RunDisney Tinkerbell Half Marathon: new security procedures

The 5th Annual Tinkerbell Half Marathon weekend starts tomorrow.  This will be my 5th year running it as a legacy runner.  However there will be some new security procedures in effect for this year's Tinkerbell races.

This isn't the first RunDisney race in California with the new security measures.  The first one was the Avengers Half Marathon weekend in November 2015, and then they added metal detectors at the Star Wars Light Side weekend in January 2016.  However it WILL be the FIRST time that the Tinkerbell race weekend will have them.

For any 10K and Half Marathon Tink runners out there, BE PREPARED for a longer walk and longer time to get to your corrals. The corral entrances USED TO BE close to the street corner of Disneyland Drive and Katella, which was great if you stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel or the Paradise Pier Hotel, because the corrals were right outside the front door.

But ever since they added these new security policies, in order to enter ANY corral, all runners need to go thru a security checkpoint to get your bag checked (SPIbelts count as bags).

UPDATE:  There are now several security checkpoints and th are at locations DIFFERENT than the ones for the January 2016 Star Wars Half Marathon:

(1) One for those walking from the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure toward the main stage area & bag drop off.

(2) Another one located in the Downtown Disney valet parking area (near ESPN zone), which is for those walking from the hotels that want to enter the main stage area & back drop off.

(3) And finally a third one to enter the corrals, located at the Paradise Pier parking attendants booths.

So, what does this mean?

If you're coming from a hotel that's located on Harbor Blvd, just take the same route you usually do to get to the main park gates, walk thru Downtown Disney, turn left at the Earl of Sandwich, and walk toward Paradise Pier Hotel.  The security checkpoint is located near the parking attendant booths for the Paradise Pier parking lot.

If you're coming from Ball Road or the Parking Structure, walk toward the main stage area, pass thru that security checkpoint, then walk toward the AMC Theater, turn right at ESPN Zone, turn left at the Earl of Sandwich, and walk toward Paradise Pier Hotel.  Go thru another security checkpoint  located near the parking attendant booths for the Paradise Pier parking lot.

If you're coming from the Disneyland Hotel or the Grand Californian, walk thru Downtown Disney toward ESPN Zone, turn left at the Earl of Sandwich, and walk toward Paradise Pier Hotel.  The security checkpoint is located near the parking attendant booths for the Paradise Pier parking lot.

May the Pixie Dust Be With You all this weekend.  And Happy May the Fourth!

Star Wars: Han Solo Running Costume Vest

The inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon: Dark Side race weekend at Walt Disney World is less than one week away! Since I've already run the Star Wars Half Marathon: Light Side at Disneyland this past January, I'm eligible to participate in the Kessel Run Challenge (a special Coast-to-Coast Challenge that's specifically for the Star Wars races) and receive the Millenium Falcon medal.

I decided to take this opportunity to add an upcycled costume to my growing wardrobe of running costumes.

I first started with a black 100% polyester shirt (same material and feel as other running shirts) that I found for just $4 at a thrift store.

Step 1:  I took off the sleeves at the seam.

Step 2:  I chopped off the bottom of the shirt at the waist to make the final vest shorter.

Step 3:  I cut a vertical line down the front middle of the shirt to transform it into a vest.

Step 4:  I hemmed the arm holes and the bottom hem of the vest.

Step 5:  I used the leftover fabric from the sleeves and the shirt bottom to make pockets based on Internet pictures that I found of Han Solo's vest from "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope."  [If you're not already aware, Han Solo has different vests for ANH and RTJ.]  No, I did not use a template; I just eyeballed it and cut.

Step 6:  Now just add a white running shirt (I can use either a long sleeved or short sleeved one) and blue bottoms (either running tights or a running shirt), and I have quick & easy costume that is comfortable enough to run a race and adaptable enough to run in any type of weather.

runDisney's Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend (The Light Side) startstomorrow & UBER free ride code

This will be a day long remembered.

Okay, I'm being a bit dramatic. But it's finally here!

