Sunday, October 12, 2014

The Night Before Your Enchanted Race

It's the night before your magical runDisney race, don't look for trouble like Tinkerbell or be caught out late and turn into one of Cinderella's pumpkins!

It's tempting to see the parade, fireworks, and stay up for the Magic Hours... but you do have a race the next morning!  Come back, get off your feet, turn out the lights, and rest!

Follow these tips to help make your race morning magical!

1.  Eat and Drink Properly:    You will need to eat a good balanced meal with proteins and carbs the night before.  If you are in the parks all day, be sure and stay hydrated during the day.  It's not good to get up and guzzle a bunch of fluids the morning of a race:  we aren't camels.  Drink your fluids during the day and a sports drink if you are used to them.  Don't try any new foods or drinks!  Stick to your normal diet.

2.  Lay everything out the night before:  You will be up super early in the morning; you may be in a fog; you may even oversleep.  It's best to be prepared and lay everything out before you go to bed.

Here's a list of what you need handy first thing in the morning:
  • Running Outfit
  • Race Bib with Safety Pins
  • Running Buddy / Running Pack
  • Gum
  • Gu / Energy Food
  • Kleenex
  • Phone / Camera
  • Ipod/ Earbuds
  • Anything Else You Personally Need for the Race

My R2D2 Outfit from the Disneyland Half

3.  Set Your Alarm.  Set 2 alarms if you need to! Make sure you know when your race starts and plan to be at your corral an hour early (after potty breaks and pictures).  If you are driving in or riding the bus, you need extra time because of crowds and traffic.

I'm heading to the Princess in February and my plans are to be out of my resort room by 3:30 and on the bus NLT 4 am!

If you are running a Family 5k, you may need extra time to get everyone ready, so anticipate the chaos! Organize the family to be in your bus line NLT 1 hour ahead of time.

4.  Plan Your Breakfast.  Your resort should have a breakfast pack for purchase the day before, or if you prefer, pick from their usual assortment of pack and go foods.   You will be up several hours before race time:  a lot of hurry-up-and-wait.  Don't run on empty!

5.  Rest.  You may not sleep for nerves, anxiety or excitement,  but get off your feet and turn off the lights!  Your feet and legs need the rest more than your mind does.  Running on tired legs is a bad start to the race.

6. Be Positive!  No matter what you forgot, how the weather will be or what went wrong, a positive attitude will overcome obstacles and help keep you focused and motivated!  This experience is supposed to be fun:  make it happen!

Just remember that by planning the night before, your race day will start smoothly and end Enchanted!

Good Luck!

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For more information on planning to participate in a runDisney race, please contact me at



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