Disney's Happy Haunted 5K

Disney’s Happy Haunted 5K trail run was something that Jessica and I had been planning for years! Not the race itself, but our costumes. We kept them top secret and never unveiled them until race morning. Yeah, only an Oregonian would race in Converse, ripped jeans and a long-sleeved flannel shirt. One person thought, from the back, that I went as Kurt Cobain. I can’t blame her for that – without the glasses I thought that’s what I looked like, too! But no, we spent our first Disney race together as Wayne & Garth. Schwing!!

We were up early and excited to finally get to wear these costumes! We did sort of laugh at the hilarity of it. I mean I am the girl always in running skirts and Adidas, but this time I was as far from that as it gets! Abby met up with us on the way to the buses and immediately laughed. I’ll call that an outfit success! The bus ride to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex was pretty short and peaceful. Upon arrival we took advantage of any photo ops we could. As per usual with runDisney, there was a DJ trying to get the runners pumped. After practicing my moves since January, Abby and I were able to finally do the Cupid Shuffle together!! *I just don’t get it. I swear it must be a southern thing to lead people in group dances non-stop. Oh well, it was fun! I tried to teach Jessica, and she had the WTF expression that I, too, had back at WDW Marathon weekend!

Garth & Mr. Smee (i.e. Fruit Fly and Abby) doing the Cupid Shuffle

We're not worthy, we're not worthy!

Something different compared to the other Disney 5K races I’ve done was that we actually had corral assignments and were let off in waves. Apparently they held us back a bit waiting for the sun to rise. Eek. I’d rather run in the dark, quite frankly. That sets a better “haunted” mood and also keeps me from the sun! Before we knew it we were at the start line and I was ready to be Miss Bossy Pants to make sure we all maintained at least a 16 minute mile and didn’t get stuck behind some of the slowest moving creatures ever.

"Foxy ... Lady"

The majority of the race was on trails, sometimes muddy, next to WWOS. I personally enjoy trails, so I loved it. It also gave me the chance to finally dirty up my bright orange Converse! Jessica and I spent a lot of time near the swamp “huntin’ gators”! Sadly we never found any. There were a few characters on the course. I volunteered to be the one to run ahead and snap a photo and then catch up with the group. And that running didn’t exactly help keep me feeling comfortable. Running in Converse? Not bright! We did see two other costume ideas that were more impractical than us, so for that we felt like winners – we weren’t the most insane!

By the end my hair was just nasty. OMG, so gross. I was sure I was sweating through the jeans. I smelled bad. I was over it! Not over the whole race scene, but the heat and humidity! Running in to the finish Jessica and I were sure to stay side by side, and the announcer even pointed out that Wayne and Garth were there and finishing! Very cool!! A lot of adults recognized our costumes and thought it was really cool. Younger people were clueless. Poor kids. They NEED to know about Wayne’s World!

Getting out of the race area was a nightmare. The Kid’s races were starting and a flood of parents with strollers were coming down the stairs, leaving us tired, sweaty, cranky runners to actually wait in a long line just to use the stairs. Bad planning, Disney. After a long walk to the bus we happily went “home” to our ghetto resort for showers and a day in the park, luncheon crashing and the more racing at night! Overall I had a great time! I was with some of my favorite people, we got to be silly and it was Disney! So what’s not to love?

Party on!!