Disney Avengers 5K 2014 Race Report

My first post-partum race was the Disney/Marvel Avengers 5K back in November 2014. I’m so glad I signed up for this and happy that it was a 5K that I started with! (Forgive the dark photos – they were taken with our phones!)

Spawn and I drove all the way down to Disneyland for our packet pick-up. She slept most of the way, which was great.

The race expo was the same as it was last year when I ran the Disneyland Half. Luckily it wasn’t too crowded because I drove out pretty early. I had wanted to get my legs taped up by KT Tape but the line was too long for me and baby to wait out.

Disney Avengers 5K Race Report

On the day of the race, Spawn naturally woke up at 3:30am! Perfect! The Wife and I got up and got ready. I nursed her and then we were off to Disneyland! She slept until we parked. We changed her and I nursed her one last time before we went our separate ways. The Wife took Spawn to the spectator viewing area at Downtown Disney and I went to look for one of my besties Woo.

I don’t think the 5K was as crowded as the Half Marathon but it was still packed. Lots of costumes abound – it was so fun to see everyone (except me) dressed up!

Then we were off! Woo and I proceeded to half run, half dodge people throughout the entire route.

We ran through DCA (Disney’s California Adventure). Woo took a bunch of selfies and updated her feed. We got photobombed.

We ran and walked as much as we could. The crowd was a little heavy anytime the route narrowed. It was tough to dodge when there were so many racers out there. But that’s ok. It wasn’t a timed race and we were there to have fun!

Then we rounded out of DCA and we were off to Disneyland. But first! We met up with The Wife and Spawn. They were able to catch us as we ran to the other park. As we ran into Disneyland, I made Woo take a photo with me. Of course.

Then I saw a photo opp with Mickey and Minnie. So I made her wait with me again… she’s such a good friend to humor me!

One of my favorite parts of these Disney races is seeing cast members out on-stage and cheering the racers on. They were out on the route, they volunteered to pass out water, they guided us to the right areas. I love this about Disney races. Thank you, cast members, for your enthusiasm!

Woo and I kept going. I felt pretty good throughout the whole race. I ran as much as I could and didn’t feel winded. My legs and my lungs didn’t feel like they were going to crap out on me. I kept updates with The Wife, making sure Spawn was ok and didn’t need to be fed. (She’s exclusively breastfed, if you didn’t know, so this was stressing me out – making sure she’d have enough before the race and I’d run fast enough to get back to her to nurse.)

As we rounded towards the finish line outside Disneyland, we ran the rest of the way.  At the finish, we met up with The Wife, Spawn, and the Wife’s bestie who traveled across the country to run the race with her mom!

We were also able to change her diaper and nurse her at the Baby Care Center tent in the postrace area. I want to make sure all new moms know that there is a tent where you can take care of the baby after the race. I am impressed and super glad Disney had the forethought to set this up for nursing moms and babies who may need a changing table. It’s very barebones but at least there is a place for nursing moms and babies after the race.

Overall I felt the race route was fantastic – it’s always a treat to run through the parks! If you are contemplating a 5K, I believe any of the Disney 5K races are terrific to start off your running career. There are characters to take photos with, the route is interesting because it’s in the parks, and the race operations is a well-oiled machine.