Amy Lavender's Staging Area

Last summer, Run Disney made the momentous announcement that they were adding a Star Wars race to their line-up. As Disney and Star Wars fans, this race was a no-brainer for my entire family.

This is easily one of the more expensive races you’ll do (about $200 for the half marathon), but after experiencing the magic, I wouldn’t say that I feel cheated about the price. Everything is well organized, there is plenty of course support, and you get the run through the Disneyland parks and take photos with your favorite Star Wars characters which is a neat experience. Run Disney does medals like no other, and you have the potential to get up to four during the Star Wars Half Marathon weekend if you participate in every event. We all had a great time dressing in costume (most runners do), taking photos with Stormtroopers, and experiencing the many little details that Disney provides along the course. We even had celebrity sightings of Sean Astin (THE Rudy, and Sam from Lord of the Rings) and Joey Fatone from N’Sync. They are both ambassadors for Run Disney, and are almost guaranteed to be at every race.

More serious runners will appreciate the fact that there is a corralled start with time verification reducing the amount of weaving, especially in Corral A. Also, the course is very flat and wide with spectators, cheerleaders, and bands lining the whole way, so this can easily be a PR course if you aren’t stopping for character photos. I would say that the majority of runners (including ourselves) didn’t use this race as a PR race, so if you are looking for a competitive field, you won’t find it here. At this price, why not slow down and enjoy?

These races are notoriously hard to get in to, however. Prepare to be at your computer at the moment registration opens (NOTE: you can only register one person per Active account which is a new policy that only applies to Disney races). The price of the race DOES NOT include park entry, but park tickets are available at a discounted rate through GET Travel. And hotels fill up quickly, so I recommend making hotel reservations shortly after registration.

Overall, if you enjoy Disney and/or Star Wars, I would recommend running this race for fun. Escaping to Southern California in January is an added benefit.

This well-organized hometown race takes you from Ouray, Colorado to Telluride via a 13,000+ climb. The course is beautiful enough to distract from the difficulty (and by beautiful enough, I mean completely breathtaking), and the aid stations are among the best offering everything from cookies to chicken broth. While the course follows an unpaved road made for vehicle transport, the trail can be technical in spots, so trail shoes are recommended, and the downhill section is quite steep at the top.