Step into the enchanting realm of Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend with your guide, Coach Christine, and capture the magic that unfolds when running meets fairy tale dreams. This episode is a royal banquet of stories and advice featuring:
Our journey doesn't stop at the starting line; we navigate the practical path to conquering Disney's delightful but demanding courses. From dodging the infamous balloon ladies to making the most of character stops for incredible photos, we're dishing out insider tips that guarantee your runDisney adventure is sprinkled with pixie dust.
Special Springtime Surprise Giveaway:
Enter our Springtime Surprise Giveaway to win exclusive prizes, including a Springtime Surprise challenge bib and Flok Sportswear gift cards. Participate by following @floksportwear and @timeforbrunchpodcast on Instagram, liking, reposting, and tagging a friend.
Register here.
As a thank you for entering the contest, each participant will receive our Ultimate runDisney Challenge Guide. This 50+ page guide is packed with everything you need to know for a spectacular race weekend, from a comprehensive packing checklist to tailored training plans.
Whether you're a first-timer eager to learn the ropes or a seasoned runner looking for extra magic, this episode is your go-to guide for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. Lace up your shoes, adjust your tiara, and let's embark on this magical journey together.
Join the newsletter list for updates, special offers, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
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Join the Brunch community on Facebook or follow us on Instagram.
Step into the enchanting realm of Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend with your guide, Coach Christine, and capture the magic that unfolds when running meets fairy tale dreams. This episode is a royal banquet of stories and advice featuring:
Our journey doesn't stop at the starting line; we navigate the practical path to conquering Disney's delightful but demanding courses. From dodging the infamous balloon ladies to making the most of character stops for incredible photos, we're dishing out insider tips that guarantee your runDisney adventure is sprinkled with pixie dust.
Special Springtime Surprise Giveaway:
Enter our Springtime Surprise Giveaway to win exclusive prizes, including a Springtime Surprise challenge bib and Flok Sportswear gift cards. Participate by following @floksportwear and @timeforbrunchpodcast on Instagram, liking, reposting, and tagging a friend.
Register here.
As a thank you for entering the contest, each participant will receive our Ultimate runDisney Challenge Guide. This 50+ page guide is packed with everything you need to know for a spectacular race weekend, from a comprehensive packing checklist to tailored training plans.
Whether you're a first-timer eager to learn the ropes or a seasoned runner looking for extra magic, this episode is your go-to guide for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. Lace up your shoes, adjust your tiara, and let's embark on this magical journey together.
Join the newsletter list for updates, special offers, and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.
Want to become a member of Time for Brunch+ to show your support of the show? Join here.
Join the Brunch community on Facebook or follow us on Instagram.
Welcome to a very special edition of Time for Brunch, your ultimate guide to the enchanting world of run. Disney's Princess Half Marathon Weekend. Hello, I'm your host, coach Christine, and I'm here to help sprinkle a little bit of pixie dust on all of those magical miles and help you wear your tiara with pride, because today we're diving deep into the heart of what makes the Princess Half Marathon Weekend not just a race but an incredibly magical experience. So, whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned runner, we have gathered an incredible lineup of guests that are here to share their stories, their inspiration, tips and tricks of making the most of this unforgettable weekend. You're going to hear from Juliana Dellum, a perfect princess with a passion that shines as brightly as her collection of medals. Dw Birch joins us to share how authenticity and joy can transform your race experience and absolutely advocate to the world to embrace who you are. Followed by Kelly Intresand, the founders of the Independent Princesses Facebook group, who've created a community of support for solo and seasoned runners alike. And finally we'll have Jocelyn Henderson, aka Mom Runs Dis, all sharing how running at Disney has become part of their magical day-to-day life and something they look forward to has a little bit of extra special. That's not it, though.
Speaker 1:Before we dive into the episode, it is absolutely important that I let you know that you have a chance to be entered into win the springtime surprise giveaway that we are doing in collaboration with Block Sportswear. So you're going to enter for a chance to win a springtime surprise challenge bib, which includes the 5K, the 10K and the 10 miler, and, of course, that really special Ohana challenge medal with a $150 gift card for the grand prize winner. We'll have a runner-up winner who will win a 5K springtime surprise bib, of course, for this 2024 year, along with a $100 gift card to Block Sportswear, adding a little bit of extra magic to your running gear. You're going to follow at Block Sportswear and at Time for Brunch podcast on Instagram, like the post repost in tag a friend to enter. Each time you tag a friend or your Ohana into this contest, you will have an extra entry into the drawing. Plus, if you register the link in our bio for an extra sprinkle of magic, you'll have five extra entries and, as a special bonus, everyone who enters through the magic link will also receive our ultimate run Disney challenge guide 50 plus page treasure trove of everything you need for spectacular race weekends. That is quite a bit right, and we're just getting started.
Speaker 1:So, friends, join me in welcoming our first guest to the brunch table. I cannot wait to introduce you to a Juliana Dullum known among us as a perfect princess. She's graced every princess weekend since its inception with her presence, perseverance and passion. Juliana's insights are not just about running. They're about embracing every step of this magical journey. So, lace up your shoes, adjust your crowns and let's welcome Juliana to share her royal road to run Disney success. Welcome, juliana, pull up a seat and, friend, let's go ahead and let people know a little bit more about you and things that they should know. Which is Juliana's life outside of running isn't just vibrant and it's not just busy. She's the doting grandmother, a wonderful wife and mother whose passion for running paints the central Florida landscape with her strides. Truly, friends. She's known all throughout central Florida, here, from coast to coast. Juliana is an inspiration to many, embodying the spirit of perseverance, joy and the power of setting and achieving our goals. Okay, juliana, we have princess coming up and you are a perfect princess. What does that mean?
Speaker 2:It means that I have participated in every single princess half marathon since, I believe, 2009, when that race initiated. So I've done every single year, which, you're correct it is. This year will be the 16th year, if you don't count COVID, when they went to virtual. So I did do the virtual because I was not going to lose that title, but they sort of just let it go. So technically it's the 17th year, but it's how did this come to be?
Speaker 1:I mean, I want to first learn a lot about, like what this experience has been, to do this consistently year after year, because I have to think there's been some things in life that have made it a little difficult. But how did you get into this run Disney princess weekend when it first came out? Where you like, I love Disney. I have to make this happen. Have you been running for a while? How did this all come to be?
Speaker 2:Well, I've not been running for a while, compared to a lot of my other running friends. I did not start running until I was 59, which was 2008, ish. I was working at the YMCA and some girls said, hey, let's do a 5k. And, trust me, I don't even know if I made it through that 5k, but we did a Disney 5k, followed by what they had called at the time mini runs the world, and it was a 15k. So it was my first Disney longer distance and I did okay, but I didn't do as well as I thought I could do it by a train. So I said, okay, let's do it next year.
Speaker 2:Well, the following year they didn't have it. It had changed to a half marathon. So I said why not? Let's do it. And not only was it the first Disney princess half marathon, it was my first half marathon, so it's always kind of had a special place in my heart and I that first year just ran because I didn't know what else you were supposed to do and I saw all these people having fun. So I said next year I'm going to run, but I want pictures with the characters that I want girls running with me. But it was just so motivating and inspiring, and I just have done it ever since.
Speaker 1:So it's hard to have change for my goodness.
Speaker 2:A lot like the first year. I did that half marathon and I'm pretty sure it was 2009. There were 525 hundred runners.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:And we got to pick which princesses bib we wanted to wear and we had all sorts of choices we could make and then as the years went on, obviously more people got it. I think around year five they added the fairy tale challenge where you could do the five pay and the half marathon, and I think year five there were maybe 5000 runners. Year 10, we got a perfect princess sash and a perfect princess crown from Run Disney and I think that year there might have been 10,000 runners and I think last year, for the 15th anniversary, there were probably 30,000 runners. So lots of changes.
Speaker 1:I mean. Well, I feel like the sport of running has grown exponentially as well, but Disney has now become known as like the place for people to tackle a bucket list item, especially if they're newer at running.
Speaker 2:Well, you either love Disney or you don't. And I love Disney. I love the Disney runs. Now, I don't run it for time. I mean, it's not like I don't try to run it well, but if you're going to pay the price for a Disney race in today's times, you want to enjoy the experience of a Disney race and it's not about a PR, although it can be.
Speaker 2:I know people that do it. You know I go in with a set list of characters that I will stand. It doesn't matter how long to get my picture with.
Speaker 1:OK, well, I want to uncover all this First. We have to take it back to that very first Run, Disney half marathon. And which bib did you pick?
Speaker 2:I picked Belle because it was my daughter's favorite and that first year I just ran nonstop, I walked through the water stations or grabbed water. But the only character pictures I had were at the very end and it was with my other friends, and I was just like, wow, I did a half marathon. I'm so excited. And then I saw all the pictures on Facebook. I'm like oh, oh, I didn't get that. I didn't see that. What am I doing wrong?
Speaker 1:I love how you were there and still had fear of missing out, like you were already experiencing FOMO even though you were already there. Ok, do you have a favorite princess?
Speaker 2:No, not really. I find that, especially with my granddaughter now, I tend to try to like or lean towards her favorites as the newer movies are coming out. I love Mulan, I love Enkanto, so whether Arabelle is a princess or not really a princess, I love her. I love Ariel. I mean I like the Disney live performance, so every year it can change, depending what's in what the theme is.
Speaker 1:Do you have a favorite princess, weekend medal or experience? Is it easy? I mean, how do you even pick friends for you guys that don't know? So we're looking back at Juliana's background where she's got three bazillion medals, Disney and Space Coast.
Speaker 2:But these first five years we just got tiaras. After year five they started giving us an extra lanyard so that it said perfect princess. Fifth year anniversary, 10 year anniversary. And then, I believe, after 10 years, we got a perfect lanyard that said perfect princess. So it's hard. All my bling has a special place in my heart. I will never know.
Speaker 1:OK, so let's talk about how did you do it for this long? How have you? Because I'm assuming with most runners, we've experienced some niggles. I don't want to say the I word, but occasionally we're sidelined with maybe needing to do some rehab or sickness, illness, family things. How did this all play into it?
Speaker 2:You know, I think someone up above is really looking out for me I, as a runner older runner as a general rule I don't run for time. My goal is to be running when I'm 90 years old. So if that means I have to run a 15 minute mile, I will. You know, I'm not that slow, but I'm not one of my faster runner friends either.
Speaker 2:But I really listen to my body, I fuel it, I hydrate it, and there have been some races where I ran with a pregnant girlfriend. She was six months pregnant, so obviously you have to sign up a year in advance. She didn't know she was going to be pregnant and I might have walked six of the 13 miles with her. But when Princess happens and I think last count there were maybe 235 of us perfects still, you know, and we have our own little Facebook group and they're like oh, I haven't been training, but I'm going to go and do what I have to do to maintain my title. And they are pretty generous with the times. You just have to watch out for the balloon, ladies, and you know. So you do what you got to do if you want to maintain your title.
Speaker 1:Ok. So for somebody who maybe is just embarking into the world of run Disney and all they know is that they love Disney, they love Princesses, they want to maybe potentially make this happen for themselves, or maybe even joining us this year for their first one. What are some words of advice you would have that they should take into consideration going into that weekend?
Speaker 2:Going into that weekend. If they've already registered, I would really try to make sure that you have run. Disney gives you the opportunity or you have to put in an estimated finish time and if you want to start in one of the earlier corrals, you have to prove what that time is. It doesn't have to be for a 5K or for a 10K, because they try to line you up based on your performance. So if you can do a 10K, put that finish time in. You might get into a corral that's like, say, d or E, as opposed to starting all the way back in L or M. What that does is it gives you more time to the back of the pack because you just have to finish before the balloon ladies, which could be, I think in the beginning you had five minutes almost in between corrals and now there's maybe only one or two. But if you start in corral D, you might have a 10 to 15 minute lead over where those balloon ladies start, because they don't start until the very end. They do require you to maintain a 16 minute per mile pace, which, if you got to walk, walk. So if you're going to do the experience and I would strongly suggest it, I mean, if you're going to do a Disney race and it's your first one, I wouldn't try to go out and PR it.
