This post is part of the Virtual Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Blog Hop! There are over 20 bloggers participating each writing about a different topic to cover everything you need to know if you’re participating in Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend! Be sure to click on the logo below to stop by and read some of the other great posts – enjoy!
I have to admit I immediately fell in love with Disneyland and although I hadn’t planned on making it an annual trip this will be my third year in a row heading out to California for the Disneyland Half Marathon weekend!
Jason & I “running” through Disneyland after the 10k last year!
When the Dumbo Double Dare (doing the 10k Saturday AND the half marathon Sunday!) was announced for 2013 I was excited for the chance to run through the parks 2 days in a row!
There are a few additional things you’ll need to take into consideration when running back to back races – some logistics, your race plan and between race recovery.
Let’s start with what you need to know as far as runDisney is concerned.
Need To Know
Race Bib – you only get ONE!
When participating in a two race runDisney challenge you will be given ONE race bib to wear for BOTH races. That means, don’t lose it and don’t throw it away after the first race!
Wristband – don’t forget to get it!
After you cross the finish line of the 10k on Saturday be sure to stop by the Dumbo Double Dare tent to get your 10k finisher wristband! In order to receive your Dumbo Double Dare Challenge medal after the half marathon you MUST have both your Dumbo Double Dare bib AND your 10k finisher wristband (on your wrist!).
**This information and more can be found in the Official Event Guide**
Race Plan
It’s usually a good idea to go into every race with some sort of race plan. Are you racing for time? Stopping for character photos? Running with friends?
When doing back to back races it’s especially important to have some sort of plan to pace yourself through two days of racing (and of course your training should include back to back training runs!).
When it comes to runDisney races my plan is ALWAYS to have as much fun as possible and not worry about my time! For a challenge, I typically make day one a REALLY fun run and then focus a little more on day 2. (This works especially well in Disneyland since almost ALL of the 10k is in the parks and a lot of the half marathon is on the streets of Anaheim.)
Last year a group of friends and I dressed up as the characters from Cars for the 10k and pretty much stopped for a full on photo shoot in the middle of Cars Land!
This year I’ll be doing the Dumbo Double Dare with my husband who will be running his first half marathon! Our plan is to wear a simple costume (which I’ll reveal a few days before the race!) during the 10k and stop for as many picture as possible, and then focus on getting him through is first half on Sunday!
Between Race Recovery
When running back-to-back races it’s particularly important to allow your body to recover between races!
Fuel
If you’ve trained for any sort of distance race before, you know how important it is to fuel and hydrate properly before, during and after your race. If you’re doing back-to-back races it’s even more important, be sure to re-fuel and re-hydrate after the first race so you’re ready to go the next day!
Recovery
You can read my full post on R.I.C.E. (Roll. Ice. Compression. Elevation.) for Runners (HERE), but here are a few added tips for R.I.C.E. between races:
- Roll – spend some quality time with your foam roller after each race, and if you’re traveling, invest in a travel size foam roller or massage stick, there are plenty of options available and you’ll be glad you have it to work out your legs between races!
- Ice –ice bath or spot icing can really help keep any inflammation at bay when you have another race coming up! (Hotels make this even easier since most have an ice machine on each floor!)
- Compression – never underestimate the powers of compression socks &/or pants! (I shamelessly wore mine around the parks last year between Dopey races.)
- Elevation – lie with your legs up the wall for 10-15 minutes for a gentle stretch and some easy muscle recovery and relaxation! (Full Legs Up the Wall Post HERE!)
I also recently wrote a guest post for my friend Sarah’s blog, Running at Disney on Hotel Room Yoga, these poses would be great to do between races!
Rest
Making sure to allow your body plenty of rest leading up to and between races is key to completing back-to-back races! This can be especially challenging if you’re racing at Disney with the early morning wake up calls and wanting to spend your non-racing time at the parks!
Be conscious of not spending all your time on your feet leading up to and between races so you don’t exhaust your legs! Spending time at the pool or at some of the longer seated attractions is a great way to give your legs a break and save them for running! (And beware of the Disney Feet!)
With appropriate training and some extra planning and recovery back to back race challenges can be a great experience – and who doesn’t love an extra medal!
Previous Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend Race Recaps:
What other back-to-back race tips do you have?
Will you be at Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend??
Don’t forget to check out all of the other posts that are part of the blog hop!
Live, Run, Grow 
I’m not running it but I love the medal designs since I love Lilo and Stitch.