I'm interested to see how different the atmosphere will be at the race this year with the recent changes to runDisney's costume policy.

At any rate, it's going to be a crowded weekend at the parks. Star Wars fans and runDisney fans will be converging upon the Disneyland Resort this weekend from all corners of the globe.

For anyone flying in for the race, I thought I'd share an Uber code for $15 off your first Uber ride (use code UBERRUNDISNEY). Useful for the trip between John Wayne Airport and Disneyland. Redeem it at link below. https://www.uber.com/invite/uberrundisney

May the Course be with You!

runDisney featured our Avengers group costume on Twitter

runDisney featured my group costume photo for the Avengers Half Marathon on their Twitter account!  I'm famous!  Okay, I'm exaggerating.

During the 2014 Inaugural Avengers Half Marathon (see my race recap here), one of the runDisney publicity photographers followed us throughout the park and shot a few photos.  She even took a group photo of us in front of the Haunted Mansion.  But the only photo I ended up seeing during race weekend was the photo of us high-fiving cast members that runDisney posted on January 16, 2014 on their Facebook page.

After the 2014 Avengers race weekend was over,  never saw the one of us in front of the Haunted Mansion in any of the runDisney Facebook photos, so I just figured that it was lost and that I'd never see it.

But then for the 2015 Avengers Half Marathon Weekend, runDisney posted that photo on their Twitter account.  How cool is that!?

Loki's Scepter selfie stick tutorial

Turn your selfie stick from boring to burdened with glorious purpose

Loki: "I come with glad tidings of a world made free."

Iron Man: "Free of what?"

Loki: "Free of boring selfie sticks."

When I was making my Loki running outfit for the inaugural runDisney Avengers Half Marathon (see my recap of the race in my previous post), I had a sudden flash of inspiration.  Instead of just making a prop scepter to carry, why not also make it functional by making it out of a monopod selfie stick?

Can you imagine the uses?  Not only could you use it for costumed races, you could also use it for ComiCon and for Halloween!  And the idea could be extended to other types of props.  How about turning the selfie stick into an Ewok spear for the inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon?  Ok, now you know what I'm going to be running the Star Wars race as.  

[UPDATE:  As of Summer 2015, Disney no longer allows selfie sticks inside their parks.  As of January 6, 2016, runDisney has made even more restrictions regarding the use of costumes and props for security reasons. See my post for further details.]

The "aha" moment when the strangers around me first realized my scepter was really a selfie stick. Basically every time I attached my iPhone to it people commented on the awesomeness of my selfie stick scepter. TAKE HOME LESSON: Loki scepter elevates selfie stick from geeky to badass.

Well, now you can make one yourself.  It's actually quite easy.  I literally made my scepter in the hotel room at 10pm night before the half marathon.  All you need are a few simple materials:

1. Corrugated cardboard or foam board.  I used a groceries box from Costco because I procrastinated and didn't have time to get foam board.
2. Sharp Scissors or a box-cutter blade.  You actually don't even need a box cutter razor because, in a pinch, I actually used one blade of the scissors like a box cutter.
3. Gold (or silver) duct tape.  I had some left over gold duct tape from when I made my Loki horns.  You can find that tutorial here.  I know, some purists might say "But Loki's scepter blade is silver and the handle is gold."  But I wasn't able to find a golden selfie stick, AND it being 10pm before the race, I didn't have the time to spray paint my selfie stick into gold.  So yeah, the colors are reversed.
4. Selfie stick, also known as a monopod.  I found mine at a vendor's cart at the mall for $30, but you can find them on Amazon.com or Walmart.com for much cheaper.
5. Template of the scepter blade.  I used this template from The Woodland Elf as my guide.  However, I didn't have the time or a way to print out a template because I procrastinated, so I actually free-hand drew my scepter based on a screenshot of The Woodland Elf's video on my iPad.
   

STEP 1:  Draw out the shape of the scepter on the cardboard.  You can use a template, or if you're confident in your drawing skills, you can free-hand draw it like I did.

