From Corral I to Corral P: How this princess finished PHM 2015, despite being in the last corral

I participated in all the races during the Princess Half Marathon Weekend 2015. I registered for Glass Slipper Challenge, and the 5K. I was really excited to be participating in my 2nd Princess Half Marathon Weekend. Princess 2014 was my first Half Marathon, so the weekend already held a special place in my heart.

I have come a long way since this time last year. I worked my butt off to submit a good time for a good corral placement. I still have yet to break a sub 3 hour half (3:02:01 is my PB)  but I was happy to find out I was placed in corral I, which from last year, when I was in "M", was an exciting accomplishment.

Princess Half Marathon 2014!

Most of you probably know I completed Dopey last month, as my first marathon, most of you probably also know I tore my meniscus the day of the expo, but still managed to finish the challenge. 

Since my corral placement was good, I decided I would walk, (I trained to walk Dopey at about a 14-15 minute mile pace) dress up in a super cute outfit, and take pictures, which was the one thing I regretted doing last year, because lets be real, I feared the sweepers, I feared the balloon ladies, I feared not finishing. 

Well Sunday morning came quick, the alarm didn't go off at 2:45 like I planned. Thankfully my roommates went off a little after I was supposed to wake up, but I began to panic, because naturally I am a very anxious person, and lack of sleep,  & waking up at 3 am the previous 2 mornings, didn't help.

I had everything laid out for the race, I started to get ready. My costume consisted of a a green tutu, green sports bra, green sparkly bandeau, fairy wings, and a wand. I carried a lightsaber during the 10K the day before so I figured holding a wand wouldn't be an issue. Plus, It would make for some great photo ops!

Enchanted 10K Costume

PHM Costume

I got everything ready, and headed out to the busses. I realized halfway to the bus that I left my cell phone in the room, so I had to make a mad dash back, considering it was almost 4 am! In my panic, I forgot to grab my bib! I was freaking out, but remembered all the people who have told me that they too forgot their bibs, and Disney is very accommodating by giving them a new bib, a bracelet for their challenge, and a sticker with the letter of their corral, so they don't have to start in the default corral P that is printed on the extra bibs.

We were stuck in traffic, and I think our bus driver got lost, so when we finally made it to the races, I was very nervous, It was almost 5 am! Well, at least I was in corral I, so I had about an hour until we started, and I didn't care if I was at the front of my corral of not.

Original Bib :)

I went and talked to the people at the information tent and they said it would not be a problem to get me another bib. I was finally for the first time all morning, able to take a breath! Well, that relaxed feeling didn't last long, because unfortunately they informed me that they did not have any I stickers left to put me in corral I. I saw that they had L stickers and told them it would be okay to just put me in L. The volunteer became very snippy with me and told me thats not how it works. I informed her, very politely that as long as you don't try to go to an earlier corral, you can always fall back into a later corral, and I wouldn't mind being in L.  I got a few more people involved, and when they went back to look up my corral again, and my time submitted, they still would not put me in L. 

New Bib :(

To make things worse, I actually had someone say to me "Well, just because you did Dopey, doesn't mean you get special treatment." Um, special treatment? What? I'm not asking to be put in corral A! I'm trying to get put into a later corral then what I was previously supposed to be in! 
The lady must have had something against the letter  I, or the letter L, but overall the way I was treated was terrible. I pay a lot of money for these races. in 2014-2015 alone I have spent thousands of dollars on runDisney races, and merchandise. To break down just this weekend alone, Glass Slipper Challenge was $330, with fees, The 5K was another $60, and since I'm doing Tink in May for my Coast 2 Coast, Let's throw in another $330 for Pixie Dust Challenge.

My Precious

So obviously at this point I am very upset. I have nothing against the last corral. I think it's great that Disney allows people who didn't submit times, or may be running their first races to be apart of such a great race. But lets keep in mind I was injured, & supposed to walk the race! I'm sure if I was a super fast walker I could finish the challenge ahead of the balloon ladies, but I wasn't going to take that risk. I was already tired and my little legs weren't going to be doing no 12 minute miles walking!

Thankfully at this point I met up with my friend Morgan. This was her first half marathon, & she was running Glass Slipper Challenge as well! (Congrats on finishing girly!) All week long I had been giving her advice, and even though she was in corral O, I told her that her corral doesn't define her, and won't impact her on the course. A higher corral is just a buffer. However, I was having a hard time taking my own advice. 

