runDisney – Family Fun on the Run

(Note to readers: I was a guest at Disney for this event. My room and some of my food was covered, along with park hopper passes for my family.  I was not paid for my review and my opinions remain my own.)

I had no idea it could be so much fun to run with my entire family, and I don’t  mean chasing down one of my kids (don’t laugh…you know you’ve done it, too)… I mean a fun run, like the kind runDisney organizes.

On a recent trip to tour and review the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, my entire family was invited to participate in a runDisney fun run event.

Keep in mind, during this trip we spent three days park-hopping and enjoying the Boardwalk Beach Resort, but when all was said and done and I asked about everyone’s favorite part of the weekend, most of the kids said it was the fun run!

I know it was my best part.

I’ve always seen running as a solitary sport for me.  I can’t run and talk—I’m happy to be able to breathe when I run—so I never invite others along.  But in this case, I was eager to lace up my new New Balance running shoes (given to me the day before, during the New Balance Track & Field portion of our tour at ESPN) and run through Epcot with the kids (without crowds in the way).

My sons and brother-in-law were out in front of the pack (they always have to be competitive), while my daughter and DH pulled up the rear.  From the middle, I got to spend time with both groups.

The boys were told to slow it down and stay with the pace runner.

My eight-year old daughter had to be bribed to finish on her own and not be carried across the finish line.

But she did it…with Minnie waiting for her to cross.

We all did it!

And I’m convinced we’re going to need to do more runs soon.

This is not something I could ever have imagined doing with my family growing up, so I love that it’s an option now with my kids.  And there’s nothing that makes it cooler than running through the theme parks before they’re open for the day, with characters sprinkled along the way.

RunDisney hosts events year round for runners, including options that include the entire family.   I highly recommend you sign your family up for one.  It’ll be an experience they’ll never forget.

(Yes, my poor daughter had to do the run in flip flops…our next stop was the shoe store for running shoes for her…she refused to wear them before because she didn’t think they could be pretty enough!)

(This is the entire gang that did the run with us.)