Typical corral fodder before it was time to start! I tried to start slow but with the downhill and then turning backstage instead of heading down Katella it was not easy! As soon as we headed backstage, it was insanely narrow and crowded and made it pretty congested. We spent A LOT of time backstage and finally entered the park by the pier. I went potty and then met up with Devin and Jake and we started the pictures!

We both felt fine as we continued through Anaheim. Before we knew it, we were seeing dancing groups to keep us entertained and got to the miles of old cars, which definitely grows every year!
We got a free sponge from MousePlanet (awesome sauce!!) that I kept for the whole race. From there on out, we got an extra cup of water for use of the sponge!
At mile 7, we got a donut from Sparkle Athletic, which definitely made my stomach a bit upset but it was worth it. After that, we turned towards the Artic train station and towards the sad Santa Ana trail. The part is always difficult as it is narrow and a bit up and down so it's definitely a slow process.
We soon got to Angel Stadium, got our Clif shot and I had another potty stop as it was a bit humid so I had been drinking a lot of fluids. We made our way into Angel stadium which is always a favorite on this course! It was packed to the brim with Boy And Girl Scouts! Outside of the stadium was marching bands which I also appreciate as a former Band nerd!
One story that really inspired me was a blind runner. We had been running about the same pace as him and he had a whole group that took turns running next to him and yelling -BLIND RUNNER COMING THROUGH! They ended up stopping to get interviewed by the news and I don't remember seeing them finish.
We were both feeling strong but it was getting warmer so we were starting to push the pace a bit. They added a new section of cheering sponsored by new balance around mile 12 which was an awesome pick me up
As we headed into mile 12, we decided to try and run out fastest mile. I wanted training on tired legs and I definitely got it
Our finishing time 2:31:05 running and an official time of 2:58:25 with all of our photo stops. The final mile was 10:34! Woohoo!
Overall, this was the best 5 year runniversary I could ask for. I adored every minute however I definitely learned it is much different when someone comes to visit for a race. My legs were definitely more tired than usual and I got less sleep. I need to make sure to keep that in control for the future.
Did you run the Disneyland Half this year?
Afterwards, we were going to go to the Angels game but it was just too hot so we went to Disneyland instead. We had to park at the convention center! eek! but we took an uber to the front and had a good time. We met with Mallory and some other friends and enjoyed some celebratory drinks at Flo's and Wine Trattoria and Mad T party. We also got my brother to see Paint the Night and Fireworks (which he loved!) before I had to drive us home. What a weekend! especially because I flew out to Tampa the next night-insane!