Hi, I’m Lisa, a/k/a The Castle Runner.

Ten years ago, I was a Big Law M&A attorney (Columbia undergrad, Harvard Law, the whole shebang) with a life that looked great on paper but felt like it belonged to someone else. In 2016, I up and walked away from it all and started to rewrite life from scratch. Only this time, I’d listen to what was calling me instead of what the rest of the world said was right.

The next year, I sold my family’s home in Maryland and built a new one in Florida, a stone’s throw from Magic Kingdom—because if you only get one life, you might as well spend it listening to the train whistle and watching the fireworks from your bedroom window.

Somewhere in there, I found runDisney. And I went back again, and again, and again. Today, I’ve run 100+ races here since my first in 2016. I’ve run them happy and I’ve run them hurting. I’ve run in sweltering heat and in bone-chilling cold. I’ve run for characters and I’ve run for PRs. And, somewhere along the way, my experience paired with my Type-A academic background made me the go-to resource for how it all worked. The friend people texted the night before their first race in a panic over some detail or another. The person who dissected every runDisney race guide and turned it into an article that we could all actually navigate.

And then I sat down and turned it all into a book: The runDisney Companion, publishing this August. It covers the history of the races, how to pick which one to run, training, trip and costume planning, the day-by-day details of race week, the hour-by-hour details of race morning, and all of the emotions that take over after the finish line. It’s my whole story, my whole heart, and all of the logistical guidance that I would have given my left sneaker for ten years ago.

These days, I run a lot of miles, eat pretty clean with a generous side of Food & Wine Festival, and am mom to two teenage boys who are far more fabulous and intelligent than me. When I’m not running, I’m usually behind a camera—doing portrait work or capturing the magic of corners of the parks that most people just walk right past. You can find my fine art Disney-based photography on my other site, Thousand Circles. (If you caught the Illuminations reference, we’re bound to be friends.)

Whether I’m deep in a training cycle, chasing my kids through EPCOT, or framing a shot, I share all of it here.

So whether you’re lacing up for your very first 5K or your fifteenth marathon weekend, I hope The Castle Run inspires and empowers you to do the thing you love. And to runDisney like you’ve done it before.

I’m so glad you’re here for the ride.