Speaker 2:I would try to stop at every character. Stop that you want to, or can we never know who the characters are going to be? So I will go in with three lists, basically. One is I'm going to stop no matter how long the line is, and if you get those earlier corrals, the lines aren't as long. Number two list is okay, I will stop for this particular character if the line isn't too long. And then my third list is I really want this character, but if the line is even by people in it, it's not worth stopping. I'll get them somewhere. They do always have characters at the end of the race after you finish. Those lines are long as well, but you can stand in those as long as you want to while you recover. So if you're going to pay the Disney price and they're not cheap, I mean, you know, I don't know if I'm allowed to mention pricing, but yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:I've never been on a run. Disney registration knows they are expensive.
Speaker 2:My first princess, I think I paid $50. And now to register which we do get a link that allows us to register before it actually opens, because that was another nightmare. I think before year 10, we didn't get a special link. So it was like, oh my gosh, we had 10 computers open to make sure we got in to main our perfect status. So if you're doing that, then you need to make sure that you want to experience the fun. I think this year it was like $250, so 150, I'm sorry, if you do the challenges they can be up over $200. So if you're going to spend that much money on a half marathon, enjoy it, have fun, have the Disney experience, because it is an amazing experience. I love it. I'm totally Disney all the way through and through.
Speaker 1:So so I definitely want to touch more about run Disney weekend, but also so that everybody does know Juliana does know her stuff when it comes to racing. Because you've tackled the 50 states, traveled internationally, I mean you've got quite a racing underneath your belt, so it's not like you just have stayed in the run Disney world.
Speaker 1:So for her to say that it's an extraordinary experience truly it really is a huge testament to how incredible of an experience it is For the folks that maybe are tackling this as their very first one. Maybe they've done some small hometown races. What are some things that they should keep in mind? Because for me, the first thing that comes into mind is it even struck to the expo. I think that if you haven't experienced a larger race, the expo can be overwhelming to get started with.
Speaker 2:And now more than ever the expo starts. I believe it's Thursday, because if you're doing the challenge, you start running on Friday, so you want to make sure you get there early enough. They usually list what items will be available. If you have the opportunity and there's something you really want, pre-order it. Don't think that it's going to be there when you get to the expo, because unfortunately there are people who go into the expo and they just spend thousands of dollars and then resell it on eBay for more money. Somebody has tried to combat that somewhat. They give you an opportunity to put what time you think you're going to be to the expo and they are trying to let the runners have a more designated time. But they don't always make enough merchandise. You have to wonder sometimes, if this sells out so fast, why isn't there more? Who's their marketing person? Who's their merchandising person? Because I would make as much of it as possible to capitalize, because it's not cheap either. So if there is something you want, try to get it ahead of time.
Speaker 1:I'm hearing friends that this is the time for you to maybe break out the piggy bank because you're going to need your extra penny. You are, is that? Expo or the entire weekend. We're there for the weekend. Do you suggest people stay on property? Do you stay off property at this point? I know again, you're a Central Florida native. I've moved to.
Speaker 2:Tampa. So I'm no longer living in Orlando, but to me I have done both when I've stayed with friends and as a Florida resident. You can get decent rates. If you don't have a place to stay locally, you might want to. You don't gain any time by staying on property. One of the years we stayed at All-Star Resort, we still had to be in line. We still have to be in line for the bus to take us to the race by 3 am. I can leave my home in Tampa at 3.30 and still get there in time.
Speaker 2:Now you wanna make sure you follow the guidelines on how they're having traffic flow in, because it will change depending on construction and what's going on. Your runner's guide, which is now digital, is your best friend because it will answer any questions you might have. I always do a backdrop because you can leave it there and then you have what you need. There are people seriously, there are perfect princesses who carry their 15 medals with them when they're running so they can get a picture at the finish line with all 15 princesses. I'm not that, but I might put it in my checked bag and then haul it out when I go to the photo opportunities at the end of the race. Yeah, I can't even fathom that.
Speaker 1:That's like another at least 30 pounds worth of, oh my, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Good, good for them, Exactly good for them. Well, not even now, but I don't want them getting scratched all up in a bag or whatever.
Speaker 1:I just don't wanna be weighed down.
Speaker 5:I don't even wanna carry a bottle of water.
Speaker 1:But hey, again, what floats your boat and that's the beautiful thing about running is that it's such a unique experience to all. So knowing yourself is very important and then doing whatever's gonna make you comfortable for those 13.1-month miles, Okay. So I love that you gave that, because you're probably the first person who's actually talked about that with Runn Disney, and I think that is a big misconception. Folks think that if they stand on property, they're going to have a huge gain of being not having to get up as early.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I 100% agree. I think that staying on property where maybe a lot of the things that come into play that really are helpful is post the races and, if you're doing, any of the experiences of going to the theme parks.
Speaker 2:And I mean having someone, the buses, take you there. But I know people for Marathon Weekend, which I've done a few times, and their bus was late to the start line because of traffic, because of everything else. So, even if you are staying on property, don't think you can catch that last bus and be home free, because walking to your corral is still a 20 or 30 minute walk. After you get through security check, after you get through bag check, after you get through the porta-potties which, I might add, if it is your first run Disney race don't go to the first porta-potties. They have them near your corral. The lines at the first porta-potties are way longer than in the corral. You don't have to wait. So just little things like that that you won't know if it's your first race.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so tell me. That's a great point, and I know lots of folks like to get into the corrals early. What's your morning? Like? Flow, Like, do you have a specific? Do you have a ritual? Do you have some suggestions? Is it kind of just very according to year?
Speaker 2:No, and I've gotten to where I like staying at home because I can sleep in my own bed. I get a good night's sleep because you're in your corrals so early For a half marathon. I'm not a big breakfast eater before I run because, as you know, we run so early in the morning in Florida to avoid the heat, but I will take whether it be an oatmeal muffin or peanut butter on a rice cake. I might take that to eat while I'm standing in the corrals, because you could be standing in your corral for a good 30, 45 minutes Before you actually start moving, which is another thing.
Speaker 2:Misconception Florida is always hot. My first Disney marathon it was 32 degrees and we were freezing. So bring clothes that you're not gonna care if you shed and throw to the side if you don't wanna wrap it around your waist. A lot of people will bring old towels and just sit on them or wrap themselves around them because even if it is warm, you're starting the race by 5 am, 4 o'clock, you're sitting in that corral and you might get chilled, or yeah.
Speaker 1:So bring creature comforts to that corral, knowing that it has to be stuff that you're okay with leaving behind because you don't wanna care Unless, if you wanna be like a he, has to say unless you wanna be one of the perfect princesses and carry your 15 pounds worth of stuff with you, then no one's gonna tell you that you can't.
Speaker 1:But take into consideration for your first race. That may not be what you want to achieve. I love how you're talking about all the things for race day, because I think that's so important in being comfortable and enjoying yourself there and not to necessarily take things kind of prepare for everything, because, again, florida weather can be very, very drastically different from day to day, or even hour to hour.
Speaker 2:Hour to hour exactly.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about the folks that are maybe listening and they're thinking okay, I didn't sign up this year for whatever reason maybe I'm just new to the community or I wasn't able to get in, but I wanna make this happen. What would you suggest folks do regarding their training so that they feel as good as possible for race weekend?
Speaker 2:If they're brand new, I would say start with walking. And if you're a slow walker I mean I'm a pretty quick walker, like when I walk on my treadmill I set my treadmill to 4.0, sometimes higher, but that's a 15 minute pace. So if you can do a 15 minute pace, then you beat the balloon. Ladies, the issue is, if you're doing a 15 minute pace, you might not have the time to stop for characters, but start with walking and then jog a little bit in between. The good thing about if you are stopping for characters, it's like you're giving your heart rate a chance to rest.
Speaker 2:My first year, without stopping at all, I think I was at like a 2.10. The second year I did it. I said I'm stopping and I might have stopped for seven characters, but I was only at a 2.12. But it was because while I was waiting for my pictures, my heart rate was recovering. I was getting a little bit of resting, kind of like a walk run and you can run faster when you're running.
Speaker 2:So start with walking, add some running jogs in there and eventually, as long as you're at that 16 minute pace, you're gonna do it and they're pretty good. There are bikes that come along and say the ladies are right behind you, they've gotten now to where they'll track. The bikers wear a bib number and people will, on the trackers now, track them so they know exactly where they're at. Okay, do I have time to stop here? Do I have time to stop here? I mean, you learn those little things as you're doing it, but if you've never done it, if you can maintain a 16 minute pace walking, then you will be okay. You just might not get the full experience that you want.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, I think that that's what's beautiful, though. Is it because, then, if it's your first experience like that, you always have that opportunity?
Speaker 1:to come back and tackle it again and maybe look at improving and you've seen it, yes, exactly, especially when you're first new. Yeah, you'll have big improvements just from staying consistent. I think that's a really big one as well is taking into consideration when we are tackling these really big goals for ourselves to also think about, maybe before and after, not just the during, because, like you mentioned, you may be on your feet for a couple of hours beforehand, or you may be on your feet afterwards for a couple of hours.
Speaker 1:So just taking that into consideration throughout that process, but knowing I love how you're so encouraging you can do it absolutely. So let's get into a little bit more about maybe your favorite run Disney post experiences. Do you have a go-to favorite treat?
Speaker 2:Or, you know, I don't have a favorite treat only because I'm gluten and dairy free, so a lot of what they have there isn't anything that I would eat anyway. To me it's rewarding to stand and get my picture taken with every single princess and they interact with you. I mean I have the cutest pictures. I'm like a 60 year old woman, like fangirling over Snow White or Pocahontas, I mean, and those will last a lifetime. You know, mickey and Minnie, it's like oh, there they are, you're acting like a little kid, but a lot of people like their champagne at the end, their beer at the end.
Speaker 1:It is. It's very special. I think the cast members are incredible because, again, we're getting up early as runners with cast members, where they're usually two to three hours even before. Yes.
Speaker 2:And the volunteers. The volunteers are amazing as well.
Speaker 1:No, the entire run community, but also the run Disney community is a little extra sparkly.
Speaker 2:The one other thing with the photo ops that a new runner might not know is if you carry your phone, they have a desig actually two or three designated Disney personnel that will hold your camera and take the picture for you. So you don't have to worry about selfies, or a lot of people will purchase the photo passes ahead of time. They can be expensive for a one day, so if you're doing a marathon weekend or the princess challenge but there are also people if you join a Disney Facebook group I don't have an annual Disney pass, but there are people who will say if you donate to my charity, I will add you to my photo pass and they give you the photos for that. And I mean they take a lot of pictures. I mean I've had races where I've gotten as many as like 50 photos.
Speaker 1:Let's talk about a photo pass because actually I think that's really important when you are doing a race like this and you're spending this much money, regardless of whether or not you're getting your photo pass through right through Disney or through a charity runner or, it looks like run. Disney is gonna be including it in their new upcoming season, which is phenomenal, yeah, so that's so super exciting.
Speaker 1:I don't know for all of them, but it seems to be the case. So what would you suggest for folks with? How do they get the best pictures possible? Because I've seen some of yours, especially in that castle. I feel like you're a pro. Let us know. What should we be looking for? What do we need to do so we can capture these incredible memories there's?
Speaker 2:always a sign ahead of time that says photo photographer ahead. So move toward the right or toward the left, because they're usually on both sides. You gotta be aware of the people around you, though I've actually had someone try to do one of those jumping photos, which I can't do. I haven't tried, but they've actually almost fallen on top of another runner. So be courteous of the runners.
Speaker 2:There is a place right in front of the castle where you don't have to be running to get in the photo and they'll take as many of you as you want. So that's where you wanna do your leap shot. Do your leap shot. If you don't, half the time I look like I'm dying in my end of the race pictures, but those are the ones I don't show anybody. They take a lot. So just if you see them and that's the beauty of the photo pass, because you can pick through them I mean you might have 60 pictures and 40 of them are good.
Speaker 2:I mean I've done races where I've paid ahead of time for the photo pass and I maybe got three pictures. It's even yeah, yeah, and they look like yeah, yeah, no, yeah. So I do feel like Run Disney does it well and maybe that's why I'm such a big fan. I don't know, some people don't care about pictures, but if you want that experience and my granddaughter, gigi, who did you get your picture with this time? And I sometimes will ask her okay, if they're there, who do you want me to get a picture with? So it's about having the fun and experiencing Disney the way they want you to experience it.
