But it was so fun!!!!  On Saturday morning, I got up at 3:45 am and Brother and Joy picked me up at 4:30 to get to the start line. We wore our race tees, which were 1) not very flattering and 2) not very breathable in the heat.  At 5:00 am, it was already 72 degrees and humid.

The beginning of the race took us backstage where we were running in darkness.

Then the race course entered from Carsland at Disney’s California Adventure.Here we are at the boardwalk and they even turned on the World of Color fountains for us!

Next was across the courtyard to Disneyland!  There were Cast Members ready to snap photos for us at each photo op location.  What fun!Sleeping Beauty’s Castle is so pretty at dawn.

The Dumbo ride was running as we passed through Fantasyland.  Kumquat would love this ride!

In Frontierland, we found the chipmunks!!!

The last part of the park route was through Critter Country.

Here we are with our medals at the finish line.  It’s a rubber medal with the Alice in Wonderland and the White Rabbit on it.

As a special treat after the run, we picked up some coffee and freshly fried beignets.  Yum.

We also had some time to kill before the Diaper Dash so we hung out inside the Grand California Hotel to watch some cartoons.

The course was super fun and I’m kinda glad that Joy couldn’t run.  It gave us an excuse to just take it easy and enjoy the unique experience of wandering the parks at dawn.  I also bumped into Michelle, my good friend from high school and college.  I think she might be running the half on Sunday.

Kumquat also ran in her first fun run – a 100 meter dash!  For a recap of that part of the morning, click here.