They were already letting off corrals by the time I made it to P. Unlike most of the corrals I have been in, this one was pretty spread out. I would think people would be chopping off each others limbs for a spot at the front, aka, farthest from the dreaded balloon ladies, but I was wrong. Oh well, I managed to get a spot in the second row of the corral, which was pretty cool, but we still had over an hour to go until start. I honestly started to cry when they released "I". At that point we literally had almost an hour until we would start so I took the time to chat with some nervous people, cancel my Fast passes for seven dwarfs mine train, and my reservations for brunch because lets be honest, there was no way I was going to be making it back to my hotel before 11, between congestion on the course, and bus rides back to hotels, plus I'm no Kenyan, and pulling a hamstring wasn't worth a ride on a kiddie roller coaster I have been on 9 times before. 

It was finally our time to start, and I will admit, the excitement in the back of the pack was definitely pretty great. I may have just been delirious, but I think they had more fireworks for the last corral, All I know is I took off running. Which is literally the number 1 don't of long distance running of me, but oh well, all I could see was myself getting swept at the mile 1 marker because the balloon ladies too decided to take off running, and they are faster than me. 

The first 3 miles of any race are the worst for me. One of the reasons why I hate 5Ks. I am always so winded within the first 3 miles, which of course made me anxious! Thankfully I had run into some friends from instagram, and various Facebook groups. These same people I had been talking to for the past few weeks, giving them pep talks, telling them that being in the last corral was not a death wish. It was so nice to get some supportive hugs, to get me through those beginning miles. 

By the time we made it to the dip near the contemporary right before mile 5,  I was starting to feel good. I didn't see a balloon lady in sight.  My average pace was a 14 minute mile. I didn't feel exhausted, and my knee wasn't hurting. Even though I told myself I would stop for a castle picture in Magic Kingdom, I did not, because unfortunately it took me 7 minutes to get through the castle, and I didn't want to waste anymore time. 

I won't complain about the congestion in the castle, because it doesn't even matter anymore, but I'm glad so many first timers got to fully experience being under the castle, and had the opportunity to take it all in. 

I got past the 10K mark, still feeling good, but it was beginning to get hot. Since I figured I would be almost done by the time it was supposed to get super hot, I didn't bother to bring a hat or sunglasses.  I kind of wish I had by mile 8 though! 

Yes it was super congested! Yes I ran a lot on the grass! Yes I almost twisted my ankle or fell in a hole! But It was around this long stretch of pavement that I realized there was a reason I was placed in this corral today.  I picked up quite a few runners who were struggling, or dealing with anxiety over how far back the balloon ladies were.

I was in the same boat a year ago, at the same race, in the exact same place. I met a lot of ladies who were either injured, or completing their first half marathon. I told them my stories, how Princess 14 was my first half, and how I too was still recovering from injuries at Dopey, and about the whole bib problems I ran into this morning. I gave lots of sweaty hugs, and gave away some of the gum I had brought, as well as my margarita shot blocks, some salt packets, and some skittles!  I knew that all the stopping, and motivating would greatly impact my time, but I didn't care. It wasn't until that moment I realized I could still make a sub 3 half if I hauled ass to the finish line, but this race wasn't about me.  It was about helping others achieve their goals, and cross the finish line! 

The worst part about being in corral P was inevitably seeing people getting swept at the last hard sweep at mile 10. I was already up the overpass, but started to walk slower with some people who were injured. People started to cry when they saw fellow princesses being swept. I didn't think it was out of fear, I think it was just so emotional, and they felt for those who would not be able to cross.
However, I have so much respect for everyone who did get swept, you gave it your all. No race is ever guaranteed. You can be sick, or injured, and anyone can get swept. 

After helping more people, we were almost back into Epcot. I called my mom to tell her what had happened, and vented to her about how I was treated. She understood why I was upset, and despite still finishing without ever being at risk of being swept (I was with a lot of N's & O's when I finished) She suggested that maybe I take a break from Rundisney races after Tink. she is right, I have done so many, and its definitely time to take a year off.


I was very happy to run into my friend Cindy in Epcot, We finished the Marathon together, and run into each other at almost every Disney race, towards the end of the course! She also helps out runners, and doesn't focus on her time! She is amazing! 

I didn't stop for any real pictures, but since I was with Cindy, I was able to get a finish line picture with Prince Charming Donald, and a candid of me getting pixie dusted by the Fairy Godmothers. 

This moment made the whole morning worth it.

All in all, I finished, I got my challenge medals, am I still upset, yes, because I really wanted a picture with all the attractive "heroes" at their photo op. Do I regret being in P? Not at all. It was very humbling and gave me the confidence I needed, and the topic of a blog post to let everyone know that being put in the last corral is not the kiss of death. 

Finish line with my Prince Charming

Do not fear the sweepers, or the balloon ladies. Just keep moving forward, but realize you do not have a cushion for photo ops. Selfies are your friend at the character stops. Overall, It was a good race, and I am happy I was able to experience a runDisney race from the very back of the pack, while helping so many runners not give up what they had worked so hard for!

Everyone out there who gave it their all, y'all amaze me

-Kaitlyn