Announcer: Rhode Runner, you haven’t tackled another state in a while. What are you doing next?
Rhode Runner: I’m going to Disney World!
That’s right, folks. My next out-of-state race is going to be in Florida. I love Disney, so I knew I wanted to do a Disney race along this journey. Not only is this going to be a Disney race, but the theme is my all-time favorite movie: Star Wars! The official name of the event is the Star Wars™ Half Marathon – The Dark Side, which runs from April 14-17. The 5K race I am participating in is going to be Friday, April 15. I have done races that began mid-morning, and a race that began at 1:50am. This Star Wars race is going to begin at a new time for me – 6:00am. I think I prefer the 1:50am start. But I’m sure the energy is going to be incredible, and I will be wide awake and wired.
There are going to be different things to do the whole weekend. I believe there is an expo the day before the 5k race, where I pick up my bib number and swag bag, and there will be several vendors there. This should be interesting.
I will be arriving in Florida earlier in the week – specifically, on my mom’s birthday. My parents live about 45 minutes away from Disney, so I will be staying at their place. But, I’m pretty sure that I should stay at a place closer to the parks the night before the race. My mom’s birthday is bittersweet for her. My grandfather, her father, died on her birthday 4 years ago. So, this should lift her spirits a bit.
This race may be a little challenging for me. I’ve run in a crowded race before, and didn’t care for it. Everybody was all squished together for about 1/4 to 1/2 mile before the crowd started to spread out. I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and assume that there are going to be even more people at this Disney race. And from what I hear, I think there are spots along the race where you can stop and take pictures with characters. I’m thinking that I’m not going to set an personal records in this race, but it will be fun.
Noah’s Light Foundation
The most important thing about this race is the charity I am raising money for: Noah’s Light Foundation. Their mission is to cure childhood brain cancer. Noah was born on September 19, 2003. 2 days before Halloween in 2009, the brain cancer tumor was discovered. Noah died on May 29, 2012 at the age of 10. Every day in the United States, nearly a dozen children are diagnosed with brain and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors. That is just crazy and unacceptable!
The people at Noah’s Light Foundation are very cool and nice, and they are working for a great cause.
So please join me in helping Noah’s Light Foundation fight this awful disease, by clicking on the logo below. They accept credit cards PayPal and checks. Thank you so much.
I’ll see you out on the Rhode!
[twitter-follow screen_name=’TheRhodeRunner’ show_count=’yes’ text_color=’00ccff’]