Yeah, I think the Stitch medal is really cute! : )
I soooooooo wish I was doing Disneyland this year! (There’s a big surprise, I know). Oh well, at least there’s next year! Can’t wait to read all about it…while I’m oozing with jealousy 🙂
2015. EVERYONE WILL BE THERE. and by everyone I mean us.
Haha, we’ll see!
I interpret “we’ll see” as “hell yes! Of course I’ll be there too”
If it’s not a no, then it’s a yes when it comes to Disney 😉
Even when it’s a “no” 75% of the time it’s still a yes…
Will power is overrated.
Haha, some of us have something called will power Kellie ; )
but it’s no fun being THOSE people.
Great tips! I was so nervous that I would accidentally destroy my single Dumbo bib last year. Phew. Agree re race plan – although last year I did the opposite as you and raced the 10k so I could have fun during the half (how convenient that it was the longer race).
I don’t know why, but for some reason I hated that I wasn’t starting with a “fresh” bib for the 2nd race, it drove me nuts that it was already all crumpled and wrinkly!
Awesome tips! Looking forward to hearing what your costume will be this year, and I’m definitely hoping to see you in CA! 🙂
YES! We really need to make it a point to finally meet!
I’m running the Disneyland Half (no DDD) and it’ll be my first Disneyland race — and my first race west of the Mississippi, in fact! I’m getting really excited even though my training has been … not good. I always try to race my best time but even if I don’t PR (I can’t imagine a PR will be in the books) I’m sure I’ll be having megafun in DISNEYLAAAAND AHHHH! Plus: my first Coast to Coast medal!
Yay! You’re going to LOVE Disneyland! Where are you staying??
We’re trying out the Hilton Anaheim on this trip! I’ve only been to one other Anaheim motel during a trip to Disneyland (the other times I’ve been to Disneyland was when we were living in Los Angeles, so of course we just drove) and it was pretty bad so we’re hoping the Hilton will be OK!
Oh yeah! I totally misread your comment and thought this was your first time out to Disneyland ever! Hope to see you there!
It’ll honestly only be like my fourth trip to Disneyland ever … we were pretty broke when we were living in California! There’s still a ton of stuff I haven’t experienced. Obviously including running there! I hope to see you too!!!
These are really great tips – it’s hard to gear down on that first day, but it’s so helpful to consider at least one of the races as a ‘take ‘er easy’ race so your body doesn’t totally hate you for the rest of your stay.
I find dedicating one of the races to more photo stops helps! : )
Greetings Fellow Blog Hopper,
Great post and tips on the Double Dare! I especially liked the extra details for recovery after the race. After doing Goofy twice, this are great tips! I am coming out to Disneyland for my first race there. I have done over a dozen at WDW. Good luck to everyone doing the Double Dare. For those blog hopping, you can ready more about the medals on my blog at http://www.doombuggyrunner.com!
Enjoy Disneyland! I know a lot of people say they don’t like the DL courses as much b/c they go through the streets of Anaheim, but I think they do a really good job putting local entertainment out there!
Thanks for the tips! This is our first runDisney challenge and I had no idea about the 10K finisher wristband! Love that pic you took with the medals around the Dumbo statue. I might have to borrow that idea because we will have the same set of medals this year! 🙂
There’s usually plenty of volunteers yelling to go get your wristbands when you finish so you probably wouldn’t have missed it, but it’s good to know ahead of time!
Great tips. Excited to see your costumes!
Great post with lots of useful info! Also I really like your photos! The one in Cars Land is my favorite. That’s awesome that you ran with big group and coordinated your running costumes to match! Those cone outfits are clever! 🙂
Great post with lots of useful info! Also I really like your photos! The one in Cars Land is my favorite. That’s awesome that you ran with big group and coordinated your running costumes to match! Those cone outfits are clever! 🙂
Haha, the cone outfits were actually the result of a few friends who decided they wanted to join our costume once our Cars shirts were already made – we just told them to buy orange shirts and be comes! : )
I am SO glad you wrote this post Danielle- I am running my first challenge in January (I’m a Rebel!), and having been looking for “restorative” tips for that weekend. I am a huge fan of compression garments (old venous system), and as a PT I’m always advocating for runner ice baths. Your yoga for runners information is invaluable! Legs Up the Wall looks like a lifesaver, and I will begin to add this into my regime. Thank you so much for joining the hop, and best of luck to your husband. Go Dumbos!!
Thank you for stopping by and reading my post and I’m so glad you found it helpful! I love restorative yoga and find it very helpful for recovering after long runs or between races, with all these “challenge” races, I’m hoping to get around to writing more recovery/ restorative related posts this fall!