STEP 2:  Cut out the cardboard shape.

STEP 3:  Cover the cardboard with duct tape.  This takes a bit of finesse.  The trick is using small pieces of duct tape, especially for the curved and tight edges.  You also might need to duct tape a few supportive rectangles of cardboard to give the piece more strength.

STEP 4:  Tape the selfie stick to the scepter blade.  I basically wanted my phone to be in the position where the glowing stone is supposed to be [Ahem, there's peculation is that Loki's scepter has a destiny stone, but it hasn't yet been officially revealed it as one in MCU] [UPDATE: My hunch was correct.  The Avengers 2 movie confirmed at Loki's scepter stone is indeed the Mind Stone, one of the destiny stones].  So I placed my phone onto the selfie stick and positioned it until I was satisfied with it's placement.  Once it was in position, I taped the stick into place using the duct tape.  Just make sure that you don't cover up the telescoping parts of the stick.  That way you can still lengthen the scepter or shorten it just like Loki did in the Avengers movie.

STEP 5:  Now go out into the world, wield your scepter, and revel in the awe of the lesser beings.  After all, you are Loki and you are burdened with glorious purpose!

Recap of the inaugural runDisney Avengers Half Marathon at Disneyland

RunDisney + Comic books + Cosplay = 13.1 miles of Geek Heaven!

I've been running in costumes since the inaugural Tinkerbell HM in 2012. But this race was the most fun that I've had ever had dressing up in costume and seeing other people's costumes. I must say it was refreshing to see costumes OTHER THAN the typical Princesses and Fairies that tend to populate the other races.


STARTING LINE AREA

Just being in the starting line area was fun.  More people dressed up for this race than the other runDisney races. There were so many costumes of comic book characters, not just the ones featured in the MCU movies. I was geeking out with excitement just being there in that atmosphere.

I decided to dress a Loki. The highlights of my outfit were the horns and the scepter. I'll post a link here to a tutorial on how I made them in the coming weeks. [Update:  You can find the scepter tutorial here.]

[UPDATE:  As of Summer 2015, Disney no longer allows selfie sticks inside their parks.  As of January 6, 2016, runDisney has made even more restrictions regarding the use of costumes and props for security reasons. See my post for further details.]

The "aha" moment when the strangers around me first realized my scepter was really a selfie stick. Basically every time I attached my iPhone to it people commented on the awesomeness of my selfie stick scepter. TAKE HOME LESSON: Loki scepter elevates selfie stick from joke to badass.

MILES 1 TO 2

The first 2 miles of the race went thru the Disney Parks. The parks were decked out in Christmas decorations, so that was nice to see. Plus the Disney cast members were out there cheering for us.

This is me and my friends giving cast members high-fives to thank them for their service.

During the first 2 miles there were photo ops with 4 of the Avengers (Captain America, Hawkeye, Thor, and Black Widow).

However the lines to pose with each individual Avenger were crazy long, which is not a problem if you are a fast runner who started in an early corral. But if you're a slower runner who started in the G or H corrals (the last 2 corrals), you end up standing in line at your own risk because you might get swept.  I heard that for this race about 100-something runners were swept before mile 3, and about 300-something runners were swept at mile 10.  RUNNER TIP: If you care about achieving Legacy status or getting that Challenge medal, you do NOT want to be swept.

Not wanting to be swept, my friends and I posed for our own superhero pictures.

[UPDATE: We posed in front of the Haunted Mansion for one of the runDisney publicity photographers. Then for the 2015 race, runDisney ended up using that photo for one of their race weekend Twitter posts. How cool is that?]

MILES 3 THRU 6.5

After exiting Disney property, miles 3 thru 6.5 were heading south thru the streets of Anaheim and then southeast thru the cities of Garden Grove and Orange.  The only pretty landmark in that part of the course was Christ Cathedral.

