Okay, I seriously am the luckiest girl in the world. At the last minute, I snagged a spot at a very special event for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon 2013 weekend- the #tinkhalfmeetup hosted by runDisney!
This event is really hard to get a spot with- usually, about 2 weeks before any runDisney half marathon weekend, they’ll post on their blog with the details and RSVPs- spots go SUPER fast with only about 30-50 or so. If you happen to get in under the wire, you are invited to attend a sunrise run with Jeff Galloway and the runDisney team before the parks open.
The Tinker Bell Half Marathon 2013 meetup met in the wee-morning hours in front of the Disneyland hotel. We were all given runDisney shirts and started chatting before running down the slick streets of Downtown Disney and into (gasp) Disneyland itself. It was an amazing treat to run through the parks, pausing for pics with Tinker Bell before dashing off into California Adventure for even more fun stops and surprises!
In California Adventure, we circled around to meet some of favorite characters- Mickey, Minnie and Goofy after finishing a 2.8 mile run (and my GPS got paused, oh well Nike+ you win!). After hydrating, smiling with Mickey and getting more time to socialize- we found out we were in for a treat- we got to head over to Carsland and ride the new Radiator Springs ride with yes, NO LINES!
Oh, did I mention I got to meet Sean Astin? I can feel the high fives through the screen from my fellow Lord of the Rings fans..he is uber nice- especially since I was so stupid excited in the first picture I looked just a wee-bit-scary. 😉
We then finished off with breakfast at the Napa Rose and got to hear some of the fantastic runDisney team members talk about the races, what’s coming up for runDisney and even had some fun stories and nutrition tips as well- it was a blast! They even raffled two of the brand new, hard to grab New Balance Mickey and Minnie Shoes… one of my twitter buddies won a pair, though I did not!
Disclosure: I purchased my ticket for the Tink ages ago, but recently was invited to attend the Tinker Bell Half Marathon weekend as a media guest. My hotel and park tickets were provided by runDisney, but I assure you, opinions are 100% mine and my exuberance and enthusiastic review are were no way influenced by a third party, my giddyness for runDisney is all me!
Awesome! 🙂
Jealous!
How fun!
Thanks everyone, it was such an experience! I already had to apologize to my friends and family on social media that my posts were blowing up their feeds, lol.
It looks like so much fun! Thanks for the insider look at the tinker bell 1/2 marathon!
Looked like such a fun half marathon to do! So jealous your got to mee Samwise Gamgee!!
I am still giddy I got to meet him…he’s super nice and I love that he runs the Tink- but I think he’ll be doing a lot more runDisney events this year..they’re kind of addicting!
How fun! Love your skirt 🙂
Thank you! I got it at InkNBurn.com – they have amazing stuff and the shorts underneath are also printed with hearts, so cute!
I hope to get into the Princess meet up and you too! We need to stay on top of this! Congrats on your race again sweetie!
Yes Kat- totally! The meetups are awesome, as always runDisney overdelivers with surprises, fun memories and great picture opportunities! If I ever get the chance to attend again, I am so in!
Ahh! Looks like you had such an amazing time =)
It almost makes me want to run haha
Congrats!
Well Janine- eventually, I hope to get you interested! 😉 If you ever take a vacation to Disneyland or Disney World, why not throw in a fun 5k or a half marathon that will make your heart smile? I hope to win you over eventually! haha!
YAY! So glad you were able to attend and yay for meeting you 🙂 Hope to see you at future events 😀
Shannyn – Great recap of the Meet Up… I was there too… you even caught me in one of your photos running right behind Ali – I am wearing gray nikes. I am not sure what I am doing with my arms other than maybe I was jumping for joy at the fun I was having. I am sorry I didn’t formally introduce myself to you that morning – it was a whirlwind. An amazing whirlwind! I ran my first 1/2 as well that Sunday – (a tiny bit slower than you but I think I have a few years on you and it comes out in the wash right?) I finished in 3 hours and 4 min. What an experience! I am so jealous you are going to be at the Princess as well. Thank you for your great recap. I wrote one as well… if you are bored and want to check it out. I am new to blogging (and running) – trying to stay more consistent on the blogging end of things. my blog address – http://www.stanwoodsmelser.blogspot.com Enjoy!
changed my blog address – neverenoughdisney.blogspot.com
[…] angry julie monday * from the goofy path * frugal beautiful * one, two, three & me * pumpkin to princess * striding mom * this little piggy’s […]
Hey Shannyn,
Just stumbled across your blog while I was clicking around on twitter – we met at the Tink Meetup (and rode the Cars ride together!). Loved reading your recaps of the race and meetup. What a great blog this is! Looking forward to seeing what you think about Princess – it was my first half ever (last year) and so much fun!
xo
Hi there!
Loved your recap- I am just catching up on all the many blogs that posted about it.
I was wondering if you would do a post of “accessories” required for running-
explaining the utility belt and snacks etc-
also where does one buy a rundisney jacket like yours?
Thanks,
QQ