Inaugural Tinker Bell Half Marathon - Part I: Expo & Kids Race

Friday, January 27th - The Disneyland Health & Fitness Expo


I spent 2 1/2 hours at this expo. I think I broke a personal record!

First, I picked up our running bibs and shirts. My little ones were running the Kid's race on Saturday. I was running the Tinkerbell Half on Sunday.

This was the front of the kid's shirt

This was the back of the kid's shirt

What do you think? Totally cute, right? Well, I heard one parent complain. "I signed up my daughter for the Tinkerbell Kids' Race not the Peter Pan Kids' Race". Hahahaha, this made me laugh. I felt like telling her "Please mom, take it easy. Peter Pan totally goes with the Tinkerbell theme. Did you know that Peter and Tink were friends?".

This was the adult's race shirt

I ordered mine in size XS, because the size S for the Disneyland Half Marathon was too big. This time, the shirts were too small but I was able to change my XS for a medium. Nice! This is the convenience of going to the expo on Friday. They had all sizes available for exchange.

After exchanging my shirt, I stopped by the Team Sparkle booth with my purplicious sparkling skirt. The girls at Team Sparkle mentioned that anyone that would show up with one of their skirts will get a goodie bag.

They gave me some KT Tape and a nice discount towards future purchases. They were busy. This race was all about wings and sparkle and they had them in all the colors.

I purchased a lime skirt and their "I can fly socks". I loved them.

Next stop, the iFitness booth. After the Rock N Roll Las Vegas' water fiasco, I decided to buy a new running belt with 8 ounces water bottles. I've been using their Ultima II Running Belt in the past. I was instantly recognized by the iFitness staff. Oh, I love them. I am eternally grateful to iFitness and all my friends for sending me to the Disneyland Half Marathon on my birthday last year. Check out best present EVER.

The booth next to them was The Stick. I decided to stop by to get a really needed mini-massage. To my surprise, coaches Becca and Dan from West Coast Road Runners were there selling it. After a brief massage, my coach asked me "Are you going to run on Sunday? Your legs are sooo tense". "Yep" I replied. To be honest, I've been worrying about my legs all day long.

From here, I went to the area where Disney sells their official race merchandise. They had very cute Tinkerbell shirts, jackets, sweaters, glasses, and stickers. I purchased my first pin, a replica of the finisher's medal.

This was my last purchase of the night. After the expo, I met my family in Disney Downtown and headed to the hotel to check-in and dinner.

Saturday, January 28th - Disney Kid's Race

We woke up at 6:00am to get ready for the race.

This is my daughter's outfit

The race started around 8:00ish at the Disney California Adventure park. There were crazy lines to get in the park.

The kids were divided into age groups. My 3 year-old ran the 100 meter dash while my 6 year-old ran the 200-meter.

My daughter was standing at the starting line next to Megyn Price's daughter, the actress of "Rules of Engagement". I introduced myself and let her know that we've met before at the Disneyland Half Marathon Expo. My daughter was nervous that I was talking to a stranger not paying attention to the clock. "Mommy, the race is about to start".

When the race started, she couldn't stop. I was chasing her all the way. Check out this picture that Run Disney took of both of us. My tinkerbell was almost flying :-). I was few rows behind her.

She truly enjoyed it. When she finished, she said to me "This was fun but next year, I want to run a mile". I think we have a future runner in the family. My husband was already at the finish line with my 3 year-old who had started earlier.

The Kid's Finisher's medal

After the race, we went to the parks and enjoyed the rest of the day. My legs were killing me. OMG, I am in trouble! In the evening, my kids stayed with extended family. My husband and I received deep tissue massages and made sure to have a good dinner.

I finally visited Veggie Grilled at the Irvine Spectrum. In my opinion, it's the best vegan restaurant in O.C. Even if you are not a vegan ( I am actually a pescatarian), you will find something you will love in the menu.

"All Hail Kale" - marinated kale and red cabbage, roasted corn salsa, agave roasted walnuts with ginger-papaya vinaigrette and blackened (vegan) chickin'. OMG, I am in heaven!

Check out Tinkerbell Half Marathon - Part II for the race recap.