2016 Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon Race Bulletpoints and Photos

Dave here....

I asked Holly if she wanted to do a race report for the Disneyland Star Wars Half Marathon. Her response was "Not really". I of course wanted to showcase some photos so I asked her for some bulletpoints I could include. Almost all the photos are from the 501st Area of the course. The 501st Legion is an international group of Star Wars fans that create true-to-character costumes. There were also some steam punk mash-ups and other Star Wars inspired characters. These folks were standing around Mile 8.5.

I didn't go with Holly to the start area as usual. This time I slept in an extra 90 minutes, drove to a Starbucks and had breakfast, then went to the estimated area for the 501 - it was the same place as last year. There must have been 100 folks in costumes here. I snapped some photos while waiting and talked with friends as they went by.

Once Holly and Stan arrived I followed them along the line of characters and snapped any picture they wanted. After that I got out of there and (visited Starbucks again) went back to the finish area to meet Holly.

Holly's Comments

• Same stuff, different day: the pre-race skits, trivia questions, video clips, etc were the repeats for the previous two days. Mile one, including its character stop, was a rerun of the last two days. Character experiences in the parks were repeats.
• Crowding: the corrals were jammed tightly as compared to the last two days. This made some of the early parts of the race difficult to maneuver around and get your pace going.
• Dark: parts of the course, mostly in Disneyland Park, were super-dark. Same thing the earlier races but with the crowding it became more of a danger.
• The race improved once they left property and hit the streets of Anaheim and Garden Grove. Roads were wide and allowed for spreading out.
• The 501st area was the single highlight of the race. The characters were into it and were very supportive and cheering during the race. If this area did not exist Holly would have considered this a poor RunDisney event.

Get it?

Our friend Laura in Rey outfit with Cosplay Finn and Steam Punk Lady Fett in background

I will eventually have some video from this experience uploaded and posted. I've been busy trying to find the last collectible items in Far Cry 4 before moving onto Assassin's Creed: The Syndicate.

In April we will go to Disney World for its version of the Star Wars Half Marathon. We are guessing the 501 won't be in attendance since the whole race is on Disney property. We will see.