Speaker 1:Exactly so. I love that. So again, new runners, or even if you've been seasoned, you've been there before definitely make the memories of getting the shots that are important to you. I love how you gave that. I think that's a great suggestion in front of the castle, before we're running through the castle, because that's a little bit of a tight corridor.
Speaker 2:Actually, after you run yeah, it's after you get the castle there's a spot so that you're in front of the castle, yeah.
Speaker 1:So definitely take into consideration that other folks have also been working towards having those memories. So trying not to necessarily jump in front of their shot and just being courteous of our fellow Run Disney community, do you tend to dress in costume?
Speaker 2:I do.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I'm not full on costume. Okay, a little Disney bounding I do. Like one year I, and I'm a big skirt person. I don't wear leggings usually unless it's below 50 degrees, but I will match my skirt color and my tank to whichever princess Like. One year. I was provincial bell so I had on the blue, I made a, but I have to make sure that it's easy enough for me to move in. Last year I think the theme was Moana maybe, and there was a person that had a thing of coconuts on her back running with that. And that's the other thing about Run Disney. You see so many awesome costumes, like the men who dress up full on princesses.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it's all of that.
Speaker 1:It's watching it, it's being a part of it. It's full immersion. A full immersion, yeah.
Speaker 2:So you can go as deep into a costume as you want or but, like for me, it's a skirt and I do try to mimic, but I can't wear a wig because I sweat so much. I might put a princess visor. On the year of the anniversaries I will wear my perfect princess sash so that everybody knows that you're a perfect princess and we talk about that in our Facebook group. Who's wearing this, who's wearing that? They might come up with a special shirt. I think this was Disney gave us this shirt as a perfect princess on the 15 year anniversary. My sleeve says Disney, perfect princess. But yeah, so, but I can't wear long sleeves. I'm usually a tank top kind of person. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, we're native Floridians or we've been running here long enough to wear very efficient sweaters. We know how to pull down our bodies. We do With. That said, juliana, we've just skimmed the surface, because I feel like, if you would like to come back, I'd love to have you on so we can talk about some of your 50 state experiences.
Speaker 1:I mean definitely one of my favorite memories of running is still our Hatfield McCoy experience. I would love to chat about that, but with that said before, since we're gonna focus on Run Disney here, what words of wisdom or advice would you like to leave for folks going into this Run Disney Princess weekend?
Speaker 2:If you're doing princess, enjoy the experience. Get on a Facebook chat group. Find somebody that maybe, if you're doing this by yourself, there are. I have met so many awesome people to running you. I never knew you before you.
Speaker 2:Jodi and I went up and did Hatfield and McCoy, I mean. So find there's always a place. Be careful, because there's trolls out there. But ahead of time, join a group. Find somebody that maybe will wanna run with you. That's maybe at your pace.
Speaker 2:If you're nervous, I'm okay with running by myself now. But there are people that said I really wanna do this, but I don't wanna run by myself. Fine, I'll run with you. I'm not looking to set any world records. I mean I'm not gonna win anything, except you know my experience. So if you don't wanna run by yourself, find a group, find somebody. And even at the expo you will see people and you will just. People will just come up and start talking to you. So and if you go up and just start talking to them, they're not gonna think you're weird, they're gonna be like oh yeah, this that I mean. Even traveling. For some of my states I've met people. We stayed in different hotels but we met at a spot and we walked down to the start line together. So it's the running community is amazing, amazing.
Speaker 1:Wholeheartedly agree and with that said, juliana, thank you for being part of my running community and thank you for joining us for this conversation. Thanks for asking me. Oh, my sparkles. I love Juliana, and we are gonna go ahead and talk a little bit more about those photo pass experiences, because that is something that every race weekend people really wanna capture it. They put so much training, they put so much thought into their costumes. They wanna make sure they have that magical photo. So a little bit about things that you should know. Of course, it's important to snag that perfect shot, but we are gonna go ahead and start with. The very first thing that's important to do is, on the back of your bib when you pick it up at the expo, take a few moments, either right there or later on from your hotel room or wherever you're staying, and enter in the sequence of your bib number in a corresponding race, into your my Disney app or wherever you've purchased your photo pass card from. Now, how to get that best sparkly photo so that you can frame it, hang it up with your medals. Well, of course, there's some things that should be known. As Juliana mentioned, we generally start to see those green, lime, green photo pass tents. You'll see them at expo as well, so you know exactly what to look for. And there is something magical about rend Disney pictures. They truly, truly are. However, it's also really magical that we practice runner's etiquette and that we are there to also honor all the other folks and magical shots that they want. So try to be mindful of not necessarily, if you haven't been practicing those jump shots, this may not be the time to do it, of course, and not taking up the entire central line area. While it is wonderful to be very emotive and expressive with your body and maybe putting your hands up or your arms up, or framing your face or throwing out little heart signs, whatever the case may be, also know that that may cover the face of your fellow runner or you may impede their photos as well. So Juliana shared that tip where you could go a little bit further ahead. But after you pass the Cinderella's Castle gate and go ahead and get that magical shot that you're looking to get, crossing through the beautiful gates of the Cinderella Castle, of course you're gonna wanna make sure that your bib is visible and don't be shy. This is your chance, my friend. You worked really hard. This is your celebration lap. So flash your biggest smile, strike that pose and just own it. Remember, it's about fun. So, whether you're flying solo or with friends, make every photo count. Which brings me to my next guest. Up next we have someone who may not be a princess according to their words by title, but is royalty in spirit at the princess of half marathon weekend.
Speaker 1:Dw Burge is synonymous with creating memorable race weekends. By being unapologetically yourself. With his incredible costumes and positive vibes, dw knows how to make each race not just a run but an event. Now let's get ready to be run-spired. Let's welcome DW to share how authenticity and joy are your best accessories for a magical run-dizzy experience. All right, friends, welcome back, and I am going to lay the stage, if you will, for my first experience with our next guest, but I am thrilled over the moon to have here. But it's early morning at Run Disney. I get into my cry a little earlier than I normally would and I see this incredible creature full of joy and of vibrancy, and immediately I had to text my girlfriend, who was still asleep, and be like this is the swear I've at. This feels like home here and I haven't felt like this level of acceptance in such a long time, and that was my first experience with DW, because never did I think that I would have this individual across the table from me here at brunch. So welcome DW. How are you?
Speaker 3:I am fantastic. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:And friends, you are going to hear why DW is such a staple of the Run Disney community, but specifically why I feel like you can't talk about a princess weekend at Run Disney without DW, Because right out of the gate, your Instagram handle is I am not a princess. Tell me more, my friend, if we could dive right into that.
Speaker 3:Absolutely so. It actually stems from my very first princess. After marathon weekend, every Run Disney event has its own vibe. Wine and Dine is a family reunion. Marathon is very athletic. The first time I ran Princess, it just didn't click with me. I didn't get it, it didn't resonate, and so the Instagram handle became I am not a princess. The sort of untold joke is I am not a princess because I am a queen A little you know. A tongue-in-cheek joke to my sexual orientation, but also a nod to the fact that I believe, contrary to the stereotypical princess damsel in distress, that we all possess the tools we need to be our own heroes, to write our own happily ever afters, and that we just have to have the courage to pursue them.
Speaker 1:Right then and there and this is just, we're just giving the surface, my friend. So get ready, because all of the wisdom that DWS passes and uses their platform to really help people connect is what you're going to feel, not just in Princess Weekend specifically, but across the board with Run Disney Community. But you've already mentioned that Run Disney we can have a different vibes and we're right here looking up to or leading up into Princess, and that's what this episode is about. But I wanna know it sounds like you had done other races beforehand on Run Disney. So what is a little bit about your running journey?
Speaker 3:So I was tricked in 2015 into running a 10k because my friends convinced me if you do it, we'll take you to Disneyland. So my running journey and my run Disney story are intertwined from day one. Prior to that, I avoided sports and athletics at every opportunity. I didn't have a good experience as a kid with gym and teams, and so I would pretend that I didn't like sports. And again they tricked me by telling me we were going to go to Disneyland, and I've been running since.
Speaker 1:Okay, you hit so much there, and just very short, that I feel like most people will relate to that come to running later on in life. Is that either it was a dare or maybe a little bit of an inkling, of a calling of trying to tackle a 5k or a 10k. Maybe it was because we knew there was a big, gigantic treat at the end, like Disneyland or Disney World. But you touched on. I pretended not to like athletics or sports. I mean, I resonate with that right out of the gate because I found my refuge in books, because I felt like there was just I didn't belong, I was curvier, I didn't feel athletic. But it's interesting you're saying you pretended so. Did you kind of? Were you intrigued? Were you kind of wanting to learn more about the world of sports and athletics?
Speaker 3:I did so. I grew up in the 80s. Both of my parents were in the military. There was very much a sense of you had to belong to something bigger than yourself, and so for, for young kids, that meant sketch, that meant team athletics. At that time and in that environment, there were certain expectations surrounding conformity. You had to look a certain way, you had to act a certain way. There were expectations surrounding masculinity. Even 10, 11 year old boys had to be men.
Speaker 3:I was flamboyant, I was theatrical, I loved to just bust out into song, and that didn't work with that environment. And so, very quickly, coaches, teammates, would tell me in a variety of different ways that I wasn't welcome in their world. And when I no longer felt safe, when there was no longer an avenue to participate, rather than admitting to my parents that I was a sissy or that I was a victim of bullying, it was easier to say well, I just like the arts. And I really kept telling myself that until I believed it. I would even refer to the Super Bowl as the Madonna concert with the really good commercials. Nothing wrong if you guys do that still.
Speaker 1:I do that still.
Speaker 3:I'm, not going to lie, very excited about that. But it was just easier and you start to believe it. And over time there were so many layers that got built up it was nearly impossible to take them all back off.
Speaker 1:OK, so I'm hearing here everybody that came to running later in life, that maybe believed that they weren't runners, they weren't athletic, they weren't capable of being fit, can absolutely resonate with that aspect of their story. And as many layers as we give ourselves, we tell the story is about the amount of layers that you have in your ball gown that we all know of, or two tube ball gowns. But when did you start to? What part of this helps you to start kind of unrallling those layers and in getting to the core of? Would it, would you be fair to say that running or run Disney helped you to get to the core of accepting yourself and the dualities or all of the different components of yourself?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. If it wasn't for run Disney and the culture that specifically surrounds how they do a running event, I probably wouldn't have gotten into running Right. There's still a lot of expectations with your local races, especially depending on where you live. You have to hit a certain time, you have to look a certain way, you have to dress a certain way. At run Disney, I get to show up as the most authentic version of myself, and not only is that allowed, that's encouraged, and you're encouraged to encourage others, and it just becomes this snowball that doesn't stop.
Speaker 1:And that's, I think, where anyone going into run Disney Prince this weekend for the first time, that's going to be the most important differentiating factor from anything else that they've experienced, is it? This is your opportunity to truly shine. Whatever your magical sparkle inside is is allowing that happen. How would you suggest that people do that? Because they're hearing it and they're still thinking yeah, but I still feel a little awkward. Or maybe I want to run in a tour, tiara, but I feel a little weird doing it. I'm not used to doing it. How did you reconcile being able to just be you?
Speaker 3:Well, it was funny. So the very first tutu that I ever wore to a run Disney event was intended to be camouflage. That would have been Princess 2019. I had been doing these events for a while.
Speaker 3:I have a phase in this self-discovery that I refer to as the Dark Days, as the layers started to come off, as I realized that running was a passion, that it filled the hole that I didn't know existed. I was so desperate to be perceived as an athlete that I went back to the only reference point I had, which were the bullies, the wrestling coach that used me as bait for the big kids, and so, in an effort to break into this world, I became a bully. I would look for any opportunity on social media, in the carats, where somebody was picking on the race announcers or ganging up on somebody who was asking a normal question for someone just getting into this sport. In 2017, late summer, early fall, a group of runners got together and confronted me and said we don't know who you are or what your drama is, but if this is who you're going to be, we are going to make sure that you can't play with us. We're going to get you somehow banned from these events, wow, and it was sort of an earth-shattering moment in that I shut down social media, I shrunk my group of friends, I really became an introvert and I had to think about who I wanted to be going forward. Because if I was being this person at Disney, who was I being in my marriage? Who was I being to my co-workers and my family?
