Disneyland 2017 Part 2: Star Wars 10k — Weight Off My Shoulders

After an eventful Friday evening where the wife, Sarah of Mom Running On Empty, her son Colin and I had to make a late-night hotel change (long story), it was tough to wake up Saturday morning for the Star Wars 10k.

The Star Wars 10k could quite possibly be my favorite of the 3 races of Star Wars Rebel Challenge/Light Side weekend.

As you can see above I was Chewie in 2015 and did a mash-up in 2016 forming Duck Solo!!!!!

It was time for another mash-up in 2017 because I had so much fun with them in 2016. So what did I do?

Princess Leia as a Fireside Girl (Phineas and Ferb)! #NailedIt :)

Unfortunately the wife was under the weather that morning and was unable to run the 10k like she had planned. Since I was in an earlier corral than Sarah I left the hotel first. We were a tad farther from the Start area than when we normally stayed at Alpine Inn, but not by much. I still left the hotel (Spring Hill Suites) by 4:30am to make my way to the Start. I knew I would have to go through security again so I wanted to give myself plenty of time. Again I was heading out by myself so I skipped the Start area and went right to Corral A.

I got the same spot in front of the stage that I had for the Star Wars 5k the morning prior. I had a great view of Carissa and Kwame's pre-race antics.

I always enjoy the Run Disney pre-race show except it is the same basic thing all three days so by the half you can sometimes guess what they will say next. But this year there seemed to be more ad-libbing than in years past. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but I enjoyed it either way. :)

Once again the wheelchair participants were sent off first, but this time no confetti.

With a few minutes to spare, I took another quick look at the 10k course. Nothing like last minute, right? ;) I was just trying to remember which park we went into first.

After a quick look, it was time to start. The 10k and 5k start the same way and really if I got confused I'd just follow the hundreds of people in front of me. That's really why I don't want to run too fast - don't want to get lost. ;)

I seriously can't get enough of starting the race in Cars Land.

We hit Mile 1 just as we exited Cars Land.

Mile 1: 8:24

R2-D2 was in the same spot as the day prior so I hopped right in line. Many folks will not stop for the same characters in multiple races, but my goal is to stop for every character stop in every Run Disney race no matter what.

Man it was definitely a longer line than the day prior. Yes I know there are more people in the race, but either way I didn't mind. I chatted with the folks around me and cheered on the people running by.

Instead of just running past Paradise Pier, we were able to run through it on the 10k. I get to see my favorite ferris wheel.

And on to the pier.

I loved seeing so many other runners stopping to take a pic of the sights. We ran around the Pier and I was able to find a cast member to snap a pic for me.

This view deserved more than my typical selfie.

Before exiting Paradise Pier, I needed to take advantage of having a real bathroom on the course.

And of course I had to take a bathroom selfie ala my girl BamaGirlRuns. It was totally worth the stares from incoming runners. :)

Once we left Paradise Pier, we headed once again towards the front of the park. But stopped for a photo stop outside of Soarin.

I was told by others this was a character stop so not sure if the folks were on a bathroom break or what, but there wasn't anyone there when I got there.

Definitely should've bought a smaller shirt. Haha. But man that sash that the wife made was on point.

Mile 2: 14:15

We spent mile 2 in the very sexy back lot where we made our way from California Adventures Park to Disneyland. It isn't the most glamorous mile. But Disney does their best to remind you it is worth it to get to the next mile. ;)

I could feel a character stop approaching and I quickly snagged the Mile 3 marker photo before...

Mile 3: 9:06

Spying a long line and there he was... BB-8! YYAASSS!!!

Now I would have some time to catch up on social media and have a quick snack break. I love how I also inevitably run into someone I know while waiting in line as well.

As always the wait was worth the pic! Right after leaving the photo op I crossed the 5k timing mat.

5K SPLIT: 38:38

We continued making our way into Disneyland and stopping as always for a quick Small World pic. I love how it is still covered in its Holiday decorations when we are out there for the race.

The next character stop was a total surprise and I actually almost ran by it before I realized it was Kylo Ren. This was definitely worth the wait. I have never seen him on the course before.

Want to know why the stop took so long? Well Kylo Ren spoke with each runner. Love that in the park, but in line let's just go with the photo Kylo. ;0) Really it was cool experience.

I just wish the actual photo had come out a bit better. Oh well... still cool!

Mile 4: 27:19

We once again ran through the Castle before heading into Frontierland. We ran past Tori's favorite ride, Haunted Mansion.

I just wish it was open when we visited. It is closed during Star Wars weekend so they can take down the Holiday decorations.

As we left Adventureland, I tried to stop for a quick Dole Whip for the wife, but the stand was closed. I wonder why? I guess because it was just after 6am! :P

Always have to stop and take in the Castle before turning down Main Street.

How awesome is that Ewok Pooh costume??? I had to give him props while we waited in line for Chewie.

Unfortunately after this pic it was time to leave Disneyland. :(

I asked a cast member to snap a quick picture for me. Yes I was also delaying the race ending.

I was psyched that it was light enough to actually get a nice picture in that spot. The previous two years I must've been running faster because the same pic was darker. ;)

Mile 5: 17:59

The final mile ended up being the same mile as the first so I could let the legs shake out after standing in character lines.

This is also the face I gave someone when they said I was Princess Leia as a WIlderness Explorer. Ummm hi cuhlearly I am a Fireside Girl. Note the beret. ;) I keeed. I keeed. I really sent this pic to Linzie (Sharp Endurance) and Sarah (Mom Running On Empty) mid-race for no real reason. Ha. Sometimes I have to entertain myself when running solo.

I LOVED the folks that gave a nod to one of my favorite Nickelodeon shows, Legends of the Hidden Temple.

We ran by the boats from the Grizzly River Run ride. It was currently closed for refurbishment.

As we headed around the back parking lot of Paradise Pier, there was a local high school band getting the crowd and participants dancing and smiling.

And my favorite mile marker of the day!

Mile 6: 8:55

The final 0.2 was as fun as the first 6. The crowd was bringing it and I was ready to collect that BB-8 BLING baby! I even got to catch Carissa's eye and get a Finish Line shoutout!

FINISH TIME: 1:30:10 (14:33 min/mile pace)

How awesome is that bling?

Sarah had finished before me so once I grabbed my heat sheet and my snack box, we met at the Starbucks before heading back to the hotel to meet up with the wife and Colin.

As always I had a fantastic time at the 10k and couldn't believe 9.3 miles were done and I only had 13.1 to go. But we had a day of parks to see and a We Run Social meet-up to host before that.