DISNEY Tower of Terror 10-miler *runDisney
By JEFF CT
Hey All -
Last month was the Disney Tower of Terror 10-miler. I really enjoyed the race. For starters it is a night race, which worked out really well for my early-to-bed family and just as well for their stay-up-till-the-sun-rises father. So, it started about 10pm, but the corrals really were full by 9pm. They announced that you needed to be in them by 9:15pm, and I was in line for the outside area porta-potties instead of the porta-potties inside the corrals. Dumb. When I came out they had the gate to corral E open allowing anyone from A-E to line up. (I had worked so hard to qualify for corral B). Anyway, we get into position- all 12,000 or so of us. Some really great outfits. And me in bare feet.
The gun and fireworks go off for the elites (20) and then about 3-5 minutes later corral A with fireworks and so on. First section of the race had fog and lasers above making it feel like a tunnel. Spooky music and some decorations on the side of the road here and there.
Around mile 1, the on-ramp to the highway had a lot of acorn-sized gravel. But the highway itself wasn't bad at all. There were Disney Characters - Villains - who you could stop and take a photo with if you were willing to give up some of your time during the race and the line seemed worth it to you. (The lines early seemed to be longer than later in the race- and maybe if I really was in with the Corral B people the lines would have been even shorter - that was part of my plan anyway.) -
Around mile 4, the asphalt was pretty pitted going into Disney's Animal Kingdom. Then a turn-around and back down the Westbound side of the highway. Disney did great on drinks. Powerade first, then water almost every mile. It was about 75 and humid, but not too bad.
Around mile 6, the blacktop turned briefly into a dirt road. Id been on the runDisney blogs and was prepared for it. The white dirt was so soft, I thought they might have shipped it in for the race. There was still some gravel. Biggest problem for me here was that the portable lights were out in places. I am not so experienced to be able to run with obstacles in the dark at full speed. It only lasted 0.3-0.5 miles I think. As soon as I saw the blacktop at the end I increased speed and heard "Holy Crap!" from behind me as my bare feet flew in the air.
Around mile 8, after going around an actual rubberized track once, we found ourselves going around a baseball field. At one of these points I saw one of the many MarathonFoto people and was trying to figure how to get a photo of my bare foot. I ended up doing some kind of weird straight-leg march with my toes up but never stopping my run. (got a decent photo) -
The final mile was a little tough on me because there were so many great supporters saying "you're almost there" (really? Ive been hearing that for 5 minutes now!) and there were so many turns that I thought the finish would be around the next one, but it wasn't. In the final 2 miles, I stopped for a photo with the Snow White witch/peasant woman and another with LotsoLove Bear from Toy Story 3.
I would say that a barefoot runner who can run 10 miles in 80 degree weather should be fine with this course. I did talk to a runner just before the dirt road who said his friend was doing the race BF, but I never saw anyone else.
OH - I almost forgot! At the end of the race, there is a Villains Party. I ended up getting photos with a bunch of characters, then hooking up with an online running group that Id been chatting with, having some food and drink and going on some rides at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I think they closed the park at 6pm that day and we were there till 4am - I know we closed the place out. maybe it was 4:30, I didn't get back to the hotel until after 5am. Overall - a great experience that Id do again.