Speaker 3:And so that first two-two was for Princess 2019, because I knew everybody else would be wearing them, and so if I were a two-two, I would fade into the crowd. And so the exact opposite actually ended up happening, and that costume became a doorway through which people would come up and say cute, two-two, cute costume. I love seeing it bounce when you run. And so, yes, there is some fear or trepidation in doing things that you were told. Hey, athletes don't wear two-twos, serious runners don't do X, y and Z. But if you allow yourself the courage to do it just once, find your vibe, whether it's something simple like a character t-shirt or an orange organza wedding dress, you'll be surprised by the reaction you get.
Speaker 1:I love this so much because I have folks that are like why are you so obsessed with Run Disney and why do you feature so many people on Run about Run Disney? And it's not, yes, it's a fun weekend, right. I love sharing that when there's ever any joy that you can interweave into running. But your message that you just said is exactly why I want to feature Run Disney, because it's almost just an exaggerated form of why it's so important to allow ourselves to be authentic, because it does interweave into every aspect of our life, like you said marriage, friendship, how we approach strangers or how we continue to love or grow within ourselves. I'm curious, the individuals that approached you that had to have been positively, one of the most. I'm feeling the confrontation from my side. I can only imagine I could just feel like a level of just fear and anxiety and shame and all of those things. Did you stay in contact with them? Has that friendship been able to be healed and grow again?
Speaker 3:Not specifically those individuals. I truly believe, though, that they were representing the community Run Disney. Yes, we come from all walks of life and there's always outliers, but one of the unique things about Race Day is you get 15,000 people into these five little corrals and they're all there for a common goal. They have a common mindset. That group of individuals was brave enough to step up and say something, but I know there were others who were thinking it Flash forward to today, and some of the people that I care for the most come out of that Run Disney community, and I don't think they would have liked the me of five years ago, but I know they love the me of today and I love the me of today.
Speaker 1:Right, that's what it comes down to, okay, so what we're asking folks is to lean into, like that inner call of really approaching princess or run Disney weekend or just going around. For the record, I wear an inflatable unicorn costume to go for a jog around in my neighborhood, so whatever really brings you joy, friends, it's going to put a smell in somebody's face and whoever doesn't smile, it's okay. That's probably somebody who wasn't meant to be in your life. Anyway, I want to talk about if you're okay with you have so much interwoven into. It's correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like your identity and kind of reborn in your reassurance of your identity, currently interwoven with run Disney. Do you have some favorite memories that you want to share of your run Disney experiences over the years?
Speaker 3:I do. There's a story in particular which I think highlights exactly who this community is and exactly why Princess weekend is so special and so a little bit of a trigger warning here. I'm going to put that out there before I share this and I'm going to intentionally be a little vague so it can't get tied back to the individual. But Princess of last year, I wasn't supposed to run, wasn't my favorite weekend. I had just completed dopey. I was going to take a break. I got a phone call from Kelsey's hope, who is one of the many charities that sponsor bids during these race weekends, saying one of our athletes can't complete their commitment. If you can raise the money in time, the bit is yours. I looked at my husband and said I'm not doing this. I'm not doing this unless I can find a hotel room. Well, we ended up finding a hotel, okay. Well, I'm not going to do it unless I can raise the money. This weekend I have 72 hours to raise the money. I raised the money. So off to Princess I go, and I have a goal of setting a new PR. I am going to do a new personal best. I had a plan coming off the marathon, I knew how to use my energy and where to push Race day. Everything is going according to plan. I am ahead of schedule.
Speaker 3:Now, for those who have never run a Walt Disney World half marathon, mile 10 to about 11 and a half is a series of hills and overpasses and you're outside the park. So there's maybe a marching band or two, but you're on bridges. It's physically exhausting, it's hot. It's not the most exciting point. At the end of all of this there is a hairpin turn 180 degrees and then you go over another overpass. It gets very crowded, people are exhausted, they're grouchy, they're bumping into each other. You just mentally prepare for that moment and you push through. I make the turn, I start heading up the ramp and I hear someone shout DW, I love you. You hear this thing all the time, right? So I respond with my normal reply I love you too. And I keep running and I feel a hand on my shoulder and it's a woman who, same voice, says no, I love you. And something clicked in that moment and I knew I had to stop and I knew I had to engage and whatever my goals were for that day no longer matter.
Speaker 3:This woman proceeds to tell me a story about her child and her child, as she put it, was different. Different like me, struck me as a little odd. But okay, let's, let's see where this gets. Her child was talking about herring themselves, that they were not comfortable fighting every day and they were ready to give up. In an effort to connect, she started telling stories about her Ren Disney weekends and showing sorry, showing pictures that included myself, the two, two guys, two very masculine, muscular men who run in two twos and wigs along with their wives.
Speaker 3:Something to connect. And as the story goes over time, the conversation switched from self harm to do you think I can run with you? How do I get to go to a run Disney event with you? How long do I have to train? That was the moment the vibe, the feeling of Princess Half Marathon clicked for me, that this was more than an athletic event. This was a community of strong individuals, predominantly female, coming together in February and not only helping each other achieve that half marathon, but helping each other get through life, get through whatever they're going through, and that may have solidified the February races as one of my favorites.
Speaker 1:That's such a powerful I mean how anyone can listen and not choke up. I mean that right there shows why living in our authentic lives is such an incredible, powerful tool. So you very well may have saved an individual, and who knows where that's going to continue going in terms of individuals that they're going to be able to touch. So a lot of camaraderie, a lot of sisterhood or fraternal hood or just being able to connect with others, is something that I'm hearing that resonates very strongly during the Princess Weekend. Do you feel that it is partially? You have a special sparkle magic, regardless of whatever it is that you're wearing, but do you feel that the sparkle is able to kind of be seen a little bit easier because of the very elaborate costumes that you've now become known for?
Speaker 3:I think the short answer to that is yes. It really wasn't an intentional effort to be the costume guy or be that person. I was just trying to have fun and I realized that running is a competition. Whether you like to hear that or not, it is. I will never be the fastest, I will never stand on a podium or earn a place in a world major, but I can show up to these weekends being the happiest person there, being the most supportive person there. That's how I'm going to compete, and the costumes, whether they're the big, elaborate ones or something a little simpler and more fun, they're just a tool that I can rely on to help me spread that message of hey, this is your first race, you're afraid. Great, let's set that aside. Have some fun, let's be a distraction so that when we get to mile 13, you forgot that you were afraid yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you have so many fantastic costumes outside looking in. Do you have some favorites? And I don't know if you even call them costumes. They're more than that, because I feel like these are. They're these incredible creations of art that could quite literally walk down a runway tomorrow and you just so happen to make the half marathon course your runway for entire 13.1 miles. But do you have a favorite?
Speaker 3:The original rainbow skirt. I think will always hold the special place in my heart.
Speaker 1:It is incredible.
Speaker 3:It's funny, it was originally designed to be a suit of armor. I had a really uncomfortable experience at the Run Disney Race in Paris, where I wore a tutu and I was mocked, and it was triggering, and so, instead of abandoning costumes, I tripled them in size. I got a big five foot hoop skirt, the idea being people would be repelled, they would be held away, and it ended up doing the exact opposite. It brought people closer and I made friends, and so, yes, the skirt is gorgeous, but it also was where my life truly began to change. So there's a lot of emotion tied to that one.
Speaker 1:That's so incredible. And then I mean then do you take credit for the costume guidelines being changed, Because I feel like Run Disney came after you with those guidelines.
Speaker 3:I don't think it was just me. There was one little incident where my costume stepped over the line and I will tell you, the Run Disney cast was very gracious in helping me adapt it before the race so that I could wear it. But all of that is done through the lens of safety and security.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely yeah.
Speaker 3:Right, we've all run a Run Disney race and within the first half mile, there are elements of people's costumes that have fallen off, and tool on wet concrete in the dark is a slip hazard, and so, yes, I have these dreams of these amazing costumes that I will never get to wear, but I take that as a challenge to go OK, create something more spectacular on a smaller campus, and we'll see where that leads.
Speaker 1:And it has led to some incredible I mean just incredible creations. Which kind of leads me to the next question, because you are coming back as a Kelsey's Hope fundraiser drawing a lot of awareness of this incredible nonprofit and that feels like a way that you utilize your natural talents and your love for fashion as part of your fundraising. So can you tell us a little bit more about how? How did you decide to do that and where we can get our own hands and maybe a DW creation or two?
Speaker 3:So during the pandemic, I came up with a model. I wasn't seeing the gains, I wasn't seeing the speed that I wanted. So I came up with this mantra of if you can't run fast, run fabulous. And yes, tongue in cheek, it referred to the costume. So of course I had to show back up on race day in these elaborate costumes, but it also meant showing up well rested and well trained. And then whatever happened happened. So I would say this motto, I would put it in my social media posts, and it kind of caught on. And so I threw it on a t-shirt and was like hey, if anybody wanted to buy one of these, you know the proceeds will go to Kelsey's Hope. I will take nothing. Next thing I know we saw the few, but you get to race day and someone runs up to you wearing the t-shirt that you designed with your motto and they let you know hey, I'm not fast, but I got through this race and I look fabulous, and you just see that joy. And so we're working on a new design, hopefully for this fall.
Speaker 3:My goal is to raise $6,000 for Kelsey's Hope this year. For those who don't know, they are very similar to Make-A-Wish in that they reach out to a family dealing with a child who has cancer. Unlike Make-A-Wish, which is a fabulous organization, Kelsey's Hope focuses on families where there was a relapse or where the prognosis maybe wasn't good and that this is the family's last time together. Pediatricians no one takes a paycheck Just some of the greatest human beings in real life. And then on race day, those people are there with their volunteers every half mile of the course, wherever they can be, bringing cowbells and cheering and giving high fives, not just for the athletes running on their behalf, but they will stand there and cheer for the person who wins and the person who crosses the finish line, the last.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Sorry, I could gush over them.
Speaker 1:You can. They're incredible. They're a staple at the Run Disney begins, but I have to tell you you're also much too modest, my friend, and your description of these shirts, because I know that we just have like a preliminary mock-up currently of what your idea is for it to go out. But it is so incredible. So I really do hope that friends do head to your Instagram. Of course we're going to have that in our episode notes and get their own DW creation, because I think we could all learn to run a little bit more fabulously and all of the different iterations of that means. So, my friend, with that said, we are coming into Princess Weekend. I can't wait. What would you say to folks that are maybe experiencing Princess, maybe not even for the first time, but are wanting to wistfully experience it to the lens of the acceptance and joy that you brought to this interview?
Speaker 3:I truly believe what you bring is what you get back. Tenfold, keep your expectations in check right. Go with an open heart, go with joy. These race weekends can be a lot, they can be overwhelming, and it's very easy to say just don't stress, the bus will be on time, there's never an issue with the buses, the weather will be fine. There's never an issue. There's a million reasons to fret. There's also one very important reason to show up, and that's yourself. So just be.
Speaker 1:I feel like there's like five more shirts coming out of just that segment alone. So I again thank you so much for sharing your joy, your wisdom and your story. I appreciate it. D W. I can't thank D W enough for reminding us of the power of being authentic and finding our people and, speaking of finding our people and community. Our next guest, kelly and Tristan, have done exactly that. They have built an absolute incredible community of support with the independent princesses Facebook group.
Speaker 1:So, whether you're running your first 5k or your 50th half marathon, if you're coming to run Disney, ip is a place to find encouragement, advice and perhaps even a fairy godmother. Let's dive into the world of independent princesses and discover how, together, we can cross any finish line. Today I have the immense pleasure of chatting with two remarkable women who've turned the pavement and the entire run Disney community into a pathway for dreams. I have Kelly whole. Hello Kelly, nice to have you here. Hi Christine, thank you. And Tristan, and I'm just going to tell you guys, evidently the nickname is a KA Chaos. We're going to learn all about that story here. Welcome, tristan.
Speaker 4:Well, hey, how is everybody?
