WDW Inaugural Minnie 10k

by Melanie Adams on February 1, 2014

On Friday, January 10 I got to participate in the Inaugural Minnie 10k as part of Marathon Weekend at the Walt Disney World Resort. For daytime races, this always means a very early wake up call. 2:30 came very early, especially since my body was on Central time which means it felt like 1:30 to me. Buses started running at 3:30, which seems a bit insane for a 5:30 start. However, it really does take that much time to get 10,000 runners in place for an on-time start.

Minnie 10k starting line

The first 3 miles were a bit boring. I knew this part was outside of the parks but I thought there would be lots of character stops and other entertainment to distract us from 3 miles of boring, straight road. Unfortunately, there was only a DJ right after the start and one character stop that I saw before entering Epcot.

This DJ was right after the start of the Minnie 10k.

I did take time to stop at each and every mile marker to have my pic taken, which I’ve never done. Lines were really long for the character stops but not too bad for the mile markers.

All the Mile Markers

After the first 3 miles, we headed into Epcot by way of a backstage entrance close to Test Track. There were several more character stops in Epcot, but lines were still longish. We ran about halfway around World Showcase before heading out to the Boardwalk area. A great part about this leg of the race is access to real restrooms. I took the opportunity to stop in Germany. Here, I ran into my friends Heather, Katie, Sarah, Jenn, and Penny, who were all running together. They passed me shortly after I saw them. We ran past Boardwalk, circled around by the Swan and Dolphin resorts, past Yacht and Beach Club resorts, then back to the International Gateway.

Football Goofy by the Boardwalk

I ran into my friends again, who were in line for Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. They motioned for me to join them in line so I did. We only took one pic with all of us, so it’s not like my joining them held the line up.

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum at the Minnie 10k

I stuck with them for most of the rest of Epcot. We spotted Chip and Dale, and since we were close to the end, we took time to jump in that line, too. I love how this pic turned out.

Chip and Dale at the Minnie 10k

I again kept up with them until we got to the 6 mile marker. I wanted my pic with it so I got in that line and they kept going.

I had plenty of energy to sprint to the finish and just like that, the Inaugural Minnie 10k was over!

The finish line at the Minnie 10k

My thoughts about this race are mixed. I loved the race shirt, bib and medal!

Love the shirt, bib and medal!

I also really loved that lots of people were dressed in costumes, and most everyone I saw was running for fun. It makes for a very fun race when everyone around you is enjoying it. I really thought they should have stepped up the entertainment for the boring first 3 miles. There were also too few water stops, only 3 for the entire race. It was a very warm and humid morning, and 3 stops for more than 6 miles is not enough. There were also all water stops only, no electrolytes. This needs to be corrected. I did like the post-race food box.

Minnie 10k runDisney food box

These tend to still get mixed reviews but I think they are great. They seem to be stepping it up on the contents, too. Hello, Skittles!

Would I do it again? I don’t know. Maybe. I like the distance for what it was to me, a way to participate without having a race be the center of my vacation. The purpose of my trip was to volunteer (more on that later). It was nice not to have pre-race jitters, not have to deal with the usual taper stress and not have to watch what I ate and drank the days before. I was also ready to head straight to the parks after a quick shower, so it was nice to have that extra energy. I still like the half distance for when the race is the main part of my vacation, though. Minnie seemed impressed to finally have her own race, too.

Minnie loved that she was featured on the 10k medal!

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