My 9th half marathon is in the books! This one didn’t really go as expected, but I’m happy with how it turned out – a pleasant surprise indeed. This is only my second 10k+half challenge with RunDisney, and I’m excited to share more about it. Let’s dive into details!

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Training for the Wine & Dine 2 Course Challenge

As I have done in the past, I followed Hal Higdon’s plan on the Run With Hal app. Due to various circumstances – kids’ busy schedules, illness, unexpected travel – I wasn’t able to follow the plan as closely as I would have liked. My longest run was only 7 or 8 miles, and 3 of the last 4 weeks leading up to race weekend, I had a cough that turned into a sinus infection and I was unable to run.

Knowing that I was going into this under less than ideal circumstances, I decided to walk the 10k, and do 60/30 run/walk intervals. I had trained with 90/45 intervals for the half marathon, but I wasn’t feeling that physically confident going into it, so I decided to take it easy on myself. This was especially important as I still have a 10 miler remaining in the year, along with 2 half marathons in January 2024!

2023 Wine & Dine Weekend Bib Pickup & Expo

Bib pickup and the RunDisney Expo takes place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex. On Day 1 of the Expo, if you want to shop official RunDisney merchandise, you’ll need to join a virtual queue. It operates similarly to other virtual queues offered by Disney, but you’ll need to be within a certain distance of the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex in order to join, so make sure your GPS is on while attempting to join the queue.

I had a busy day the afternoon of the first day of the Expo, so I didn’t make it until Friday, day two. Usually my dad and I go together, but we had to change up our plans and go separately. I went first, and got there right at opening. I walked right in to grab my bib, then on to the next building to get my shirts. I didn’t really have time to look at the vendors this year, but I did stop and take a couple pictures with PhotoPass!

Next, I zipped through the official RunDisney merchandise area to see if there was anything I wanted. Unfortunately, the shirt I was interested in sold out almost immediately on day one. So I took a couple pictures with PhotoPass and went back home!

The Night Before the 10k & Half

The night before the 10k, I took it easy at home with family, and ate lasagna for dinner (shout-out to Costco frozen lasagna, the bomb!!). I didn’t really need to do any mentally prepping for the 10k, as that’s an easy distance for me, so I just took a melatonin and went to sleep early.

The night before the half, I had leftover lasagna and took a melatonin again. I was able to sleep pretty easily and felt decently rested going into race morning. I showered the night before both races (and as soon as I got home, of course), so in the morning I just woke up, got dressed, and headed out. Each morning I also microwaved my breakfast and ate it in the car – a frozen meal of eggs, cheese, potatoes, and sausage.

What I Wore & Supplies I Carried With Me

If you’re unsure what to carry on race day, here’s a list of what I wore & brought with me! I highly recommend testing out your full gear prior to race day so you know what works and what doesn’t.

• shorts
• shirt
• socks
• shoes
• bib
• sunglasses
• phone
• Shokz earbuds
• vaseline (applied beforehand for chafing)
• ibuprofen
• car keys, ID, credit card
• one water bottle
• one Powerade bottle
• running belt
• That’s It bar
• Clif bar

Wine & Dine 10k Race Experience

The 10k started at Epcot and finished in Epcot. The first 3 miles were outside the parks on surface streets. It went by fairly quickly, especially with walking. Speaking of walking – there were TONS of walkers during the 10k. I got the impression that a lot of people were doing the half marathon the next morning and were trying to save energy.

At about mile 3.5, we made it into Hollywood Studios. It was a quick jaunt through the park, as by mile 4 we were at the parking lot area of Hollywood Studios. My dad & I both had to use the restroom from race start up until now, but there weren’t many port-a-potties on the race course – for half marathons there are long rows of port-a-potties but for this race there were only a couple scattered here and there. We decided to use the bathroom by the Skyliner/Resort bus loop, and the line was pretty long for the women’s side but moved quickly.

Following our bathroom stop, we made our way along the walking path from Hollywood Studios to the Boardwalk. This area can get kind of crowded, but most everyone was moving around the same walking pace, so it wasn’t too bad this time around. By mile 5, we were entering Epcot, and heading towards the front of the park where we exited backstage by Test Track. Just around the corner was the mile 6 marker and then the finish line!

Overall it was a nice, easy race even though we just walked the whole thing. The 10k distance is approachable for a lot of people, and overall it was just a happy race! We saw a lot of characters out on the course, although we don’t ever stop for character pictures (unless the line is short). We did stop for a picture with Tower of Terror, since I try to take pictures with all the park icons when we run.

Wine & Dine Half Marathon Race Experience

The morning of the half marathon, I woke up, got dressed, and microwaved my breakfast as I did for the 10k. We drove to Epcot and got parked, got our bibs on, and started walking towards the race start area. We also met up with a friend of mine that I walked the marathon with earlier this year – it was good seeing her!

