As you read this, I’m basking in the warm Caribbean sun on Disney’s private island – Castaway Cay in the Bahamas. The family is on a Disney Cruise to celebrate my daughter’s 21st birthday (better on a boat than a bar).

My wife and I took a Disney Cruise last year after the 2010 Walt Disney World Marathon and immediately booked this trip upon our return. I had never been on a cruise before but it was just what the doctor ordered after a chilly 26.2 miles.

During our trip, the daily itinerary showed that a cast member was going to be leading an informal 5K around Castaway Cay. Approximately 30 of us left the ship early to get our “run on” and it provided a great opportunity to tour the island and help make plans for where we would be spending the day. There were no medals, no aid stations and no crowds. This was just a time to relax, unwind and run in some beautiful scenery.

My fingers are crossed that they will be offering the same thing again this year. I’ve already recruited several family members to run/walk with us this morning and can’t wait for the opportunity to run the island again.

RMFR

First, I would like to say that I emailed Disney last night about the California wildfire situation. So, at this point, I am going to take full responsibility for the email that Disney sent to registered runners this morning (until somebody else takes credit). Here’s the content of that email:

Dear Disneyland® Half Marathon Weekend Guests,

Recent news of fires in the Southern California mountains has caused an interest among runners who will be joining us this weekend for the Disneyland Half Marathon. At this time, we are moving forward with the Disneyland Half Marathon as planned. We continue to monitor the air quality situation with the Southern California Air Quality Management District (AQMD); the safety of our runners is our first priority. You can visit their Web site at www.agmd.gov to keep updated on the current situation and forecasts for race day. The location of the fires is quite a distance from our resort, and the weather forecast indicates a week of cooler weather and favorable wind patterns, so we anticipate a safe and comfortable weekend of fun.

Of course, we will keep you posted should anything change, but for now get your shoes ready for the Happiest Race on Earth! See you real soon!

– Disneyland Half Marathon Team

With only four days left until the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon, the California wildfires are starting to become more of a concern. The fires are only 35 miles from Anaheim and depending on the wind, the smoke could be a huge factor. There has been no mention from Disney about the race and what happens if the fires continue to burn. I for one, would be more than happy to run with goggles and a mask.

As of last night, they were reporting that 22% of the fire was contained so I’ll leave my faith in the courageous men and women firefighters of California that they’ll get the fires under control.

The Disneyland 1/2 Marathon course has been released. I would say FINALLY but I haven’t checked in a long time and to their credit, it may have been posted for quite awhile. As a fan of all things sports, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the course route. I’ll explain…

In 2007, the first year I ran this 1/2 Marathon, the course wound around the Honda Center, along the Santa Ana Trail and then looped thru Angel Stadium. We entered thru an entrance in the outfield and ran down the first base line, rounded home base and then exited down the third base line. It was a total “geek out” moment for me as I’d never been to Angel Stadium. They had a camera on the runners and up on the huge video monitor. To add to the coolness of this moment, they had an announcer behind home plate who would call out peoples names based on their bib numbers.

Last year, the Los Angeles Angels were in town and that meant no running thru the stadium. Talk about a letdown!!! Disney then replaced our baseball running experience by routing us underneath the “the Big A”. Ummmm, no, not the same thing!!!

This year the Angels are again on the road. Rejoice runners!!! We now get to run thru the “Big A” AND make our victory lap thru the stadium. Let’s just hope that this trip down memory lane doesn’t include the weather from 2007 where the race was almost black flagged due to the heat and humidity.

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