Oh boy! It's time for the Disneyland runDisney Kids Races!
Coming back to Disneyland after all this time and seeing how much the kids have grown really reminds me of how much time has passed!
Alli and Ian did the Kids Races here the last time it was offered in 2017. They've grown so much since then! And I thought they had grown so much between 2016 and 2017! Alli was doing the diaper dash (crawl) then!
These runDisney races start so early in the morning! The 5k, 10k, and half marathon all have 5am start times... So we were up bright and early to get started.
We're liking the hotel Theresa found for us on this trip. It's actually within walking distance of the starting line... Kids, we're walking 1.7 miles so you can get to your 300 meter race!
Wow! The police have horses here!
This way to the race corrals!
During the walk we were talking about the different races.
Theresa - People definitely get swept off the course for being too slow.
Alli - <incredulously> THE KIDS RACE?!?
Theresa - Haha, no, not that one.
Once we arrived, we hopped in line for security.
Which looked long, but ended up taking less than 10 minutes.
There's the Finish Line! We'll be racing there shortly!
Online there's a map of the whole area.
Let's go see the kids activity area! We entered under the giant balloon arch.
DJ Tetris is spinning tunes while we all wait for the races to start.
Everyone joined him in the Cupid Shuffle, dancing around.
The kids races are for all different ages. The younger kids have shorter races.
So while they do their thing, here's some more activities!
There's music playing here on the speakers that's super loud. Alli is particularly sensitive to such things. Keep closing up those ears and prevent hearing loss. They did play fun sounds like Phineas and Ferb and other young Disney hits.
They even let me give the balance beam a try! I did it, but I was a little hesitant to step in the middle, so I hopped from joint to joint.
Time for an obstacle course.
Ian said he misses going to the Challenge Trails at Disney California Adventure.
Ian - Am I too big for the ziplines?
Let me check. Between 42 inches and 63 inches. You're still good!
Alli's turn. I think it's great that they have this activity section available to keep the kids busy while they are waiting.
The 200m kids are about to go, so we've still got time. Ian was draining them in the center hoop from downtown.
Nice shooting buddy!
And squeezed into the next one.
The 200m kids are finishing up! Time to start lining up for our 300m race!
All the kids gathered by the entrance.
Looking good Alli!
You're going to crush this race!
It was announced that the kids could either run alone, or with a parent if they chose. Both opted to have us running along with them.
Theresa hadn't planned on that! She's a weight lifter now! Not a runner! She's going to run with Alli, while I've got Ian.
You did awesome!
Where's Theresa and Alli?
They're starting their race right behind us.
Go girls!
Loving their run, holding hands.
Almost to that finish line.
In a surprising move, Theresa even had her pause for a picture before the finish line.
Great finish!
Excellent work!
Time to get that medal!
Sweet!
A closer look.
Like all the kids race medals, they are rubber.
Ian remembers the previous snack boxes, filled with chips, cheese, apple sauce, and other treats. He was a little disappointed this was just bottled water and a banana. He doesn't even like bananas.
Show me those medals.
Proud of you guys!
Now after completing that 0.3k race, lets walk the 2.7k back to the hotel room!
Where we spent the rest of the morning watching Air Bud movies!
Theresa and Alli got their groove on. Alli loves to floss. Where'd you learn that?
We caught them taking a selfie.
Some of Theresa's favorite photos are from Ian's past Disney kids race.
Looks like she's recreating some of those photos again.
So as not to overly crowd the course, kids are released in waves. There's no real overall winner for this, it's just about having a fun time while doing it.
But when they said Go! I was expecting a job, but Ian took off in a sprint! We're dodging people left and right, but we're passing them all!
Congratulations Ian!
Would we do it again?
Absolutely!
The Kids Race is a surprisingly affordable event at only $35! For that you get a tech-shirt, medal, bib, refreshments, and more. The only difficulty is getting signed up before it sells out. The 5k, by comparison costs $109.
We're starting to age out of the kids races, though there were definitely some kids running who were older than 10, but it's been a lot of fun while we've been able to do them.
CONGRATULATIONS, Ian & Alli!!!...GREAT job on doing the runDisney Kids Races (although you did "many" of them just getting to the actual race, and then some more coming back to the hotel :-) ) Ian was enjoying his sprint! Those medals & lanyards are sooooooooooo cute! Wonderful idea to have the Activity Zones, since kids would get antsy just standing around...Ian & Alli had so much energy to do both the activities and the long "pre-race" and then the actual race (all that biking and walking trained/prepared them well). Awww...cute flashback montage of Theresa and Ian in the earlier Kids Races. Had to chuckle when Theresa had to reassure Alli there wouldn't be any "sweeps" during the Kids Races :-) EOM
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