Speaker 1:Ah, so, great to have you. These ladies are the founders and moderators of the run Disney independent princesses solo runners group and they have built a kingdom of over 5000 members, weaving together the threads of community support, a whole lot of positivity and Disney magic. Now, friends, I could go on and on and wax poetic about how one of the this is one of my favorite groups and I usually refer people that are new to the run Disney world to this group. So I'm definitely going to include that in episode links. But let's get right to the heart of the matter, because they got way more to say than I could possibly tell you guys. So I'm going to start off with, if I can, kelly, help me how you started with. Start a Facebook group, and it's going to be for independent princesses. Was that the original name? Give me the origin story. Oh my gosh, I don't it was.
Speaker 6:There was definitely a renaming at some point, but it was very quickly after, I think, the 2016 princess race that we were like you know what. This should keep going. We should keep doing this. But I started the group back in 2015. I had just registered for the 2016 princess have marathon.
Speaker 6:It was part of one of my big goals for myself to run a half marathon and I'm kind of obsessed with Disney world. I was just there. I had just been there for my, my honeymoon, and I just started quietly freaking out that I was going to do this big thing alone and, from what I was seeing online, it looked like a race that a lot of people did with their girlfriends or their gal groups, moms, daughters all this stuff was just like a whole thing group costumes and all that and it was really intimidating. And you know, princess has this really huge fan base and I could just imagine myself like silently waiting for the race to start, like breaking out by myself with like 10,000 of my closest friends you know there were so many questions I had about logistics, right, like it wasn't one of those races that you could just drive up to and like walk the start line and, like, you know, grab your bibs the night before and you know, have a drink and then get on a bus at 2 30 in the morning. Like none of it made sense to me at all.
Speaker 6:And so I kind of spun off of one of the event pages and I was like is anyone else doing this alone, solo, like trying to pick up friends, I guess? And yeah, just kind of started it with with a couple. There were two other women apparently to start a group, you actually have to have friends, which was the first problem for me, because I was like I don't have any friends. I don't know what I'm doing right now.
Speaker 6:So two gals from you know that responded to my post in the event group were like oh yeah, we're doing it alone. I'm like cool, you are our founding members. Then I think one of them still in the group yeah, it was pretty bad, but I was. I put a lot of thought into those like early rules. You kind of had to set like a tone for your group. There's like a paragraph and I just knew how crazy things can get online. And so I really sat there and I just really thought a lot about the rules and the tone of the group because I was not about to get myself into managing a bunch of drama.
Speaker 1:So so it's a drama free zone. We're going to make that sure that everybody's well aware of that. But again, there's it. But it's a very supportive zone. I will say that there's nothing but love, and you guys post these incredible threads if anybody's new and how you can bring them through. So, tristan, while it sounds like both Kelly and I may have come to run Disney a bit later on, my first one was 2011. You, though, may have a little bit of a different story, where you may have been able to drive in the night before and pick up your bib and kind of have a little bit less of all the drama. So tell us exactly when you guys started with run Disney and maybe some of the changes you've seen over the years.
Speaker 4:So tomorrow's my daughter's birthday, happy birthday. But we started doing races when she's to. My kids started doing the 5K's. We kind of did some of the 5K's, that's it. We're always in the of the marathoners and you know that my God was crazy. But again, my daughter's turning 27 tomorrow. I've been doing these races since she was to. We did take a very long break because again, life, mom, raising kids. I was a very serious car accident with her when she was 16 and I had to have knee knee reconstructive surgery. And as I'm talking to the orthopedist, he said you're never, you know. I said and he's telling me like these things are all going to change your life. He said, and I made jokingly because I don't take anything seriously. And I said so. I ever run a half marathon and he goes well. No, how many of us if you run? And I said none, and he goes well, you're not missing out on anything.
Speaker 6:Ding, ding, ding doing. It sounds like a challenge. We know, we know that that's a challenge.
Speaker 4:But you used to show up that morning and walk up and pick up the bibs that morning. There was this lovely table afterwards that had stacks upon stacks upon stacks of Oreo cookies and bananas and bagels and orange juice. The metals were rubber metals that the kids race in the parking lot it was. They were like OK, you know we need one to three year olds and you know the kid guys, you're going to start right here. You're going to run to that phone. That's how it was done.
Speaker 1:Holy fucks.
Speaker 4:It was great, it was absolutely great. You know, and of course you know Disney's had growing pains over the years. We've seen lots of growing pains over the years and some have been good, some of them bad. You know, some of them we kind of scratch our head and go say, well, you know, and some of you have to look at the much bigger picture for safety reasons, why they do it. And I can support all that. I can support all that it's. If it's keeping it was keeping our run community safe, then I am 100% on board with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's something that I keep going back to is that I love that, the fact that the run Disney and the running community are getting so big, and I know that there's a lot of complaints Of course, not at the independent Princess Facebook group, though, but there's some, maybe some other places where people whisper about how congested it can get or how busy can get. But isn't this a good thing that we've got more people coming to the community that are choosing to take challenges from their orthopedist or maybe from their other half or whoever it is? It's kind of challenging them. Maybe it's themselves, and they're trying to get out there and run some.
Speaker 1:So I do want to talk a little bit about that, tristan, and I want to talk more about the group and how you guys are so supportive and some of the tips that you may have. But you did mention that you went from a an accident to now a run Disney, avid run Disney. Member of the community. So how did that kind of tell us a little bit about that story, because I'm hearing you're not going to ever run a half marathon to now doing several?
Speaker 4:Well, it was. You know it became a check it off the bucket list. I mean, we all were bucket lists, you know. You know, run half marathon, right, ok, one and done. So I was supposed to do wine and dye and it sold out like that. If you've never signed it, it has been years since I signed. I mean, first of all, back when we were doing the races online, there was no such thing as online registration. You mailed in your registration or you called run Disney to sign up. You can even sign up that morning actually, you know.
Speaker 4:So shirts Well, you know, you may or not get a shirt. My kid there was no kid shirts my kids all had adult small shirts. You know those types of things. So my work, you know. They were telling me, you know, like, hey, you're not going to run, you're not going to run. And I was like, ok, I'll check. It's now added to my bucket list in Sharpie.
Speaker 4:So after I had reconstructive surgery, I started training and trained hard and tried to get into wine and dye and couldn't get into it. So someone had said try one of the travel agencies. We saw travel agencies that could do the, do the bookings for you and Jim Stone and his wife. I had had reached out to them, I was on a wait list for wine and dine and he had said forget about wine and dine, let's get you into Marathon weekend. Ok, sounds good to me.
Speaker 4:So I signed up for the five K and the 10 K and I made it mandatory that all my kids had to be there. All three of my kids had to be there, along with my mom. My mom used to travel, to travel with me to all of the races. She's nine, she'll be 90 this year, so she hasn't traveled with me to races in probably about five years. But all of our OGS at the IP group, they all know my mom. My mom sat there and waved at everybody and would sit there with her, with her crocheting, and she'd be knitting away and crocheting away during the whole race. During the whole race Um, I mean, she made Jocelyn a baby blanket.
Speaker 6:She knew, jocelyn, we have a baby blanket and a little baby hat for my five and a half year old and so from.
Speaker 4:She had found out that that Jocelyn was expecting and OK, no, and she ended her blanket at the end of the races. This is for you. Yeah, I was. Yeah, but I experienced something. I had my family there.
Speaker 4:I'm doing this race, you know, and I had some supportive people in my life that were, that were runners I might, my daughter was a competitive dancer and a couple of the moms were had done Disney races and weren't doing it that weekend, but they were calling me throughout the race, like how are you doing? How are you feeling? Are you still able to pee? Are you hydrated? Are you? You know all these things. And then I have my kids calling me when are you? How much longer is this going to be? I met Miley, so like another 30 minutes or so, like that's what we're thinking here? No, no, not another 30 minutes. You know we're getting tired.
Speaker 4:I mean, my kids were all young adults at this point and I was getting frustrated because I was like you know, dang it. Y'all don't understand what's going into this. You know the training, the effort that I put into this and I was trying to be. I was a new grandma too, and I was trying to set an example for my granddaughter of like you could do anything, even when people don't believe you could do it, you could do it. And it was frustrating me and it was. It was hurting my heart that my family wasn't being the best sport of people and they should have been.
Speaker 4:And then there was this random lady who I've been kind of tag teaming on and off the whole race and I was watching and she was getting these video phone calls from her kids like every 30 minute. And then I realized, as I'm looking around our community, you know we're all on, you know that mile eight, you know death march, and I'm fast and I'm thinking I'm looking around, I'm like I'm not the only one who's kind of feeling like I'm alone, because I wasn't a part of the IP group yet and I felt alone. I felt kind of defeated. I didn't have anyone to talk to. I mean I get talked to a wall, damn it. I didn't. You know, I didn't know. I mean was like well, people are thinking I was weird, but I was like hey, how are you today you?
Speaker 4:enjoying those races. You know I, I didn't know, and then you know I get to the finish line. My family is there and you know all there's. You know everybody's like hugging each other and congratulating each other and I'm waiting to find my family and I'm thinking, god, this is so sad, this is so sad. This should not be this way. I want to be those people. I want to be those people who are hugging, you know, who are with their friends, who are with.
Speaker 4:And then I stumbled upon the IP group and as Kelly was getting ready to do her first half and I was like, okay, look, look, hang on man, hang on a minute. Like y'all don't understand, like it was great to finish, it was great to get hugs from my kids and everything, but I felt so alone on the course, so, so alone. If you're traveling alone, there still has to be a way to make a friend, you know. And so that's where you know. We started talking about that. Like, hey, like who's going to be in Carl's sea? Who's going to be in D? Who's going to be, you know, a kind of buddy up and do the do this together. You have someone to chat with. When I signed up with Jim Stone. He had said you know, want me to sign up for the next one. I'm like this is the one and done, sir, one and done, check it off, bucket list Done. And yeah, no, 15 races later.
Speaker 1:So you guys found each other pretty early on of and I'm going to just clarify real quick for folks the IP is the nickname officially of the independent princess group, so I think that you guys refer to yourselves as IPs throughout run Disney weekends, correct, correct? Yes, okay so you guys find each other early on. I think at that point I'm assuming it's not five thousand dollars, and I think at that point I'm assuming it's not five thousand members strong quite yet. But you, you, you you find each other.
Speaker 4:There was like three or four hundred of us, that was it.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Speaker 4:That's incredible too. Oh my God, that's still incredible.
Speaker 6:Yeah, I walked around with a sign, like a printed sign, that says independent, independent, princess, over here with like a pink bow on it. Yes, like there were enough people that I was like not noticed by a single person until I like found my one person.
Speaker 1:Oh well, tell us more, because now I feel like the pink bows or bows, have become kind of part of the thing. Can we so tell us more about like so independent princesses came to be, now it's grown? Tell some of the fun stuff that you guys do there with IP.
Speaker 6:Okay, they're definitely bows right, correct, need ups. But well, yeah, it was kind of. There was a moment, I think collectively, when everyone was like oh wait, this is a group for people who are alone. How do we find each other? We're all like crap. We need a bat signal. And I don't know where truth, and only do you remember where the pink bow came from, but it was like pink bow our shoes, which is still funny, because now you have to like look down for your bat signal.
Speaker 4:Exactly, exactly. So it became a you know like how do we find each other? And it was like oh, you know, like you know, do we all wear blue shirts? So we all was like no people with costumes planned, like I'm not going to make people redesign a costume I'm going to like. So it became like well, what if we like? Where everybody wore a bow in their hair, what if? And somewhere along the line someone had said well, we're runners. What a bow on your shoe. Yeah Well, duh, that makes sense.
Speaker 6:There you go.
Speaker 4:And so, like you know, and any color, pink is fine, I mean, if you could tell by my shirt has to be loud enough, noxious.
Speaker 6:Tides also, was not this.
Speaker 4:But you know, it started off with someone was making little little ribbon bows and I'm like, okay, I'm flying girl here, can't see that. So, and this was well before I started my journey with my loss of vision, and so, you know, I start. I went out and I found these big, obnoxious pink hair bows and clipped them onto my shoes. It started that way. So this way you could find a bow and just walk up. And you walk up to a random stranger and be like, hey, are you an IP? Yeah, how so many friendships have started in this group of just walking up to a random stranger and going like, are you an IP? I am too, you know. And then you have these crazy friendships that have lasted years that these crazy strangers are your family.
