Gather your feathers to put in your hats, fellow runners! It’s time to embark on a journey from the Lone Star State to the Golden State for the exhilarating 2024 runDisney Dumbo Double Dare Race Challenge. Get ready to spread your wings and fly through the magical world of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. This year's adventure was extra exciting, since it marks the return of runDisney races to DisneyLand and also completes part 2 of our Coast to Coast Challenge. But before we lace up our sneakers and take on the new challenge, let’s dive into the nitty-gritty details of our travel adventure.
Travel Details:
First things first, let’s talk logistics. Whether you’re driving, flying, or hitching a ride on a magic carpet (we won’t judge), getting from Texas to California requires some planning. Our preferred method is flying and recommend booking your flight early to snag those sweet deals if this is your choice method as well.
Also remember, packing light is key. If you are only going for the race, and not adding vacation days to your trip, only bring running essentials. So let's talk running essentials, what did we make sure to bring?
First, multiple pairs of running shoes. I wear a pair on the flight, and pack one extra pair for running and another for park walking. Yes, your math is correct that means I bring 3 pairs of running shoes for challenge races, which may be counter intuitive to packing light and essentials only. Why would I bring so many shoes? Well, it is in case it rains on day 1 and 2 of the challenge. Having a dry pair of shoes to run in either the next race or after the race in the parks makes the "extra" worth it and for me essential. The worst is putting miles on blistered feet. Now, if you are wondering how often it happens, well, it happened literally the previous weekend at Walt Disney World. Rain hit us two race days in a row and we were very relieved to have that 3rd pair to keep our feet dry and blister free!
Next is what we are going to wear in the races. If I'm checking a bag, I put anything that I don't think I would be able to easily replace at my race destination in my carryon. Last thing I want to do is run in gear I haven't tested before a race. Pro Tip: check the weather and make sure you bring the appropriate hot and cold gear favorites to account for weather changes.
Everything else is personal preferences. I don't bring a lot of spare non-running clothes as I know I'm going to get my runDisney race shirts and I know I'm going to be buying more shirts at the Expo. I make sure to pack my costumes, earphones, fuel, hydration vest, medications/first aid items as well.
Arrival:
Touching down in California, we were greeted with cool but at least dry weather. After getting our rental car, we decided we had time to jet over to the expo. I had to work the next day from the hotel, and we wanted to enjoy the Expo without the stress of pausing our fun for one of my conference calls. We were also hopeful if we were able to make the expo on day 1, we may be able to score some smaller sized merch.
Expo:
The expo – a runner’s paradise! After doing a few laps to find a parking spot, walking in to two wrong doors, and literally walking over a bridge and through what could have easily been called the woods, we made it to the Expo!
At the Disneyland Hotel Exhibition Hall, we were able to pick up our race bibs, swag bag, and even snagged some fun merchandise to commemorate the occasion. It is so hard to resist the temptation to splurge on all the shiny new things! Afterwards it was on to pics!
In comparison to the Expo experience at Disney World though, I will say this one was a much smaller affair. There didn't seem to be as much merch, didn't have any large numbers to take photos with, and also no characters. There were some unique set ups though that still made it a lot of fun.
One other difference, but in a good way, was complimentary water! We didn't realize how parched we were until we had a glass (or five). It was very appreciated at the end of the long travel day.
So appreciated in fact, my sister somehow convinced me to attempt a jump shot photo. Going to have to say, this may be a one and done photo op for me, so will share since it probably won't ever happen again. Maybe I just needed my dumbo feather to get more air?
After double checking we had adequately explored and documented our DisneyLand Expo experience we headed over to check into our hotel and take a moment to bask in the excitement of what’s to come.
As race day approached, we fine-tuned our game plan. My sister went to the parks to do some ride scouting and sweets sampling while I worked. Then we did a pre-walk to the start line, ate a nice carb loaded dinner, laid out our race-day attire, double-checked our gear, and set those early alarms. We debated on alarm times, and went with the tried and true 2:30 AM. You don’t want to sleep through the magic!
Next up, we will be sharing how the planning paid off and how we did in our 10k and half marathon races! Wondering what to expect at a Disneyland race and how it compares to Disney World? We will cover the good, the bad and the magical of Disneyland races in our next posts!
Until then we hope you continue to log some miles, make some memories and hold on to the magic!
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