Neverland Family 5K

Guess who is officially running a Disneyland 5k?!!

I have been openly talking about running a Disney Marathon for quite some time now.. I jokingly mentioned it to Jayson a few years ago, and then we never really talked about it much after that. I'm not much of a runner, but I came up with the theory that being inside Disneyland will encourage me to run (since I practically run through the park when we visit anyway).  Lately I've been into watching YouTube vloggers and one guy in particular used to be a Disney World Cast Member, so he travels to all of the Disney parks and vlogs his vacations. He has done a few of the Disney World Marathons and did a Disneyland Marathon last year. Ever since I first watched that video, it kept the runDisney program on my mind. 

I did some research on a few of the runs, and the one that interested me the most was the Disney Princess Marathon because that race in particular was for a charity event, but it was all the way in Florida at Walt Disney World, and cost almost $400 bucks just for one person to race. I was really discouraged after that because after paying for air fair, a hotel that's NOT at the resort (because its ridiculously expensive to stay at the resort), probably needing a rental car, paying for parking, and THEN paying for registration, it would easily cost us a couple thousand dollars. If I'm going to spend a few thousand just to run 26 miles (that's how long a marathon is, right?) then we had better be visiting W.D.W.! But we don't have the money to do that... 

So I let my dream of running at Disneyland just remain a dream. And then I thought that once Jayson and I have kids, it's going to be practically impossible for me to ever have a chance at running again until after they are old enough to stand around and wait for mom to finish a run. Plus, who wants to wake their kids up at 3:00am and convince them to just STAND inside Disneyland and not do anything? Then I came to the conclusion that this is probably my one and only chance to do this before we have kids. 

I did some research, and yet again came across that $400 price tag, just for one person to race, even at Disneyland. My heart sank.. If I'm going to spend $400 to run, half of that money could be used for 2 park-hopper tickets! I did some more research, and then I came across the Neverland Family 5K! 

Now let me explain exactly why I am so thrilled about this.. 

When I first found out about the runDisney program, it immediately climbed its way to the top of my bucket list. But there was just one problem. I am not a runner.. I have never been. Yes, I'm a 5th degree black belt and should have the stamina of a horse, but I have never, ever, been able to run. I don't have asthma, I don't have any medical problems, I just have never been able to run. I get light headed pretty easily, and I've blacked out a time or two after running just a mile at school. The last time I ran a mile was in high school- my sophomore year. If I remember correctly, my fastest mile time was 8 or 9 minutes. I ran because I had a grade that needed to be raised, and who wants to go home to their parents and tell them that of all the classes they take, they fail physical education? But I wouldn't let this crush my dream.. 

I told Jayson about a month ago that I wanted to do the run, and that I was going to do it, even if I had to do it alone. I was going to cross this event off my bucket list, even if it killed me. I got an email reminder this morning saying that registration was already 65% full and I knew that my time to register was running out. I told Jayson about the email, and he immediately responded with "I'll run it with you." My heart literally stopped. Jayson hasn't ran since he played football in high school either, and both of our stamina has dropped tremendously since we graduated.  Before I had time to send him a response, he texted me back and said "Go ahead and sign up." My heart was pounding. I thought to myself "is this really happening?!" 

As I clicked on the registration forms, filled them out, I paused before pressing the submit button and texted Jayson again, making sure that I wasn't just dreaming up the fact that he told me to sign up. When he reassured me that I wasn't dreaming, I pressed the submit button...

When this popped up on my screen, I was literally in tears. I just stared at my screen for a few minutes. I couldn't believe I had finally signed up for a run! The Neverland Family Run is only 3 miles, but it's a more realistic run for me.. 

I'm still taking it all in. I'm still crying about it too, in a good way. My dream is finally coming true. And not only am I running in Disneyland, I'm running with my husband. I can't even begin to tell you how much it means to me to be married to a man who is so supportive of my goals and dreams. He doesn't even like to run anymore, and he's doing it anyway. He's doing it for me. He's doing it with me. All because it makes me happy. I am so blessed.. 

The run is at 5:45am on Friday, January 17th, 2014