Speaker 1:I'm going to tell you this. They're definitely going to be cheering for you and not asking if you're going to be at the finish when you're at mile eight and you still have five more miles to go. I can promise you that.
Speaker 6:The encouragement definitely looks different. Yeah, like a encouragement, like one of the cool things that the group does is very Godmothers. It's like my favorite thing to watch in the entire, it's the best thing to see ever, and it's like you kind of sign up to be now we now it's a much more coordinated effort. So originally, yeah, it was kind of like if you need encouragement on the course, will track you, someone will track you in the little run tracker and kind of send either send you messages as you're running, text messages or Facebook messages or, like Triton said, you like the video calls. Or just like post in the group and tag over and over. You know, like if you don't run with your phone, you probably don't want to fairy godmother, but you might and end up with 30 million notifications of some tracking you and sending you pixie dust and funny memes. And I think the only way I got through the marathon Dopey last year was I think JD was sending the Danny the dad jokes bad dad jokes, those were good.
Speaker 6:But yeah, fairy godmothering, I think, is probably one of the most incredible things that the group has come together to do.
Speaker 4:So where Kelly and I seriously, seriously bonded is you were doing Star Wars in Disneyland and I'm I'm watching a little dot on the screen and I'm watching the balloons get closer and I don't have the heart to say to this girl the balloons are not far behind you and I'm like she's like, oh, I can stop for blah, blah, blah picture. I'm like, move it, Keep going. And she's like, oh, do I have enough time? Like why don't you just keep going, babes, Just just keep going, yeah.
Speaker 6:And it was in front of the other girlfriend.
Speaker 4:How the fairy godmother started was two of our very long time. Oh geez, davita and Patty, they were running marathons and I was just like in awe of this, like you're running a marathon and you know it was one of those things that you're doing Marine Corps, marine Corps marathon. And so I was like, well, I'm going to follow you, I'm going to follow you and report into the group. And so I, you know, we're texting back and forth during the race. You know, I'm at blah, blah, blah. I'm at my oldest. You know, I'm at heartbreak hill. I'm at, you know, all these different things that they're at and so like. And I'm sending them like jungle cruise jokes. They're like, oh, the best over the bridge, over the bridge. And I'm like, yes, I'm like where's the backside of water? Look like you know. And so we're pulling all this into the group.
Speaker 4:And then people were reaching out to me and going, hey, I have a half marathon coming up next weekend. Can you do that for me? And I'm like, is there tracking? So for a while it was just me doing this, and then it was like a print, a race weekend was coming up and it was like, hey, are you going to do it. I'm like there's no way. I'm like, guys, I'm running that week, that weekend, like how no? And that's where we decided like, have people sign up, have people sign up. And you know we did it that way. This is what we do. We look out for each other and we support each other and I'm not afraid to tell a runner if they're, if they're running stupid. I'm not going to enable you and be like oh no, it's only three more miles.
Speaker 4:Your ankle's swollen and you have dropped, but keep going. No, I will guilt you into stopping because I don't want to see you have a career ending injury Right.
Speaker 1:So that's, I think, a really good piece of advice to give folks that may be going into the princess weekend is that we start to see around this time of year where everybody's like I have this and my doctor told me not to do this and I should go, and I'm going to go ahead and start. So what we're basically hearing right here and now is that Tristan's going to hunt you down, my friend, and she's going to make sure that you're okay and safe. What other advice would you give to folks that are going into that first? Maybe this is their first experience because, specifically, princess has the most newcomers to running at all when it comes to run Disney. So what kind of things would you guys say, besides joining the group and getting a fairy godmother, what other suggestions would you have for them leading up to that weekend?
Speaker 4:Be open to just saying hi to a stranger.
Speaker 1:Especially if they're wearing pink goes you know.
Speaker 4:So my first half. I came back with all these amazing pictures and my family and I'm showing pictures. Like, who took these pictures? I don't know when you're standing in line by a mile marker sign and I asked the person behind me to take a picture for me. Like you, play past the phone, talk to people. Talk to people. If you're on the race course and you've hit your wall, just say that out loud. Help, help you. Guys, I have hit my wall. Someone give me a hand, because I can promise you there's going to be like five runners are going to say hey, I got you, I got you.
Speaker 4:Get pictures of the mile marker signs. And there's two reasons for that. One, those mile marker pictures are going to mean so much more to you. At the end of the day, six months later, five years later, those mile marker pictures are going to mean more to you because it's going to be like you know what I did, that that is me. That is me there. And further, that mile 13 sign. I did that.
Speaker 4:Okay, I have tons of pictures of me with Mickey Mouse, me with Donald, with Pluto, and that's great, because I'm going to dress up in my really cute costumes that I always wear and everything else, but those mile marker pictures really mean a lot. But there's a second reason why you want mile marker pictures. One of our beloved friends, her chip wasn't working for the marathon and it kind of started to work and then it stopped working. And then it started working again. There was a glitch, and so when she hit the finish line they told her you course jumped, you cheated, you do not get a medal. And she was like oh yeah, no, no, no, no, that is not me. She was able to whip out her phone and show them pictures of herself at every mile marker.
Speaker 1:I'm going to go ahead and interject here real quick and just say that mile markers on Ren Disney are like no other mile markers you will ever see at any race whatsoever. So definitely from that alone. But now I think that, yes, especially knowing that you could have potential proof for if anything was to happen like that. Now, kelly, what about you? What are your thoughts for folks coming into their first run Disney, or maybe even their first race at all?
Speaker 6:Yeah, first race at all, my gosh, definitely.
Speaker 6:Think like just just talking to the next person, the person who's standing next to you, not every person that's standing next to you, because I could never give that advice myself.
Speaker 6:You know, when it comes to you know I'm an introvert to the end of the earth, but I really it really only extends to like the people who are actually standing near me and make those friends and just be kind, right, like everyone's nerves are so high and I don't I would never advise people to just, you know, smile maniacally all the time, but they're everyone's nerves are so high and they're probably just as high as yours, and so just kind of smiling and kind of giving a little shrug or a hey, you know where are you from To the person who's standing next to you can just make all the difference in the world. It's, I mean, probably how half the people got to this group in the first place, right, it's just kind of talking to some minor and just just meeting someone before the races or even half the race, and then, I guess, during the race, I had a really bad race one time and it was a princess.
Speaker 1:It was really terrible and I did nobody listening to this is going to have a terrible princess. You're not.
Speaker 6:No, you are never, ever going to have that. You are not going to have distress.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you'll be fine.
Speaker 6:You're not going to get your period during your first marathon. Okay, promise you that will not happen to anyone but me.
Speaker 1:But if it does your IP gals, we've got you covered. My friends, we have stopped offering.
Speaker 6:There's a good piece of advice People does actually have tampons, or they didn't at least back then. They do not have tampons or pads or anything. Is this a no, no hold, spardship.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, go for it. This is actually really good advice.
Speaker 6:No, the fantastic volunteers. At the medical tent I had a woman dump out her purse to find me with tampon. You know when that's incredible crisis struck at mile seven.
Speaker 6:Yeah, it was pretty terrible, but no, this was a different, this was a different. Terrible, it was not feel very good, did not think I was going to finish and I just saw a woman in this beautiful, like yellow skirt and I was like you know what, I'm just going to keep following you. You are my lighthouse right now and I'm just going to keep following you and I hate this, but I'm going to keep seeing it anyway. And I followed her all the way to the finish line Miles, miles. Yeah, we crossed the finish line together and a couple weeks later maybe it wasn't even a couple weeks later, maybe a week later she posted a picture in the in the group, and said this girl, this woman, followed me pretend I'm that old and was, you know, kind of. And then, you know, right in the finish line, she said you know, I've been chasing you the whole time, you got me through this race, but all I have is a pin. We finished and we hugged and it was great and I have a is a picture of her arm and I have a tattoo on my arm and so that's my arm in her picture.
Speaker 6:But and then, of course, this group being the super sluice that they are. They're like oh no, that's Kelly. You met Kelly, who had a really bad race, and so it was. It was, yeah, fine, you will find someone. And now she's one of my favorite people in the entire world because we just had this galvanizing experience where I was having a terrible race and I found her and I hugged her and it was amazing. But that's the same thing that Tristan said, like right, if you're running and you're kind of having a bad race, even if you don't tell them until the end although I think it's pretty great to tell them there are people around you who can get you through it yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So, in all seriousness, bad races happen to good people and it is important that you guys do go ahead and reach out and use that community that's around you, because everyone's experienced a less than stellar race experience, even if it's been a long time, or maybe they've been able to never have one.
Speaker 1:I can't imagine that to be the case, but when this, since this episode's going to be going out early one of the first things that I'm going to suggest is definitely for you guys that are listening and thinking this is going to be your first, or maybe you've come to Disney before and you have been solo and you've wanted that group experience, or you've wanted to kind of have that built-in friend and support group to head over to episode links and become an IP.
Speaker 1:But I want a couple more things from both of you. Ladies, if that's okay, before we head off, if somebody is not coming to run Disney but wants to be a fairy godmother, do they also join the group and they wait to see for that thread and go ahead and okay. So basically, it's just sending a lot of support, being willing to track the individual, reassuring them, and that's basically what we're looking for fairy godmothers, and they are good to go, and then if somebody needs a fairy godmother, they use that exact same thread and just say, hey, I really need that extra support. Is that the case? That is the case, perfect. Okay, before we go, I have to ask you guys what are your favorite treats post or pre? Your run Disney race weekends.
Speaker 6:I'm a big fan of a classic cheese. I mean, if we're talking snack box treats, it's definitely nothing to use.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I have a love hate relationship with it. I'm not sure how I feel about it. To be honest, I don't know why. I'm confused and perplexed. It's complicated. I think that used to be my Facebook status for some time. That's how I feel about the cheese. How about you, tristan?
Speaker 4:I mean, I am a fan of the cheese. I am oh my God, I miss some of the treats that were in the old snack. We used to get Oreos. We used to get Oreos there was a piece of chocolate in there Kind of miss those. I actually treat myself post race to a cupcake. I usually go and get myself an adult Kool-Aid and a cupcake and reflect back on the race. I do have a tip for anyone who's new to a run Disney race. That's a must do One. It's your race, enjoy it, embrace it. Okay, embrace it, because better days are ahead for you, my friend.
Speaker 1:That's a mic drop. With that said, I want to thank you guys both so very much. It was indeed a mic drop. I'm going to go ahead and pick it back up, though, so we can finish this episode, because there's still so many more goodies to be had. While Kelly and Tristan had inspiring stories of community and support, we reminded the power of preparation and camaraderie. To help you along your run Disney journey, we've put together here, at Time for Brunch, the Ultimate Run Disney Challenge Guide. This 50 plus page guide is packed with everything from that packing checklist so that you don't need to worry about maybe missing out on something that you really really need ensuring that you've got everything from sparkles to essentials to training along the way and mindset, and so much more. I would love you to use that link in episode notes. Not only do you get entered into our springtime surprise giveaway, but you absolutely will receive our 50 plus page guide to help you have a magical run Disney experience. Now, friend, oh my goodness, as we approach the finish line of today's episode, we're getting closer and I know that you guys have been waiting to hear even more magic.
Speaker 1:I am excited to introduce our final guest, jocelyn Henderson, known in the run Disney community as Mom Runs Dis. Jocelyn's story is a testament to how Disney running events can transcend the race itself, and you can even take home that magic day to day. She's a source of joy, empowerment and shows how to carve personal time amidst life's many roles. Her journey reminds us that through running we find strength, not just for the miles, but for all the hats we wear. Let's hear how Jocelyn balances being a runner, a mother and a Disney enthusiast, all while making each mile magical. Hello friends, I have to tell you that there are quite a few individuals that I admire from afar but have a little bit of that extra fear to reach out with, and our next guest is definitely one of them.