Christ Cathedral

Aside from the weather [which is out of the control of any race director] which was unseasonably windy [hey, it's supposed to be windy in the O.C. in October NOT November], I would say that this was a relatively flat course in comparison to the other California runDisney races so far. [I don't know how it will compare to Star Wars HM because that course hasn't  been released yet].

At this point in the course, the Santa Ana winds [HEADWINDS!] picked up and made the race more challenging because the course ran by some construction sites [DUST!].  Reportedly it was a steady wind of about 15-20 mph with some wind gusts up to 45 mph. This was strong enough to topple over most of the mile marker signs and a few porta-potties. And apparently back at the finish line the winds pulled up one of the family reunion tents which made the race officials evacuate that reunion area.

It's not a toppled-over porta potty, but it is a tumbleweed...in the city.  That's some wind!

MILES 6.5 THRU 8

Then from mile 6.5 to mile 8, the course entered the Santa Ana River Trail. This section of the trail is a paved trail that goes along a golf course and then heads north toward Angels Stadium.  However, this part of the course was pretty narrow and created a 1.5-mile-long bottleneck making it very difficult to pass other people.  And the dust at the bottom of the riverbed wasn't much fun in the wind. Yet despite that, this part of the course featured my FAVORITE part of the race...at mile 7 Club Cosplay was out there in full costumes supporting the runners.

Everyone from Club Cosplay was so energetic and so nice to allow runners to pose for pictures with them. It was great seeing a wide range of Marvel characters being represented. My favorites were War Machine, Gambit, the young Professor X, Star Lord, and of course Loki. Many thanks to everyone from Club Cosplay for helping to make this such a fun race. I heard that runDisney has invited them back to future races. YAY!

This is from Club Cosplay's Facebook page. It shows just how many of them were at mile 7.

Check out this guy's spot-on Loki! He looks a lot like Tom. (He's on Facebook as "Loki Hates You."  Check him out.) He stayed in character, but I was able to crack a genuine smile out of him (see photo on the right) when he saw me go all fan-girl excited.

MILES 8 THRU 9.5

After surviving the bottleneck, mile 8 opened up to Angels Stadium.  Unlike the Disneyland Half Marathon, Angels Stadium felt pretty empty in comparison because it didn't have Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts cheering in the bleachers. But it is an inaugural race, so I have hopes that it will be filled in future years.

My two favorite race signs.
What was my favorite shout-out?  A volunteer handing out water yelled out "Hail Hydrate!"

MILES 9.5 THRU 13.1

The Avengers right before the finish line.

After exiting Angels Stadium, the course headed back towards the Disneyland resort. There really wasn't much to get excited about in that part of the course...except maybe this spectator sign.Once you get to mile 12, you're back on resort property and are pretty much guaranteed to finish without being swept.Near the finish line, the Avengers from earlier on in the race stood together on a stage and announced the our names as each runner approached the finish line.  Right at the actual finish line, there were some black-suited S.H.I.E.L.D agents "guarding" the finish line.













FINISHER'S AREA

After crossing the finish line, volunteers were standing there to put medals around our necks.  I did NOT take off my Loki horns, but the volunteer was a great sport and was able to somehow slip that medal over my horns and around my neck.

After receiving our medals, we took our finisher's photos.  Then we proceeded to receive the standard runDisney post-race swag:  one bottle of Dasani water, one bottle of blue Powerade, one banana, and one standard runDisney box of snacks.  It's a good thing I had a plastic grocery bag stuffed into my running belt.  [RUNNER TIP:  Bring a bag to use at the finish line.  It's handy for carrying all of those bottles and post-race snacks.]  And after getting the swag, runners enter the family reunion area which then leads to the main stage area, where there are tents for medal engraving, etc.

This was my first time dressing up as a bad guy for a race, and I must say it was way more fun than the other character I've been.  So many runners throughout the race course complimented me on my Loki costume, Loki horns, and Loki scepter selfie stick.  And the spectators seemed to cheer for Loki more often than the other characters. Maybe I'll dress as a villain for future races.  I guess I've been converted to the Dark Side. Next stop...Star Wars Half Marathon.