectator sections including a large turnout from the Red Hat ladies.  They were awesome!

The last few miles of the race took us back to the parks and some more photo ops. The race finished in the parking lot next to my hotel.  Lucky me!

I ran a good race with negative splits and had a good time.  Would I have liked to run faster? Always! but I know there is more to this whole running thing for me than just a fast time. 

Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck met us at the finish line. 

Here is the breakdown of my race:

The food at the finish was good, Luna Protein bars (I am loving the peanut butter one), Cliff Fruit ropes, water, bananas, oranges, bagels.   The medal is awesome too!   I only wish the t-shirt had been of softer material, it is not the same quality as the other Disney marathon tees.


Part one of my Coast to Coast medal is done.  Part two is the Princess Half on February 26!