Speaker 1:I was a little trepidatious as to whether or not she would come along for the ride, but we're shining the spotlight on the remarkable individual in the running community, jocelyn Henderson, known to all as Mom Runs Dis on Instagram and TikTok. Jocelyn welcome, hi, hi, thanks for having me. So you are not just a run Disney enthusiast, you also embody perseverance. You balance life as a dedicated runner, mother, influencer. You have a career. You wear a lot of hats, my friend, so we're going to delve right into running, how you intertwine it with motherhood and your career and food. So let's dive in, because actually you just recently had a reel that talked about you and your bestie crossing that finish line with all of your favorite run Disney treats. So what are some of your favorite run Disney treats?
Speaker 5:Some of my run Disney treats. I am a churro lover, so going to Disneyland this past weekend, oh, I had my share because, as you know, they have a whole lot of different flavors and different types.
Speaker 1:So I'm definitely a Disney churro girl, did you find that you had a favorite churro flavor?
Speaker 5:I tried a lemon one. I really wanted to try an Oreo one, but we couldn't get back to that, so right now it would have to be the lemon one there.
Speaker 1:Okay, so definitely kind of being a little adventurous there in branching out with your churro love. Well, we would love to know have you always been a runner, or is this something that you came to a little bit later in life? So?
Speaker 5:running definitely like a lot of people. I was a cheerleader in high school, just because sometimes everybody was like, oh, you play basketball. Nope, I was a cheerleader. I kind of came into running like a lot of people around 30, 31, wanting to stay active. So when I moved here to Georgia I was in the gym working out and got invited to a local run group and the rest is kind of history.
Speaker 1:So yeah, Okay, so I didn't even know that you weren't local to run Disney, because our Disney world looks, it feels, like you're here so often. So how did that evolve? So you start running in your 30s now. Are you a mom when you first start running?
Speaker 5:No, I wasn't. I was single, I wasn't married. So a little background I do physical therapy, I'm a physical therapy assistant and I was traveling. That's how I got to Georgia. I started, I said, got invited to a local run group, registered for my first half marathon in 2014. While I was at Disney, I saw the Walt Disney World Marathon and I was like, hey, I just started running. I think I want to do Disney now. So a love for Disney with a newfound interest in running introduced me to run Disney.
Speaker 1:So yeah, Okay, so were your trips to Disney prior to the run Disney fandom? Were they more of like, family focused? Have you always had a calling for Disney? That's one of your favorites, so a native to Florida.
Speaker 5:I've been going to Disney since I was a kid. We were always there. I've been a past holder now going almost 15, 20 years, so a very long time. Disney is naturally in my blood Thanks to my mom, so I contribute totally my love for Disney to her and I thank her for that. So, like I said, just going down all the time doing family trips, doing spring break trips in college and then now it's more run Disney trip than Disney, I like it.
Speaker 1:I mean, I know mom loves it, but what is the rest of the family? Think about your love for Disney and running.
Speaker 5:The rest of the family loves Disney and I have introduced my brother to Run Disney. So I started Run Disney my first race in 2015. He came along and was like it can't be all that fun. 2017, he ran his first Princess 10K and he has been hooked. So he's not a runner but he likes to run.
Speaker 1:Disney. That's interesting. I definitely want to talk a little bit more about that. So do you feel like with Run Disney, even for people who don't identify as runners, that it's more accessible and they'll enjoy themselves if they're a Disney fan?
Speaker 5:Right, yes, I think the overall and it's cliched the magic of the Disney community Run Disney community is, unlike any other runner community, to me Very welcoming. So I think adding Disney to that it gives people the confidence to run a race at Disney. So it's a little different.
Speaker 1:So I also want to talk a little bit about your running outside of Disney, because I think that there's a lot to that. Clearly, as much as we all love the Run, disney season when it starts and kicks up and it does feel like we get to almost kind of have like a reunion with friends because we see them during those times, there's so much discipline and commitment to our running in between all of those weekends, ideally. Sometimes that doesn't always happen, of course. So how do you, how does your running journey evolve? Because you started when you're single. You're now a mom, you have a family, you have other commitments. How has it changed those different seasons?
Speaker 5:Oh man, I personally have definitely been through that transition. I started out again as a single person. I'm evolved. I became pregnant, ran throughout my pregnancy with my little boy, then transitioned to a stroller running mom Because I couldn't run Disney with him. I would pick local races or any races that I could job with him. Now again a different stage in my life he's wanting to run with me, so we do do some 5Ks I don't think he's quite prepared for 10K and right within all of that, getting new goals and new challenges for myself, my newest venture is chasing those six stars. I ran Chicago in October, so you know that's the next thing on my run journey outside of run Disney. So Congratulations.
Speaker 1:That is such a big one. So what's next for you in terms of? Are you planning out the majors? Are you just kind of taking them as you can? How are you tackling the majors?
Speaker 5:Taking them as I can. I definitely want Boston to be the last, Because for here in the States like that is the race, though I'm taking them as I go I didn't get into Berlin this year. There's still hope for getting into New York City. So everybody out there, cross your fingers for me. I attempted the virtual guarantee, didn't get into that lottery or that entry, so, and in between there I guess I want to disclose. Now I want to get into pacing, so I want to help others kind of achieve their race goals. You know it'd be at your first half marathon, first 10K. Yeah, I want to do some pacing this year.
Speaker 1:I feel like that's a natural for you. From being a cheerleader to being so supportive and motivating with your social media channels, I feel like pacing will be a really natural fit for you. So I want to ask how would you suggest for folks that are getting started to get their first steps going and toward whether it's run Disney or the majors or running a 5K? How would you suggest they get started?
Speaker 5:Simply there are so many, I guess couch to 5Ks. I tell everybody that is one of the best ways, best resources and to taking it at your own pace, truly. I mean, we look at so many around us our friends, our family on goals and things that they're doing, setting something that is comfortable and attainable. I don't recommend to myself saying, oh hey, a Disney marathon looks fun, take that small step with the 5K first.
Speaker 1:Definitely take that 5K, 6k, 5k step first, do you feel like there's a specific distance that calls to you that you tend to enjoy training for or running the most 10Ks?
Speaker 5:10Ks. 10k is my happy distance. They're a little over an hour. Even though I keep signing up for half marathons and full marathons, I can run a 10K every day. That is my happy distance.
Speaker 1:Okay, I got you on that one I do. I am a big lover of the half marathon distance where it's got that little bit of a stretch goal. But I always joke that my favorite distance is whatever run I'm not doing Like. So if I'm doing a half, I love the 10 miler. If I do the 10 miler, I love the 10K. I never love the 5K, never have love for the 5K.
Speaker 5:I don't know, the 5K is your warm up. To me it's just enough. You're like, okay, I warmed up and now and that's supposed to be the 10K for me gives me just enough. So just enough, and then I'm like I'm done.
Speaker 1:I will agree. I do think the 10Ks at Disney 2 are also pretty spectacular because it usually is one of the most enjoyable courses that they lay out. So I would almost suggest that folks kind of look at that one if they're thinking of getting into run Disney. Now I am curious have you in this journey you've experienced so many different facets? It's been part of who you are and how you identify because of the fact that running has been with you for all these different seasons. Was there a specific time that you could recall that was particularly challenging or difficult to get laced up and get out there? I've shared this in several posts.
Speaker 5:I had a little postpartum with depression and it wasn't necessarily getting out there and running, but just battling the thoughts in my head to run. So you know, those first couple of months having my son run with me was the motivation to keep running. It was great. He loved being out there, he loved again as a toddler, he loved cheering for me while I was running. Even now he says "'Mommy, you know, that's been my biggest cheerleader and my motivation to a little bit during that time". It was like do I still want to continue to run?
Speaker 1:So Okay, you know, I love that you asked yourself that question because I think that's something that as we grow in our running journey, there are gonna be times where we're not sure if it's something we want to continue moving forward with in our lives, and I think that that's very natural progression. I always call like our running relationships just as much of a relationship as a significant other, and sometimes you love it and there's a whole lot of times you hate it. So I love that you've given, though, the opportunity to inspire those in your family and that your sense now has running as such a big part of his life. So how would you suggest moms to kind of incorporate or to get more involved or have their family or their children get more involved with running?
Speaker 5:Oh man, that's a hard one. Again, it's balance and finding that time For me, even with my kid. Now it's our release of the day let's talk about as we take a walk. We talk about what happened during the day. It's just looking at overall, telling them why it's important to walk. And it's not even about running, because we don't always run, and I think that's where everybody gets it confused. It's oh, we've gotta get out and run. No, let's get out and start by walking. Again, I work in healthcare, so me I've always been a proponent of being healthy, so I'm like, hey, let's just take a 20 minute walk, or and two. For a lot of moms we make the excuse that we can't do it because of our kids. That's why I've always brought him with me. He's not my excuse, let me bring him with me.
Speaker 1:I think that that's right there, a pretty big shift in mindset and game changer with making it part of the family quality time, and also it sounds like you've made it part of just like your family credo, where you guys move and groove together and that's what's helped it be such a really big habit in your son's life. I love that you also talked about it being 20 minutes or being a walk, because we talk about exercise confetti quite a bit and that's what it sounds like. It's just kind of finding those little snippets of adding that little bit of sparkle, those little bit of confetti time. So those are really, really great tips. I also love that you talked about. First and foremost, let me tell you huge kudos. As a person who has gotten her booty kicked in practically every race distance by moms with strollers, I will say that huge kudos to you guys. Oh, trained with moms love how much you guys are dedicated and how you can manage to do all these things with strollers that I don't. I can't buy them.
Speaker 5:It's a challenge, definitely. What was a?
Speaker 1:challenge. It has to. It definitely can be a challenge, folks. So if you are out there and you're thinking about strollers, it will change some of your bio mechanics, of course, to take that into consideration. But again, just there's so many wonderful resources that folks can find too and following you with your inspiration as well. I do want to bring it back to how do you keep the fun and joy in running? Because there's. When I see your social media, I had the biggest smile in my face seeing your latest reel with you know, connecting with your bestie, connecting with a little bit of fun of having that finish line treat. How do you keep that joy going?
Speaker 5:One of the things I do not try to do is a lot of runners get caught up in my time, my pace. Yes, I do have those goals, but that's not my ultimate goal. The moment that I become so consumed on numbers and the perfection of it, I'm not going to do it. So I do run with why I'm running. I want to say healthy. I do want to achieve a distance goals, but just not taking it so seriously.
Speaker 5:But that's what anything in life I think that's again looking at others around you just because somebody else is doing it. Sometimes you may need to take a break, and that's what I want to say to like how do you keep? I have my down times here where again, I may walk for three or four weeks straight. I'm still moving, but it's not the motivation to get on the treadmill and run.
Speaker 1:I've done three or four months straight for the record, just anywhere.
Speaker 5:And that's okay, because sometimes you have to kind of take a break to realize if it's something that you missed and you really enjoy. But I've met people who've did it and they don't like it now because their reasons and their goals weren't realistic to them. So that's something that I do. I try to set myself realistic goals and make it where it's still enjoyable for me.
Speaker 1:So I love, too, how you talked about connecting deeply with your why, and your why is like longevity of quality of life, of staying healthy and all of that. So I think that that's a really great reminder whenever we are starting to feel a little bit of disconnect with our running is to kind of remember back to our why, and incorporating those little bit of snippets of joy always helps. Which brings me to some of the joy that you also bring to the Run Disney race weekend is you are a big fan of dressing up and enjoying that. Do you have some favorite products that you like sport or that you suggest folks kind of look at when they're doing a Run Disney race? Of course I'm always in a sparkle athletic skirt.
Speaker 5:Brother is Amazon is my friend. You know, I kind of. Again, my kid helps a lot. Now he's eight, so we're sitting here in our brainstorming it and we find the things that I said hey, what do you think I should do? And so he'll. Of course, the list is on. Mommy, you should do this, you should do that.
Speaker 4:And then I go from.
Speaker 2:There.
Speaker 5:So I kind of just kind of channel it's kind of hard but it's not hard. But sometimes I never know until very last minute on how I'm feeling. But I love the dress up aspect of Run Disney. That's why I do it.
Speaker 1:So are you basically saying that we should reach out to your son for a costume consultation?
Speaker 2:because I'm here if I get to do it.
Speaker 1:Okay, if I could have him helping with my costume, that would be incredible. Does he have favorite characters and he wants you to kind of dress up as them, so he's eight right now and he's still in the blue.