My dad & I then made our way over to corral C. The way they handled corrals this year was a bit different. First, the race started in the Epcot parking lot, instead of behind it on the road. So the corrals were set up in the parking lot, and they walked us one by one to the start line. There were a few tight turns involved in the walk to the start line, and with so many people crowding in, it got a bit uncomfortable at times. If you’re uncomfortable in large groups of people, I would suggest staying in the back of your corral! There was a lot more space in the back.

When we started, we decided to do 60:30 intervals (60 seconds running, 30 seconds walking). The first couple miles were backstage around Epcot, and we were inside the park by mile 2. The course wasn’t particularly crowded during this section, and we got some good pics with PhotoPass!

By mile 3 we were out on the Boardwalk, where there were spectators and it was nice to see faces cheering us on. By mile 4 we were about to enter Hollywood Studios. The stretch from mile 3 to 4 was that narrow walkway, but it wasn’t as bad as the last couple races that have run through there. Perhaps because it was early in the race, not as crowded… it just didn’t feel as busy.

By mile 5 we were exiting Hollywood Studios after running through Galaxy’s Edge, Toy Story Land, and Sunset Blvd. Mile 6 had us in front of Coronado Springs Resort and on to Blizzard Beach. There were a lot of spectators in this section and it was nice to have cheering going on!

Mile 7 had us heading up an onramp into direct sunlight. This was a difficult part of the course but everyone was in good spirits. I even saw a runner who had dipped off the course to McDonald’s for a couple of iced teas!

Miles 8 and 9 were flat highway, but there was a lot of entertainment on course to keep us going. We saw characters, DJs, and the course was nice and wide so we could spread out a bit more comfortably than miles 7 & 8. Mile 9 was a particularly difficult one for me – I got hungry, so I had to take a couple extra walking breaks to eat my snack and let it settle in my stomach. We also went on an onramp just before mile 10, around a corner and uphill. We walked a lot of that, to avoid injury and to make sure we could get through the rest of the race without tiring out.

There was a bit more uphill around mile 11 as we headed back into the Epcot parking lot. We looped around backstage Epcot and by mile 12 we were back inside the park. Mile 12 was really tough for me – I felt dizzy and lightheaded, but also felt like I was about to throw up. We walked most of mile 12 while I stabilized myself with water and Powerade, so that we could run through the finish line. We exited the park near Test Track and looped around backstage to mile 13, and the finish line was there! As is tradition, I ran across the finish line and headed to pickup my medals and snack box.

Overall, the half marathon felt really good despite being sick for a few weeks leading up to it. My splits were not where they were when I was marathon training, but my body felt better overall. I did not feel as sore immediately afterwards, and later that afternoon I was literally running upstairs chasing my son around without pain! The only collateral damage I sustained was a bloody toenail (I still can’t figure out why), and I realized that I need new shoes (already taken care of!).

Wine & Dine Post-Race Party

After the race, I went back home, took a shower and napped for a bit. I took it easy most of the day, just relaxed at home with family. I always feel a bit weird after a race, hungry but nothing sounds good – eventually a burger and fries sounded good so that’s what I ended up eating for lunch.

Eventually I got in touch with my dad and we made a plan to meet up at the post-race party, which is included for runners completing the challenge or half marathon. Members of the public can purchase standalone tickets, so if you are running a lesser distance you can purchase tickets!

If you have a party ticket, you can enter the park at 5pm in a specially marked turnstile to receive your wristband. If you have admission to the park via Annual Pass or day ticket, you can pick up your wristband inside the park. I opted to pick up my wristband inside the park despite not entering the park until around 6 – the line was much shorter inside!

My dad had already eaten, and I decided that Katsura Grill was sounding delicious for dinner. So we made our way through the heavy crowds of World Showcase, and on to the Japan pavilion for my dinner. Afterwards, we went on Journey Into Imagination with Figment, Living with the Land, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends.

From there, we went Single Rider on Test Track, and by that point we were ready for dessert. I mobile ordered a chocolate covered s’mores from Karamell-Kuche in Germany, and at this point the park was only open for another 15 minutes! So we hustled back to Germany to pick up the dessert. During the after party, there are a lot of opportunities to meet rare characters! Although I’m not super into characters, I saw that friends from Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs would be out in Germany, so after picking up my dessert we waited in line to meet the characters there.

Epcot Forever went off at 9pm, which we watched from our character waiting area. The characters wouldn’t be out until 10pm on the dot, so we just hung out in Germany for the next hour. We were the third group in line, so once Snow White & Dopey came out, it was pretty fast!

From there, we walked out of World Showcase on the Canada side, and I stopped at a couple photo opportunities on my way out. I was tired, and had real life to get back to the next morning. I was home by 11pm, exhausted after about 20 hours of being awake with only a few cat naps!

Final Thoughts & Future Races

Overall this was a really great race weekend! I thought the changes to the corrals went pretty smoothly overall, and the courses were nice as well. The after hours party was a lot of fun, although I wish that I could have gotten more rest so that I could have spent more time at the park.

My next races include:

• Space Force 10 Miler
• WDW Half Marathon
• DLR Half Marathon
• ?

I plan to sign up for next year’s Wine & Dine Half Marathon, possibly the challenge depending on the theme! See you on the race course!