Christa Moges's Staging Area

I participated in the Mini Marathon Challenge so completed the 5k & Mini Marathon (1/2). The expo was nice & well organized. I liked both of the t-shirts – especially the ones for the half. The 5k was really crowded for the space that was provided. And…it started pouring rain – not too enjoyable. The half marathon was so much fun! We stayed down the street so I was able to walk to the start. The course was fantastic- very flat & lots of beautiful neighborhoods to run through. The best part was running through Churchill Downs – we were able to run in through the tunnel & we ran inside the track & there were horses warming up on the outside track – it was like we were running with the horses- such an amazing experience! Would definitely recommend the half!!

This was such a fun destination race! I brought my whole family, ran the 5k with my older daughter, my younger two kids ran in the kid’s fun run, and I did the half marathon to round out the weekend before we added on a Glacier and Yellowstone family vacation. We stayed at the Hilton Doubletree which was great because we could walk to everything. It was a little farther to the 5k, Kids Run, and Packet Pickup but I was able to walk right to the buses at the college the morning of the half, so it was a perfect location for us. It was a little pricey and they didn’t offer anything special (sometimes the partner hotels will provide breakfast bags or something). The packet pickup went really smooth, and they had a ton of fun giveaways for the kids. We were also able to grab some bananas and bottles of water. Loved the 5k t-shirt and the kid’s capes. Didn’t love the half shirt as much (just not a fan of the technical fabric). The 5k course was nice as was the kids run. After the 5k they didn’t hand out any drinks or snacks though and during the kids run they just got chocolate milk at the end. I’ve been to a lot of 5k’s with some additional snacks or at least bottles of water. There was a farmer’s market going on and that was amazing, so we walked over and grabbed food from there – I’m sure they had great business that day! The morning of the half I left the hotel around 5:30am – you were supposed to be at the buses by 6am and I wanted to give myself plenty of time. It was an easy walk and there were plenty of other people walking over at the same time. The bus ride was organized and when we arrived at the starting location there was plenty of room to stretch out and port-a-pots. I don’t know why we needed to be there an hour before the race started but didn’t mind sitting and waiting. It was a beautiful course and in places there was lots of crowd support. It was hot and sunny, and I got the impression that they changed the start time and course because some people commented on the sun being out earlier. The front runners of the marathon started catching up to us when we merged with that course around mile 4. The marathon started at 6am while the half started at 7am. It was only the front runners, and they had a cyclist with them to lead the way but there wasn’t a split course until a few miles later. Then there was a small portion that seemed to be on a running trail so that was a little tight and was really challenging for a bike to pass and someone made a comment about why they made the course like that which made me think it was different than prior years. Great after party and loved the medals – I just grabbed a bunch of food/snacks and went back to the hotel so we could get moving but overall, it was a great race, and I would absolutely recommend and totally do again if I was in the area!

This was the first time I’ve run this race & it may be my favorite half marathon so far! We traveled from Maryland (I’m trying to hit every state) & would come back in a heartbeat! The expo was easy to find & we loved the shirts. We of course bought more items (a little pricey). We were able to walk right up to the race – it was so nice & not too crowded. It was pretty warm & humid but there was plenty of water & nuun being handed out. I was running with my daughter & it was her first half marathon so we were a little “slower” & finished around 3 hours. The course was beautiful & there was shade on most of it even though it was hot. A few misses – the medical tent didn’t have any Vaseline or anything else for chaffing which I think is pretty commonly needed at running events & by the time we finished I received a cute bag with 3 oranges in it. My daughter didn’t even get a bottle of water (I think she missed the people handing them out) & luckily my friend who had done the 5k saved me her banana. I would have expected some better food since Publix was a sponsor. It was a great event overall!

This race was so fun! Packet pickup was super smooth and fast. They had a large variety of additional items for purchase and the premium shirt you received was great. Plus, you received a stemless wineglass and mini champagne bottle from one of the local wineries. I was thinking there might be some more freebies from Wegmans since they are a sponsor, but they were just giving out samples of protein bars. Having it in the Corning Museum of Glass was a great excuse to view all of their beautiful items and we popped over to the town after and had a great lunch! I was a little worried about the buses on the morning of but everything went super smooth – we arrived around the middle of the recommended time and had no issue finding parking and getting on a bus – it was nice and warm and an easy ride to the start line. You could warm up inside of a school which was nice. The race itself was scenic and mostly flat, you ran through a lot of neighborhoods and it’s always nice seeing spectators. There was plenty of race support but we also lucked out with amazing cool weather so there was always plenty of everything you could need. You finish in the small town of Corning and receive a beautiful glass medal. The finish line food was sponsored by Wegmans, and they had a lot of “real” food – pizza, soup, bananas, spoons of peanut butter, cut up bagels, Gatorade, and cookies. We were able to walk to our car and easily get to our hotel outside of town. It was a great race and a great way to start a weekend of wine tasting!

This was a bucket list run for me & I’m glad I did it but don’t plan on doing any other Disney races. I did the challenge so ran the 10k with my daughter & half with my best friend.
1. Expo – very well organized. There were characters you could take photos with, the race shirts were cute (not my favorite fabric but like the design). Not a lot of samples being handed out & the only thing you received was the shirts. We were there the morning of the second day & they were already sold out of a shirt that I wanted so I was bummed about that (but it saved me from spending $80). We also had to drive to Disney Springs to purchase holiday ornaments that they had on display but weren’t selling at the expo.
2. Pre-race – we were told to arrive by 4am & there was some entertainment (photo ops with characters, music, etc) before the race. We didn’t actually start either race until around 6am so it was a lot of standing around. Because my daughter & friend hadn’t participated in other races at their distance we were in the last corral for both races which meant a lot of standing around before you even get started which is pretty stressful. I don’t know what would be better but it seems silly to have “slower” runners start in the back because they have less time to finish than the “faster” runners in the front. The balloon ladies started right behind my daughter & I.
3. Course – the courses themselves were less exciting than I had envisioned. The 10k was more enjoyable than the half marathon. The 10k was about half on the highway & then you entered through the back of Hollywood Studios ran through the Boardwalk area & then to Epcot & through Canada to the front & the finish. The half was 5 hours of highway to begin with, a short loop through Magic Kingdom, then back to Epcot for a very short run through the park to the finish. The course maps were available ahead of time I think I just thought there would be more running in the park. There were real bathrooms in all of the parks which was nice. There were lots of characters on the course but the lines were really long & we didn’t want to stop for too long. Entertainment was good with a few DJ’s, music, comedians, etc. plenty of water & Powerade stops. Only one stop had nutrition & it was some gummies. Any of the course not on the highway was crowded. There were points where you could really only walk because everyone in front of you was. It was well organized- just a lot of people (obviously since I
4. Post race – loved the medals, good snacks provided & loved the medals.

Overall it was a fun time & I’m glad I did it with my family/friends but will not rush to sign up

Amazingly beautiful race course running alongside the river with gorgeous views the entire time made up for the steep climb for the entire first half. Good aid stations & easy to get to & park because it was a smaller race. There was no expo & the shirts cost extra which was a bummer. The food afterwards was delicious (an actual taco 🌮 bar) & we walked to a brewery nearby. Really fun, low key, gorgeous race!