This was the second event of my runDisney Challenge race weekend. My goal was to complete the Disneyland Half Marathon in order to earn a 2015 runDisney Coast-to-Coast medal five years after I was first able to do so. The Dumbo Double Dare Challenge was my way to that. I was excited, and scared, since I have never participated in a back to back event like this before. Expect a great deal of photos. I love the runDisney events.

The early morning start was nice. Everyone was excited to be there.

Lots of runners there which means a little bit of a wait during the wave corral starts but no one seems to mind. Disney does a great job at keeping the participants entertained and hyped up (and informed) while waiting.

Mickey, Minnie and friends see every runner off a the start.

We started off down the road, at the same starting area as the 10K the day before, then went a little further into the Good Neighbor hotel areas. WE all ended up running right in front of the hotel I was staying at which was neat. Then back towards the California Adventure park and right into the backstage area.

Some of the backstage area was a little crowded so please expect and account for that, especially near the first water location.

After a short trek though backstage we enter the CarsLand area which had all their neon lights on an a few places to stop for a photo.

All of the cast members who were there along the course were fantastic!

Another narrow area which got a little congested was when we all tried to go though the gates of the parks.

Loved seeing the monorail. Still haven’t had the opportunity to ride the Disneyland Monorail but hope to some day… but I can say that I ran under it.

The Disneyland park looks great in its 60th Anniversary overlay. If possible you must visit the park during this time.

The original Main Street USA in Disneyland is always a sight to see.

This was a sellout event as you can see, but the more people the more fun.

The sun was rising while we were in the backstage area again. A little bright but nice to see in an area most do not get to see.

We came out of this back stage area into ToonLand. I like this area which isn’t in Walt Disney World anymore. Here is Mickey’s house…. but as you saw earlier he was up early and greeting us at the start of the event.

Several characters were out and about for photos. Some were long lines. Some were very long lines. I didn’t take as many photos with characters in this event as I did in the 10K but they were out there to stop if you wanted to.

We entered though the back side of the castle to run through it which is always a highlight for Disney fans. Where else can you do this at other than a Disney park event?

Entering the castle.

Me crossing the bridge in front of the castle.

I like Tomorrowland and never seem to get to explore it as much as I hope to.

I haven’t had the opportunity to ride this here, but it looks great and is the original.

We entered the backstage area once again and saw some of the parade vehicles and props for the upcoming Halloween decorations.

After that we were out of the parks for the remainder of the event and out into the open roads that surround the area.

The open roads meant it seem to be less crowded. There were numerous supporters and groups along the course that were there supporting the runners.

I actually remembered this area from five years ago. The shade was nice, it started to warm up when the sun came out.

This was a first for me. Some of you know that I drive race cars and like classic cars, and car shows, so seeing all these very nice California cars for miles along the course was awesome to me.

We came up to the Honda Center where the Ducks play in the NHL.

I “Lava’-ed these outfits. These two were highlighted not he Disney Blog / Twitter / Event photos.

Here were all area coming up the to Angels Stadium.

The Clif Bar arch. Its a great product if you haven’t tired it, please do.

Entering the tunnel to come out to the field of Angel Stadium.

There were tons of spectators and supporters here. It was awesome to see and awesome to be on the track on field level. Very crowded and slow but that was okay because we all wanted to take in these moments.

Baseball field selfie wearing my new INKnBURN tank.

If any Disney event people or exec’s see this… I’m sorry…. you have to admit this sign was funny. I love Disney events and do not mind paying to attend them because the experiences and memories will last a lifetime.

Maybe a long lost cousin or something?

We know we all were getting close to the finish when we could see the park attractions again in the distance. These trees were nice shade to an increasingly warm morning.

Crossing Disneyland Dr. to close in on the home stretch.

Getting closer to the end of this great event. love my INKnBURN tank. I received many complements on it and many questions on where to find/buy/order it. Check them out for some great apparel.

Can start to see the finish line!

A quick high-five to a random hand?

Nope, not to a random hand but that of our finish line greeter Mr. Doanld Duck himself.

Volunteers and staff were all along the course in case they were needed. Here are a couple after crossing the finish line.

This was exciting. Because I was able to accomplish both.

A random person asked me to take their photo getting their medals put on them and in return they offered to do the same for me. I think this is the first time I have a picture like this. Thank you to all of the volunteers that were there.

After race photo taken at a station in the finishers area.

Thank you runDisney for another great event. Its been a few months since this was held at the time of this writing (I’m in grad school now and got way behind in my blog posts so I apologize to any readers for the lack of updates) and all the the memories of this great event weekend are still there… like it was yesterday. If you are on the fence about participating in a runDisney event for this reason or that, I hope this may have helped you decide that you will not regret participating in a Disney event. You will ask yourself why you did not do it sooner and will find yourself planning on attending more. See you all in April at Walt Disney World in FL for the Inaugural Star Wars runDisney event.