Another race weekend is behind us!! It’s hard to believe that we haven’t had a Princess Race Weekend in 2 years – but it was soon after the weekend of the 2020 Princess Half that the world shut down.
This weekend saw 4 events along with the Expo at ESPN Wide World of Sports. As usual, there was the Disney Princess 5K on Friday, the Disney Princess Enchanted 10K on Saturday, and the Disney Princess Half Marathon on Sunday. Participants who completed both the 10K and the half marathon received an additional medal for completing the Fairy Tale Challenge.
runDisney also started a new event this year – Disney Princess Sunrise Yoga on Thursday morning on Main Street and the Hub at Magic Kingdom. I skipped this because I’ve done sunrise yoga in Magic Kingdom with the Cast Members and, while it was wonderful, I felt like I could leave the spot to someone else this time around. You can find my recap of sunrise yoga with the cast right HERE!! I still get chills thinking back on it.
General
The 5K took place on Friday, February 25th. Participants were divided into 3 sections and released in waves starting at 5 a.m. When I was walking to my car at around 5:45 a.m., I could hear them releasing the last wave of that 3rd and final section, so they were releasing waves from the three sections for about 45 minutes.
Weather over Princess race weekend – like pretty much every other weekend in Central Florida – can be unpredictable. That said, we hit the jackpot on the day of the 2022 Disney Princess 5K. The weather was perfect. Warm enough to be perfectly comfortable waiting for the start and cool enough in those early morning hours for it not to feel oppressive once we started running.
Course
Like most 5Ks these days, the course centered on Epcot and was designed to work around all of the current construction.
Shirt & Bib
Here are the bib & race shirt. The race was themed to Cinderella this year and of course that’s reflected here.
The shirt material this time around feels decent. A far cry from the Champion shirts that we used to get back when we didn’t know how spoiled we were, but I think a bit better from the rough fabric of Wine & Dine 2021.
The bibs are still that aggravating paper-like material that tears easily. If this continues to be the case, then be sure on race day (or before) to reinforce the safety pin holes with clear tape. Just fold the tape over the edge to cover both sides including the hole and then slide the safety pin right through the tape.
Characters
Unlike at the 5K during Dopey weekend, I did not hear anything about characters lines getting cut off because of timing concerns – a big relief, since half the fun of the 5K is that it’s untimed and a great chance to get all of those character photos!!
Here is who was there, in order:
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- Pocahantas, Merida, and Moana – together at the first stop but each with her own PhotoPass Photographer, so you stood in once line and then grabbed all three pictures in quick succession
- Lilo & Stitch
- Elsa (trading places with Anna)
- Rapunzel
- Suzy (mouse) and Prince Charming
- Tiana and Prince Naveen
- Joy and Sadness
- Three Musketeers Mickey and Donald
There was also lots of PhotoPass on the course in general and they did a great job.
Like at Marathon Weekend, the pre- (and post-) race photo opportunities were just boards, not characters. Throughout the weekend, if nothing else this made getting to the races first thing feel less urgent. Lines for these were very long by 3:15 every morning before the races but were pretty quick after the races each day…and the after-race photos are better anyway since you have your medal then!!
Medal
Speaking of which… the medal is lovely and also themed to Cinderella. So far this, along with the others from this weekend’s races, seem to be holding up better than the Marathon Weekend medals, which tended to have chipping issues. Hopefully these issues with the 2022 Marathon Weekend medals were a one time thing.
Final Thoughts
I loved this race. The weather was beautiful. The characters were fun. The crowd just seemed happy to be back. I’ll fully acknowledge that I started this race in the front of Section 1 – which meant that I was ahead of the crowds and what certainly would have been longer character lines. If you want to enjoy this kind of a race, I would recommend trying to get to the front of at least your assigned section. But that said I’ve run many a 5K when we were not out front and waited in long lines and that was fun too. I’ve always said the runDisney 5K’s are a great, low pressure way to kick off the race weekend and get your body on schedule for the rest of the races and this one was no different. What a great morning!!
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Did you run the Disney Princess 5K? What were your thoughts??
If you want live information on the runDisney races as they are happening, be sure to follow me over on Instagram at @thecastlerunner and watch my stories. I do my best to keep you posted as they are unfolding. 🙂
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You can find my complete guide to making the most of your runDisney race weekend RIGHT HERE. And while those are on hold, you can find my guide to running trails on Disney World property RIGHT HERE.
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Please join me on Instagram for my day-to-day adventures living a mile from the magic. And join the conversation over in our community on Facebook!
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If you’re missing home (or love someone who is) and are looking for a way to bring the magic home, I’d love for you to check out my Core Memory Candle collection right HERE. And as always, stay safe and be kind, my friends.
