Race Report: 2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon

Start of the 2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon. My mom and wife are in the front!

For the second year in a row I competed on a coed team at the Tinker Bell Half Marathon with my mom. Even though this is a women's themed event a handful of guys run it too. This year there were 1,384 men that finished the race including Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings, The Goonies, and Rudy fame. Since this is a women's race, the men let the women go first and have to start in corral C. Well, at least most of us do. Unfortunately there are a few men who feel the need to cheat by sneaking into earlier corrals. 

Sean Astin joins the rest of the men in corral C. I'm on the far left.

The first mile is run outside the parks going down Disneyland Dr., Ball Rd., and Harbor Blvd. before entering Disney California Adventure. Inside DCA we ran though Paradise Pier, Cars Land,  Hollywood Land and Grizzly Peak before exiting the side gate in Condor Flats.

From there we ran over to Disneyland! We cruised down Main Street where Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, and Tinker Bell cheered us on. From there we visited Tomorrowland, Toon Town, and Fantasyland. We exited Fantasyland through Sleeping Beauty's castle and proceeded to Frontierland, past the pirates outside Pirates of the Caribbean in New Orleans Square and then went backstage in Critter Country.  

2013 Tinker Bell Half Marathon course map.

Shortly after the 5 mile mark we exited Disneyland and headed into Downtown Disney. At the end of Downtown Disney is the Disneyland Hotel and also the stronghold of the ladies of the Red Hat Society. For the second year in a row these awesome ladies were out in force to cheer on the runners. Many people consider this one of the highlights of the race.

After leaving Disney's property it was time to cruise the streets of Anaheim. I'm afraid that my race fell apart here. After the California International Marathon in early December I took most of that month off from running and it showed. I was able to maintain my pace for the most part but I got passed by a couple men. I really like the route that this race takes through Anaheim much better than the Disneyland Half Marathon. Running through downtown and the residential areas is a lot more pleasant than some of the industrial areas we run through in the Disneyland Half.

A little after 11 and a half miles we returned to Disney property and ran along the backside of DCA. Unfortunately I was passed by a couple more men in the last mile and a half of the race. This should have put me in 11th place of men. Unfortunately one of the guys that I mentioned earlier that crashed an earlier corral came in before me placing me in 12th place of men. Not only did this guy cheat by sneaking into corral B, he also was the first man to cross the finish line because of it! Luckily he wasn't the fastest overall and fell to 6th place.

Ultimately it doesn't matter because there aren't any awards for men, but it still bothers me that this guy beat me. By sneaking into an earlier corral he had a huge advantage over the rest of the men because he had a lot less runners to maneuver around.

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Medals

At the end I'm happy with my results. I finished in 1:28:07 which is my second fastest half marathon. Considering the handicap of starting in corral C I think I could set a new half PR later this year. Team Christopher Robin finished in 15th place out of 302 coed teams! I finished in 15th place overall and was the 12th man to come in. I would have finished second in my age group if they were any for this race.