We continued our deal for Spencer to run the Rival Run Challenge and Katie completes the Fairy Tale Challenge! This means, Katie ran the Princess Enchanted 10K solo. This year, it just so happened to be extremely cold, in the mid 40s, so we were bummed to see more towels, blankets, and mylars instead of costumes!
runDisney Princess Enchanted 10K Course
While the 10K course remains mostly the same as WDW Marathon Weekend, it is important to note the course is still different due to the construction through Future World at EPCOT. This means, there is more time backstage, instead of the Future World portion from years past.
The course starts and ends in the EPCOT parking lot. The first 3 miles are stretched out through the parking toll booth and roads surrounding the parking lot. We recommend focusing on strong running through this section, to get to the second half of the course!
The second half circles through the World Showcase and the Boardwalk Resort loop. This is where runners have the opportunity for great PhotoPass photos, character interactions, and more spectators cheering! Finally, the course wraps up with some backstage running to again avoid the construction in Future World.
runDisney Princess Enchanted 10K Characters
You may have heard that runDisney changed their entertainment staff for the races, and it was evident finally at this race. Recently, we noticed the characters were repeated from weekend to weekend and we could almost guess which character would be at each location. This year was different! We finally had rare characters like we used to!
Under the first overpass, Pocahontas was encouraging runners to find their way. She was not available for a posed photo. Almost immediately, we saw John Smith. The princes are always a rare photo opportunity, and since Pocahontas was the medal princess, runners were thrilled! The next two characters were also from Pocahontas, Governor Radcliffe and Meeko! Out of these three stops, Meeko had the longest line.
Just before entering EPCOT, Miss Bunny was greeting runners. Then we had a variety of characters at the different countries of the World Showcase. Mushu was in the China Pavilion, Pinocchio and Geppetto were in Italy, and Esmeralda and Quasimodo were in France. We have never seen Esmeralda or Quasimodo out for a meet and greet (we heard that Esmeralda had visited Marathon Weekend). This line was very long as well!
On the Boardwalk loop, runners visited with Mickey in his racing outfit and Clarice (Chip and Dale’s love interest). Both lines were surprisingly long for characters we have seen before. The final character opportunity was in EPCOT before exiting the park with the Three Good Fairies from Sleeping Beauty. They were rotating so some runners met one fairy, and others met two. This line was the longest, but only took about 13 minutes.
runDisney Princess Enchanted 10K Medal
Pocahontas took her turn as the princess on this year’s 10K medal. The ribbon was a beautiful shade of pink that matched the leaves on the medal! While there are no spinning, glitter, or stained glass features, this medal is beautiful on its own. It is a favorite medal for sure! The rest of the merchandise for this race was also stunning and matched beautifully.
Overall, we had a great 10K experience despite the freezing weather. Yes, northerners may not have been as cold, but Katie was freezing waiting in the corrals before the race started! It is always a good idea to pack options for different temps as they can change so quickly in Florida! With new rare character gracing the course again, the 10K distance has become a must-do! Check out our recap of the 2018 Princess Enchanted 10K to see what has changed in the last two years!