Speaker 5:So I said hey, princess is coming up. He's like well, do blue, mom can do blue for every race. So I told him the things and I'll go ahead and let it out. Now I'm going to be mama Odie for the princess hat is Tiana thing and I said think about it, tiana character, because I did Tiana a couple of times and he said mama, you should be mama Odie. I'm like you know, what you got it. So that's what I'm going to do for the princess hat.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's going to be so much fun. Oh, I love that. So let's talk about some of your favorite gear that you wear day to day, not necessarily for costume, but do you have some favorites that you would suggest that folks, maybe even moms, take into consideration, of things that you have found have helped you to stay active as a mother?
Speaker 5:Definitely got to have my garment yeah, I wear two watches. I have my garment at all times. Running shoes I like Brooks and Hoka. I definitely like my socks. Running moms I liked when I ran I had a Bob solar. That was the best. It was like running seamlessly, very lightweight. So I don't really I've become a minimalist runner. I used to run with a hydration pack so, but now I've cut back from that. But I do suggest Nathan they have great ones, but outside of shoes a good pair of pro compression socks in my headphones. I'm good to go.
Speaker 1:I am with you. I've found that that's why I like to do races, so I don't have to bring a whole bunch of crap with me whenever I go out for my runs. So yeah, kind of scaling back, and again, since we're more road runners, it makes sense, if maybe not quite so much for folks that are dabbling in trail running or going out for those type of courses. I'm curious you talked about princess. I know that you've done dopey, you've done Dumbo, you've done goofy. I feel like you've done practically all the different race distances. Do you have a favorite of the run? Disney distances or weekends?
Speaker 5:Marathon weekend is my favorite and I'm going to say this, the dopey challenge, even though I didn't do it this year and I had major FOMO. Had you met me five years ago, I would have told you I'd never run dopey, and when I finally did, I love it. I love the whole thing.
Speaker 1:That's me. I say everybody Like I literally say I have zero interest in running dopey just because I have zero interest in being up that early or going to bed at six pm every single night. But tell me more, why do you love dopey?
Speaker 5:I was to see it. For me it's the mental challenge, it's not the physical running. It's that again the mental two way wakeups, the early bed and to run. It was interesting when I did the mirror I did goofy this year and I was on the marathon course and I heard a couple talking, a young lady, a man, and he was like this really would be easier if they did the marathon first. And she said no, because everybody could do it. So in my head I was like exactly this is why it's the dopey challenge. It's mentally and physically. It pushes you to work a little bit. So it makes me work just enough not too much.
Speaker 1:I don't know about that not too much part, because I have told many folks that, like my alter ego for those early morning wakeups is grumblina. She's not an official licensed Disney character but she will be one day, I'm sure, and it's just. It's tough in terms of like that mental aspect of it, which brings me to the next question. So I know we're kind of dabbling, we're kind of smoothly coming in and out of Disney conversations and other running. Because if you've tackled dopey in your heart calls to it and you've done goofy and you have the world marathon majors, I have to ask are you thinking about maybe some other non-traditional distances like the 50 K or I do?
Speaker 5:OK, I have an ultra sticking out there in Horizon Again the year that I got pregnant everything I was scheduled for, so many things and then a kid comes along and you're trying to juggle. So now that he's come of a little bit of an age and he's comfortable being without me, yes, I have an ultra kind of sticking out there in mind that I want to run.
Speaker 1:Oh, OK. Are we going to get this scoop? Do we get to learn about like which ultra it is that you're considering? Are you going to keep it under wraps?
Speaker 5:It's one in Florida, very small it was, I can't even tell you the name. It's an epilogue full of Florida, like I said, very small. If they have 50 people that do the ultra marathon, you know they have a few people do the marathon. It in, of course, the half. So when I do decide that's the one again, since I didn't get in the world majors, it's in September. I haven't ruled it out yet but I'm like, hey, this might be 2024. Might be the year that I do a lot of things. I pace, I run a marathon, I do a Ragnar, I just I don't know. I have a lot of stuff on my calendar, a lot of stuff to check off my bucket list.
Speaker 1:Same. I feel like my bucket list. I need to live, to be at 382 years old to be able to tackle it all. You're already making quite a bit of strides toward de Gordes as well, I am curious. So you want to have more adventure outside of like run Disney or the world marathon majors? Are they usually running related? Do you find like this is your outlet, to kind of be a little bit more of a thrill seeker? Yes, ok.
Speaker 5:Because I'm afraid of heights. So I'm not going to skydive any of this. I'm not going to climb any mountains. I'm definitely afraid of snakes and all those stuff. So trails, hmm, I don't know. Several people are trying to talk me into some short trail runs, but right now that's a hard no.
Speaker 1:That trail run in Florida may have a couple of snakes, just so you're aware.
Speaker 5:Right. That's why I said it's kind of out there. I haven't said that I was going to do it. So yeah, it's definitely my outlet Again. It's working in health care and especially say by life in health care, with everything that was going on. That was my only outlet after coming home from work. It was to run, so now it's just finding I don't have any real goals on like completing 50 states. But it is running new places, meeting new people. If it's the course I really like, yes, I'll do it again. So that's pretty much what I've got going on.
Speaker 1:So you feel like with running you said meeting new people and seeing new places Do you feel like your connections, your network, your friends have kind of just grown, and are they usually runners as well?
Speaker 5:Yes, some of them running. I've met some really good friends, even though they're running kids to go back. I would have to say one of my best friends I met through Run Disney, Listen to. Nebraska doesn't run as much anymore, but that's a lifelong connection. We get together outside of running. So through running and Run Disney I have met. I like that. It's having me explore different options and see different things as well.
Speaker 1:So yeah, that's kind of exactly how I feel with some of my connections I've made as well. I have a friend who no longer runs, but we still have that really deep connection that was formed from running. So I think that's always exciting. Let's talk about that influencer life, because I think that we hear influencer and automatically we kind of have maybe some misconceptions. So how did you get started in the influencer life?
Speaker 5:It's still funny to hear people call me that influencer. I would say by chance. I like to hear, I love to take pictures, I love to share my journey, which originally my page started off, sharing my run journey with my son because it's black female. At that time there weren't a lot of women in my area, with the one group who had ever ran pregnant. I was running with the low-whole black girls run chapter, so when I got ready to run nobody knew anything about my precautions. There were no tips. So I'm researching, trying to learn for myself. Again, down to strollers, I'm trying to research this stuff myself. So I just started and created my page as more information on. Hey, you can do this too, because then later on several other women locally came pregnant and was like hey, I'm experiencing this.
Speaker 5:when I run this, what do I need? You know what type of shoulder. And so from there, I think my page just kind of took off, especially in the room Disney, but I haven't missed one race weekend since 2015. And that was one, and I'm 20, 22.
Speaker 1:Wow, that is quite the commitment. I literally live like 30 minutes from it and I can't even say that that's incredible.
Speaker 1:I've did at least one race in all those weekends. So what I'm hearing is that it was something that kind of naturally evolved because you saw a need to share your own knowledge, not necessarily what you like set out for it. It wasn't what you woke up one morning deciding to. You're just like, hey, I want to share this information because it's so hard for me to find this information. So, pretty much, yeah, that's so phenomenal. I mean, again, I'm not surprised because you're a natural cheerleader from those high school days I can hear you got your brother running, run Disney. It's only a matter of time that you would influence other folks in that as well. So you don't have. It sounds to me like, between all the things, you have some really great connections that you form your mom, you've got your full-time job. You're also doing the run Disney. How do you manage self care with such a busy schedule?
Speaker 5:That is something that I'm learning more and more of. It's literally saying telling my husband hey, I'm taking a moment, I'm going to get my nails done, or I'm going to take this weekend non-Disney, non-running, and I'm just going to go to Disney and hang out, or I'm going to go so again. You know you hear that word balance. My son is very active too. He swims, he plays baseball we just started basketball. But it's finding those moments of saying, hey, I'm going to take this, this is going to be my time. I need this 30 minutes or I need this time to myself, and it can be hard. I'm not going to sit here and say, oh, it's easy, because people say how do you do it? I said I don't know, I make it happen, that's what I felt.
Speaker 1:I make it happen, I make that yeah but I will tell you what I heard and then I'm just going to repeat for folks to kind of really take away is that you make it happen because you communicate the need. So you understand that this is a need and while it may not be that you get to do this every weekend or maybe even every six months, it's a need that you're willing to communicate to the people in your life so that they understand and aren't able to kind of meet you halfway or meet you in the middle of what. Of having that done, I mean, you're extraordinary. There is no doubt about it, because I do think that it's hard to communicate that we too need some downtime and while running can be a really great way of self care, sometimes it doesn't become. It becomes more of a different outlet and we need a different form of self care. So I love to hear that.
Speaker 1:I'm going to bring it back a little bit to Disney, because I heard you talk about coming to Disney as part of your self care, and I agree that's one of mine as well. So if you could run with any Disney character, which race would it be and why? Well, any.
Speaker 5:Disney character. So Minnie Mouse is my first. She is my girl. Everybody thinks it's Tiana, it's Minnie Mouse, and I was just with the 5K with her. Like those two sewers are kind of big so it'd be kind of hard for her.
Speaker 1:You're so considerate of Minnie. Oh, she is your girl. You want to make sure that she's OK. Yes, yeah, how can you not love her? Polka dot, she's a girl after all of our hearts.
Speaker 5:So yeah, I was 5K.
Speaker 1:I feel like you're already doing this, but I want to ask you intentionally how do you feel that you are inspiring the next generation of runners, particularly moms that are thinking of either getting into running, have been into running and are afraid that they're going to have to let this part of themselves go?
Speaker 5:by showing them it can be done. There is making time for myself Helped me be a better wife and mother for my kid. Again, my husband rags, my wife does this, my wife does that and my son says mommy, you're the best, fastest, stronger mommy. So by them seeing that it can be done, that it can be like I can take that first step to be better, not for me, but for those around me.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, Jocelyn, that's the most beautiful, most powerful statement that it is. Truly. I mean to hear that you're so supported and how much you're encouraging, inspiring just the people in your circle, so of course other folks can see that it can happen. If you were to share a piece of advice with our audience, maybe a guiding principle for you before we head off, what would it be?
Speaker 5:Just be yourself and do for you. So just be yourself in a world of everybody trying to please, and be every to be yourself and it'll take you the rest of the time. It's a mic drop.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's not hard. So with that, friends, I want to thank you so much, jocelyn. This has been such a rewarding conversation because I'm feeling inspired. If I hadn't just gone for a run, I'd be lacing up and going back out there. So thank you so much for spending time with me here at brunch. Thank you so much for having me and my friend. I want to thank you for spending time with me at brunch because we have officially crossed the finish line of today's magical journey. Queue the confetti and definitely get into that post finish line for your own photo pass with one of the princesses or your specific run Disney treat.
Speaker 1:I do want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all of our guests. They take their time to share their stories, the tips and that little bit of pixie dust that fuels our run Disney dreams. Juliana, dw, kelly, tristan and Jocelyn. Thank you for reminding us of the magic that lies in every single step we take toward our goals. Don't forget, friends I'm going to mention it one more time because I don't want you to miss out to enter our springtime surprise giveaway for a chance to win the incredible prizes and receive our ultimate run Disney challenge guide absolutely for free.
Speaker 1:Follow the magic on Instagram, at flock sportswear and at time for brunch podcast, and remember to register through the link in our bio. My friend, I want to thank you so much again for tuning into time for brunch, because whether you're preparing for your first princess half marathon weekend or you're just getting started into this entire beautiful world of walking, running and making your dreams come true, I want to tell you that you are worth it and you can make your dreams possible. Again, I'm coach Christine. I'm wishing you joy, endurance, a whole lot of pixie dust on your run Disney journey. Until next time, keep those tiaras tilted and those laces tied and stay sparkly.
Speaker 6:Thank you for joining time for brunch. If today's conversation sparked your interest, be sure to join our supportive online community. Don't forget to sign up for our weekly newsletters to keep the inspiration flowing. It's packed with insights, stories and tips to fuel your journey of growth. Follow us, subscribe and stay connected. Until next time, keep smiling and let your journey shine.