Whew this weekend came and went! It took forever to get here, but Expedition Everest Challenge 2012 has been conquered by team "Motley Cruella deVil". Gabe wasn't too happy with the name selection, but this is what he gets for giving no input! The weeks up to the race were a little rough. We are training after work since this was a night race, and also to get us ready for the Tower of Terror 10 miler in September (also a night race). Running after work in FL is NOT fun. In fact, it is close to brutality. I can't imagine what July and August will be like.
We were bib #1905. Since it was a 5k, I am guessing they placed us in the time frame that we signed up for the race. We ended up in Coral #5 with a start time of 24 minutes after Coral #1. Mile 1 was a ton of weaving in between walkers. Our first obstacle was a hay bale run. I turned into a crazy competitive hot mess so I didn't get a chance to take photos. I am hoping Bright Room got some!!
Here is a very light pre-race photo (note to self: while skirts and knee highs are cute, they are not race friendly. NEVER AGAIN with the socks!).
Once we got through the park, the crowds were really tough to run through. When we got to mile 2 at the turn around point, we found ourselves with obstacle #2 - a tire run. Y'all that know me, know of my very clumbsy nature. I can proudly say I made it all the way through without tripping, until the last tire, which almost made me eat cement. Luckily I caught my footing! The really cool thing about mile 1-2 is you have runners coming and going from the turn around. We cheered each other on and it really inspired you to keep going.
The end of the 5k was a ground crawl. I know there is a name for this, but I cannot think of it. I ran around it, Gabe did it. I don't like getting dirty. We finished the 5k in 34:17. Not great, but good for our first team 5k. Our goal for next years race is under 30:00.
We received our first clue card upon completing the 5k:
I solved that in the matter of 1 second. The clue is a clock - the letters are your numbers on the agenda. It spells out Cheer. Ran to the front of the park, to the Oasis section to find "Springs: to receive our second clue card. At this point, Gabe let me know he needed to use the restroom, where I barked at him "ARE YOU SERIOUS?? THERE'S NO TIME TO PEE!!!" I got a few chuckles from others around me. I have a serious problem with my competitive spirit (even while knowing we had zero chance to place).
Received our second clue card:
Again, pretty easy, just criss-cross the letters to spell out The Solution is Muscular (muscular is your key word). Ran to Camp Minnie-Mickey to find Chip and at this point, the 5k run and the scavenger hunt have been mixed in together. Talk about a lot of people in one spot.
Found Chip and got clue card #3:
This one we struggled a little with. We decided after sitting for 60 seconds, not solving the clue, that we should head to Africa. No one around us knew the answer. All of a sudden, it was like the game of telephone, all the runners telling each other that it is the letter that comes after the period (the clue says take a rest period from time to time, because it's what comes after the period that is important). Calmness - you can tell from my writing I wasn't exactly calm.
We received clue card #4:
This one was solved as quickly as the first 2. "dont be afraid" - I guessed it was the taller ropes, which it was....spelled out Course. Onto Asia for the final clue
Final Clue Card #5
Disney Disney Disney - NO one around us could get this without the help of your staff!There is a hidden number in the flag (5). We couldn't see the number in the dark, even with the help of the flashlight. Luckily after sitting there for 5 min, we got assistance and saw that you take the 5th letter of each answer, which spells out "RUNS". We ran to the finish line. We ended up placing 340th of 1,122 co-ed teams, placing us in the top 35%. Our goal was to be in the top 50%, so we exceeded our expectations! I will run this again and strongly encourage anyone who can make it out to do so as well.
And since it is all about the medals:
And a nice shot of Rn Disney medals - The 2011 Wine and Dine Half Marathon, Goofy Medal, Disney World Half, Disney World Marathon and hidden is the Princess Half
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