After checking in with my mom I continued on my merry way towards the finish. Of course I stopped to take some photos. Pirates were out heading into the Magic Kingdom, but the line was long and it was kind of dark so I skipped it, knowing I'd see them on the way back to EPCOT. In the line for Pirates I was near the front and Kelly came running up. I gave her a little bit of my pez and fruit slice gummies.
After the Pirates it was on to some banked highway ramps (ouch for all parties running). Those banked highway ramps are brutal, sending your foot into odd parts of your sneaker and pressure on tendons in your knees you don't want to feel tweaking.
Fortunately they have some of the Green Army men shouting encouragement at you to get up that last hill. We are a tough group of runners! After this point it is a guessing game as to which characters you may encounter. Sometimes there is a bus full of characters at the turn around, other times it is random ones in the park. A few years ago it was Off Kilter (bagpipe band) playing outside EPCOT, last year some Team In Training people in banana outfits. This year...
Just before heading into the park I had to take a photo of these people and their signs. I liked the snot one.
In EPCOT (nifty contrast of what I see and what my mom views from the Monorail earlier in the day on the way to the finish grand stand). I am only "aware" of those around me and not how huge the race really is. She gets to see the endless stream of finishers ahead of me and see the trail of runners on the highway from the monorail as it heads from ticket and transportation to EPCOT. I catch glimpses of it from the highway ramps but it is not as spectacular as I imagine it would be seeing it from the monorail.
Of course one of my favorite parts (actually almost all of the race is my favorite) is the area just behind the scenes at EPCOT before rounding the corner and seeing the finish area and grandstands is the choir, singing for the runners.
I have the best support crew in my Momma. We've got the finish area down to a science. She watches me cross the line and as gracefully as possible sprints out of the grandstand area to spot me across the barriers. Here is where the fun begins. I somehow manage to get my sneakers off and catch a pair of crocs from her and toss her my sneakers. She doesn't complain about the icky sneakers either.
Here comes the priceless moment that happens every time (and often more than once) I am still waiting to walk through baggage to the family reunion area and get some food. "Did you run in those?" pointing to my croc wearing feet. "I wish crocs made running shoes. No, my mom tossed them over the fence to me. Congrats on finishing!"
Look at all the Donald Duck 1/2 marathon bling sparkling in the sunlight.
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