A New Take on a Dream Come True ~

Welcome to the next stop on Magical Blogorail Red. Today we are discussing runDisney.

To begin a journey, first you must be inspired. My rundisney journey began just that way.

As most little girls, I dreamt of becoming a Disney princess, Cinderella encouraged that inspiration at age 2. But life settled in and the realization of becoming a princess was washed away with another more realistic career choice. But that dream stayed tucked away in my heart along with Cinderella’s word’s, “If you keep on believing the dream that you wish will come true”

(My 1988 Junior Prom, I was channeling Cinderella)

Fast forward to the present where that dream has evolved into a new outlook ~ A runDisney Princess!

Last year my bestest Disney pal Nicole ran her first runDisney event, The Royal Family 5K 2014. As I watched for her race updates on that cold dreary New York winter day, seeds of inspiration were instilled in my innermost thoughts ~ Disney ~ Princess ~ runDisney ~ runDisney Princess!

When Nicole crossed that finish line she knew right then and there this would not be a one-time event for her; runDisney inspired her to become very focused on her training. She later went on to run 5 other races, 3 of which were runDisney events.

(Royal Family 5K 2014)                                              (Everest Challenge 2014 )

(Tower of Terror 10 Miler)

Inspirited by her accomplishments, achieved goals, my insane love of Disney, Mickey and of course, the chance to become a PRINCESS, I too decided to become a runDisney princess! I set out to train for the 2015 Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend, (minus the half marathon). My focus would be the Disney Princess 5K and the Disney Enchanted 10K.

Having an opportunity to run through a Disney park dressed as a princess alongside my best pal was the initial fuel to motivate me to suit up and run in the mornings. But as I set personal goals and pushed myself to achieve them I began to run for other reasons as well. Pushing myself through limitations I unknowingly set became intoxicating. Along the way I entered a few local races for some experience, adorning my Mickey ears at each one, proudly representing my Disneyside.

But it was not until my first local race that I had the chance to feel the exhilaration of crossing a Finish Line. Pushing myself “to Infinity and Beyond!” helped me to realize how strong a person I really was, physically and mentally, it renewed my sense of confidence and zeal in life.

We can pass that inspiration ~

That first race I ran, Rebekah watched me cross the finish line; I believe she gained much more than the inspiration to run. She has watched me challenge and push myself and succeed in my runDisney goals. It has shown her that when you put your mind to something, you can achieve it.

She asked to sign up for a program called Girls on the Run, which taught them much more than how to train for a 5K; they learned the importance of being joyful, healthy and confident. The program concluded with a 5K and I got to cross another finish line, this time with my Rebekah. She was so proud of herself and of course – so was I!

Nicole passed along a little inspiration as well. She and Jordan entered a local Turkey trot race.

 

All these accomplishments were inspired by runDisney~

I believe runDisney has given people hope. Hope that they can weather a storm, persevere through life’s challenges, and make a positive change for a happier ending to their story.  After all that is what Disney represents, hope. Hope for triumphs in life no matter what the circumstances. Turning an “I can’t” into “I can”, and challenges into victories.

My coronation day is coming soon, February 20^th-21^st are my race dates for the 2015 Princess Half Marathon Weekend. My love for Disney, Mickey and a deep desire to become a Princess has carried me through to this point. Inspiration is the key to a successful journey and runDisney has fulfilled every bit of that and I haven’t even reached the end!

Thank you for joining Magical Blogorail Red this month. We will be back in next month with all new loops and themes. Keep checking in with our blogs in between loops to keep up to date with newest posts, photos and stories. If you are looking for more Disney magic, you can make your way over to The Magical Blogorail website to see all our members and their blogs, as well as all our previous loops.