This year was the 25th Annual Turkey Trot 5K to be held in Beaumont, TX on Thanksgiving morning.

There was a great turn out for this years event.

For the first time there were Turkey Trot medals given to all of the finishers.

Along the way there quite a few costumes, this was one of the best.

After the 5K and the 10K events, there was a Kids 1K. A great deal of people stayed to cheer on the kids.

This guy led the start of the Kids 1K event.

I really like this event. It has a great family atmosphere and friendly support from other runners/participants.

The Houston Texans Running of the Bulls 5K held in Houston, TX was probably one of, if not the, biggest 5K event I have participated in to date.

This event was held on the grounds and surrounding area of the Texans NRG Stadium.

Here are just some of the participants gathering before the event.

Here is the start of the event. It was pretty cool and we started in waves.

We started in the parking lot area before working our way onto the nearby streets around the stadium.

Toro the Bull, the Houston Texans mascot, lead the way of the event.

Back into the parking lot area and we made our way back towards the old Astrodome.

The once great Astrodome in the background. I would like to see it brought back to life. This building meant a great deal to the Houston area for many decades.

Once around the Astrodome we were all headed back to the new stadium.

We entered though the floor level.

We all were able to run though the Texans entrance way.

The Texans Cheerleaders were also there to welcome us to the finish line.

The stadium floor was our finishers area. Pretty cool being on ground level. I can now say I have been on field level at a MLB and NFL stadium.

This was my first event in the new INKnBURN nerd inspired shirt. Also wearing my classic INKnBURN jean inspired tech shorts. Great items. Check them out at INKnBURN.com

The 6th Annual 5K Run/ Walk and 1K Kid Fun Run was held in Beaumont, TX on September 19, 2015 at Terrell Park.

This was the starting area for the days events. It was a nice, laid back, family friendly event.

Here runners, friends and family were able to sign up for the Be A Match program. I was able to fairly quickly. Just a little bit of time out of your day could mean a great deal to others.

There was a nice balloon release for those who have been affected by cancer. There were a few very special speakers on hand as well.

The balloons were nice to see in the morning light.

We all gathered for the start along the course where we could circle back to finish at.

Iram Leon was in attendance and won the event. Here he is passing me on his way back to the finish. Take some time to check out the story that ESPN did about him and his journey.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=13510735

Having fun running back towards the finish line.

This was a great event that I regret not participating in sooner. I look forward to being back next year.

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.

Photo courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

The Disneyland Half Marathon 10th Anniversary Party was held on September 3, 2015 which was a Thursday night and the kickoff of the runDisney event weekend. It was an after hours party in Disneyland… so it was pretty cool to say the least. We were also treated to the very nice shoulder bag shown above.

With the Party Ticket option I had let you into the park in the evening which was perfect because this was the day of travel to CA. The park looks great in its 60th Anniversary decorations which will last a year. Check it out if you get the chance!

Had to get a quick pic in from of my favorite ride’s poster.

A quick bite to eat in Tomorrowland and walked around the park some. It was five years to the weekend that I was here last.

Had a great spot for the Anniversary fireworks show…. but it didn’t happen due to technical difficulties. Was a bit of  a bummer because this was my only chance to see the fireworks in the park this trip.

After that the park official closed and the Disneyland Half Marathon 10th Anniversary Party officially began. The entire park was not open, but a great deal of it was. It was very nice to see the park at night, see the parade without having to look over others, ride the rides we wanted to with no wait times and to just enjoy the park in a way that is not the norm. Favorite moment was on Splash Mountain… came back after the ride and the operator asked if we wanted to go again… “Heck yeah!”… so we got to ride it back to back in the same boat. Every cast member and person at the party were great and friendly.

I even saw where Club 33 was…. I wanted to push the button… but didn’t. But I wanted to. If this party is offered again 5 years from now or 10 years from now or ever again… do it. You will not regret it.