by Mike Scopa
On Sunday, March 7th, I take to the streets again, as I lace up to run in my 14th Walt Disney World Race, the Walt Disney World 2010 Princess Half-Marathon.
This will be my fifth half-marathon, to go along with one 15K, one 13K, three 10Ks, and four 5Ks”¦.all Disney races.
The last time I ran in a race such as this was in May, 2006 when I ran in the Minnie Marathon Weekend Women Run the World 15K.
I remember at around Mile 6 a Florida State Trooper called out to me and said, “So how does it feel to be a prince among princesses?”
It felt fine.
That particular weekend was quite a challenge for me.
In January I had broken my ankle while running the Walt Disney World Half Marathon.
Thanks to some dedicated physical therapists in my town and my stubbornness, I was back in shape to run by early April and trained hard for this May race.
Actually there were two races. I ran a 5K on the Saturday and the 15K the next day”¦sort of a mini-Goofy kind of thing…less some 26 miles.
So four months after breaking an ankle I faced a challenge and it was that weekend that helped me work hard to recover enough to run that soon. I love challenges.
This weekend is going to be another challenge for me.
For the past week I have been nursing a sprained back, my right side actually. I first hurt it by not being careful taking something out of my truck. Then on a flight back from Orlando this past weekend I re-injured it to the point where I have not been able to run for over a week.
A trip to the doctor and several visits to the chiropractor are helping but it’s going to be close. My dream of a PR may have to go by the wayside but I’m still looking to better my January time.
I have been asked many times if it’s okay for men to run in a Disney race specifically targeted for women.
Why not?
A race is a race.
Of course all the men who enter these races are not eligible for any prizes”¦something I never have to be concerned with in any race.
The course is exactly the same as the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend course so there will be the familiar dips, turns, curbs, ramps and overpasses to negotiate.
I wish good luck to all who are running this weekend including a special shout out to AllEars Running Team members Deb Wills (5K), Jessica Cutler (Half), and Brad Garfinkel.
Let’s hope this frog can hop come Sunday morning”¦.and no I will not be wearing a tiara.
So glad that I found this, I hope your experience was a good one. I am training to run this race in Febraury 2011. It will be my first serious run and I am so excited. I figured if I was going to do it, I might as well do it at Disney. 😀 I’ve enlilsted some college friends and we will be wearing tiaras to celebrate our accomplishment. I am blogging about it as we go, all the bumps, bruises and blisters.
Thanks again for the post, hope to see you in 2011.
* * * *
Good luck Beth.
I am glad you picked this race as your first serious race. It will not be as crowded as the WDW Half-Marathon in January.
Good luck,
Mike
I’m so glad I stumbled upon this. I am training for my first 1/2 marathon-I decided that if I’m going to do this, I need real motivation & incentive and whats better than Disney?-anyways my best guy friend is also training with me and we didn’t know for sure if guys could do the Princess Marathon, so I am very pleased to find out they can!! Maybe I’ll see you there next year! 🙂
* * * * *
Good luck Cheryl. Hope to see you there!
Mike
Hey, i’ve been reading this blog for a while and have a question, maybe you can help… it’s how do i add your feed to my rss reader as i want to follow you. Thanks.
*****
Hi Jennette,
Enter our RSS Feed URL into your reader. Our URL is: http://allearsnet.com/feed.xml
(If you click on that link, all you might see is a page of text or html code — just disregard it. Instead, go up to the web address line and cut and paste that URL into your RSS Feed Reader.)
I’ll be running the 5K and voluteering for the half at water stop 6 on Sunday. I’ll keep my eye out for you! Good Luck to all participating!
Hope your 5K went well Maryjean and thank you for volunteering.
Mike
Handsome photo! 😉 Best of luck to all on Sunday!
Do you have to sign up or be any kind of member to do this race? I am planing to go this time next year to WDW and would love to take part in it. Can anyone who is just visiting join in?
You can register for a Disney sponsored race online.
Most races are 100% full by race day so registering online is the best thing to do.
Mike
Just wondering if the men receive the same medal as all the Princesses. My partner would like to run with us – but we love having matching medals.
Good luck with your back – post race Active Release Therapy might be helpful – but not on the same day as your Chiro.
Enjoy
HI Laura,
Yes all participants receive the same medal.
Mike
Good luck this upcoming weekend, Mike!!
And I might add that it looks like the weekend weather will be little bit better than it was in January for a run : )
Take care of that back!!
Thanks Charlie…I ran the race but in the process probably caused my back to need a bit more time to recover.
Mike
Can you tell me more about your broken ankle? I broke my leg back in 2007 (while training for the Chicago marathon) and haven’t been able to run since. Any advice for recovering from a break and getting running again?
Well Ashley, it was a singular fracture and I immediately started therapy on it because I wanted to run a few races only 3 months after I broke it.
I worked hard every day to make it stronger. Don’t push it. Gradually get back into running and take it slow.
Mike