Star Wars Dark Side 5k 2018 (Tuesdays on the Run Edition)

I'm finally getting to my Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend recaps from April.


In case you missed previous posts from the Star Wars Dark Side Half Marathon Weekend:

• Expo

Friday morning I got up at 2:30 so that I could get ready and do some stretching before meeting Kelly and Franklin at 3:20.  We caught the bus and headed to the Epcot parking lot.  Like previous races, they had characters out to take photos with.  We decided to stand in line for Boba Fett.  While lines were long, they moved quickly and we probably were in line just 20 minutes.


After the photo, we went to the bag drop off and then to the start line.  The 5k start and course is the same one that is used during Princess and Marathon weekends, so there are no surprises for us.  We were all in Coral A which was good so we could hang with each other longer before the start.  The plan was Kelly and Franklin were going to take off and do as many photo stops as they could and I was going to walk as much as I could so that I could save my knee for the weekend.  We were entertained while we waited by announcers and Storm Troopers.  They even played the original trailer for Empire Strikes Back.


It was warm but not terribly hot, about 63 degrees at the start.  The first mile or so is outside the park and very boring.  Once we were in the park it was a lot more interesting.  The R2-D2 line looked short and I almost got in it, but didn't because I already had a picture with him and I didn't want to spend extra time on my feet since this was just the beginning of a long weekend.  As I went on, I kinda regretted it, but after the race Kelly told me that it wrapped around behind where you couldn't see and it was a really long line.  That made me feel better.

We wrapped around and saw Spaceship Earth through Torii Gate in Japan.



And seeing Spaceship Earth with some of the Flower and Garden Festival Topiarie.



When I got up to Spaceship Earth, there was a short line to take photos with the Storm Troopers.  I jumped right in.  Within moments of me getting in line, I looked behind me and the line was so long it was wrapping into the course.  When there was just a person in front of me left, some Cast Members came up and said that the Storm Troopers were not part of the race and that we could only take selfies with them (at this point Cast Members were helping out taking photos).  Everyone was very confused by them saying they were not part of the race.  Maybe they meant that they were not part of the official photo ops where there was a Disney photographer.



It was my turn and I asked the guy behind me if he just wanted to swap cameras so that we could still get photos without having to do a selfie.  He said yes.  I got up there and a different Cast Member offered to take the photo instead.  Well of course, that would be great, thank you!  Just very weird.

I got to the end where the choir usually is and the 501st Legion was there all dressed up to get pictures with.  Some of their costumes are very elaborate.


This Jawa's eyes even light up, which was a cool effect since it was still dark out.



I was going to take a quick selfie right before the finish, but a medical lady offered to take the photo for me.  How nice!



And then a quick selfie with a Storm Trooper right before I crossed the finish line.



Even though my knee felt fine through the race, I had them wrap ice around it as a precaution.  I got my medal, water food and a picture and then picked up my bag from bag check.

Kelly and Franklin were done and standing in line for Darth Vader when I joined them.



Kelly's favorite is Phasma and they had already gotten photos with her before I finished.  She insisted that I get my picture taken with her while they waited for Kylo Ren.  I really didn't care either way so I got one with Phasma.



After the photos the buses were coming through.  They couldn't pull up till the last runner had gotten past the finish line area.  We boarded the bus and headed back to the resort.  We had a long day at Magic Kingdom planned and we all wanted to get cleaned up and rest a little before we headed back out.

Continue reading about the rest of my day at Magic Kingdom.

 

I’m linking up with with MCM Mama Runs, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and My No Guilt Life for the Tuesdays on the Run linkup.