I've been back for a few days now, but had some other stuff to take care of first such as pesky work deadlines and attempting to unpack.
I really enjoyed this race weekend. For whatever reason that I don't understand, but loved, the photo op lines during the race were actually manageable for even the last corral runners like myself. This is definitely not the case at
Disneyland where those photo ops are 15-20 minutes best case scenario.
For the lack of park time, runDisney made up for it with on course entertainment. The Forest Moon of Endor battle part early on during the half was great. I also really loved the waves within the corrals. That made it possible to actually start the race at a decent pace unlike the horrific bottleneck and 20 minute 1st mile that greeted me during the Light Side 10K. I also liked the character themed mile markers instead of the same lightsaber mile marker used during Light Side Half.
I'll post more in my race report when I get to it. Suffice it to say, this is a race I want to run again, but the logistics of it in April mean that it's difficult. If this turns out to be a one time deal, I can happily say that I'm grateful I got to experience it and earn the Kessel Run medal. I had a few non runners tell me it was the coolest medal they'd ever seen and the usual smattering of non runners intrigued by how they could earn a runDisney medal.
Random lessons I learned:
1. When flying to the east coast from the west coast and trying to adjust quickly to jet lag, the redeye is the way to do it. While no sleep on the plane made for a miserable flight and being very tired on my very first day, I was almost completely adjusted to the time change on Friday and completely good to go on Saturday for the 10K. I got the Expo done on the first day and spent some time in Disney Springs.
2. Next time, I'll build in an entire day off from the parks 1 or 2 days after the half. That would have really helped this time around. I needed it after the challenge and guided tour the day after the half, but instead found myself running around Universal.
3. Don't fret "strange" menu items so much. I shied away from Tiffins at first because of this, but rave reviews made me willing to give it a try. Turned out to be the best meal of the trip. Skipper Canteen was a similarly enjoyable experience and not just because of the Jungle Cruise spirit about the restaurant.
4. Port Orleans Riverside was tremendous. Such a far cry from the constant chaos of All Star Sports. I would love to stay here again with more time to enjoy the resort.