What It’s Like Running The Disney Princess Half Marathon In Disney World – Delish.com

I’ve been running next to a burly, bearded bro dressed in a full Snow White costume—complete with a standing sequined collar—for two miles.

It’d be entertaining, except I’m mostly just thinking about how he must be absolutely dying in that outfit. It’s 6 a.m. (and I’ve been up since 3:15), 80°F, and nearing 80 percent humidity, and he’s running in a long dress, which seems like just about the dumbest thing you can do on a day that’s already warranted a heat advisory.

I’m wearing plain old shorts and a tank top, because I don’t care if it’s the Disney Princess Half Marathon—I still have to run 13.1 miles through Florida’s sweltering heat, and I have no interest in adding any extra layers. (I am wearing a mini tiara courtesy of a Disney princess makeover from the day before; that’s my only concession to the weekend’s theme.)

Brandon Bales

But I’m definitely the odd one out. The Disney Princess Half—which runs from Epcot through Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom and back again—is one of the top 10 half marathons in the U.S., with more than 18,000 runners crossing the finish line this year. In my very unscientific opinion (I was running while I made it), at least 85 percent of them are dressed as Disney characters. I’ve seen numerous Elsas, Jasmines, and Ariels, not to mention probably 300 Cinderellas.

Dressing up to run has always seemed a little silly to me. When I run half marathons, I want to get them over with. The last thing I want is a costume slowing me down (sequins and glitter chafe, and they’re not exactly breathable fabrics). And as lighthearted a Princess run sounds, it’s still a long distance race. So the day before, while other people were shopping the race expo (where runners pick up their race bibs and vendors shows off their goods) for sparkly skirts and tiara headbands, I was carb-loading on a Dijon Mustard Chicken Couscous Bowl and hoarding protein bites whipped up especially for the weekend’s festivities by the runDisney food and beverage team. And you better believe I was eyeing the specialty Playalinda Brewing Co. Glitterberry Wheat Beer (it’s made with edible glitter and has a certain sheen in the sun) and champagnes with chocolate Minnie Toppers for post-race.

Brandon Bales

Because I was running as with a first-timer friend and not to finish in a certain time, I spent less of this race gasping for breath and more of it people and character watching. It’s not just the runners that go all out; the race course is lined with character pit stops—and runners queue up to get photos with everyone from Sleeping Beauty to Tinker Bell. I didn’t stop (again, it’s still 13.1 miles, why would you want to make that feel any longer than it already is?), it was pretty obvious that Disney runners were here to have fun first and race second. And that’s not a bad thing: After watching it in action, I realized dressing up, even just in a sparkly skirt or a tiara headband, lets you be a little silly, throw a nod to nostalgia, and act like a freakin’ princess, even if it’s only for a few hours.

Anyone who finishes a 13.1 mile run is a GD queen, even that burly bro in his Snow White get-up. And after slogging through that course in his princess gown, he probably earned that finish line glitter beer more than I did.