Run, Karla, Run!

The Walt Disney World Marathon (Photo: Marathon Foto)

Last week marked the sixth anniversary of my very first race back in 2007. Last fall, I chronicled how I went from a person who loathed running to someone who loves it. How much do I love it? Over these last six years, I’ve run 53 races with number 54, the UnitedHealthcare Providence Half Marathon, in one week and numbers 55, 56 and 57 already on the books.

Looking back at six years of racing, it occurred to me that certain races have a special place in my heart. Every runner has that race they look forward to every year, the race they’ve always dreamed of running, the race that moved them in unexpected ways. These are mine.

So without further ado, here are my “Races to Remember,” the running races that left the biggest impressions on me, culled from my six years out there on the road.

Races To Remember Read the rest of this entry →

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon is getting a new 10K and a Glass Slipper Challenge. (Photo: runDisney)

Big news from runDisney! Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend from February 20-23, 2014 at Walt Disney World in Florida is getting the royal treatment with a new Disney Princess Enchanted 10K and a new two-race challenge in the Disney Glass Slipper Challenge. Based on the name alone, I like it already.

The Glass Slipper Challenge follows in the footsteps of the Dumbo Double Dare at Disneyland: runners complete both the new Disney Princess Enchanted 10K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday for a total of 19.3 miles. Best of all for Disney bling lovers, runners earn the inaugural Disney Glass Slipper Challenge Medal in addition to the medals from each event, including a new yet-to-be-announced medal for the 10K. Read the rest of this entry →

Rachel Booth wins the 2013 Disney Princess Half Marathon. (Photo: Preston Mack/runDisney)

When it comes to winning Disney half marathons, no one does it better than elite runner Rachel Booth. The 32-year-old mother of two won her fourth Disney race this morning at Disney’s Princess Half Marathon in course record time. It was her second consecutive Princess Half victory. She also won the Disneyland Half Marathon in 2010 and 2011. At four wins, she owns the most runDisney victories of any woman.

“It never gets old, for sure,’’ Booth said after the race. “As I got to Mile 7 and 8 and through Mile 10, I got to see some people [cheering] and that definitely gave me extra incentive.’’ Read the rest of this entry →

Cinderella in rags running costume (Photo: Karla Bruning)

I’m a Disney running costume junkie. I’ve run four Disney races and three of them in costume: 2012 Tinker Bell Half Marathon, 2012 Disney’s Princess Half Marathon and 2013 Walt Disney World Marathon.

So I’ve decided to spread the running costume love.

Running Costume Skirt Giveaway

I’m giving away a brand new skirt identical to the one I wore at the Walt Disney World Marathon on Jan. 13 when I dressed as Cinderella in Rags.

If Cinderella in Rags isn’t your style, the skirt could also double as a running costume piece for Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty’s Briar Rose, Hercules, or something more creative like Bambi.

Here are the details: Read the rest of this entry →

The 12 Days of Disney Running Christmas celebrates the spirit of joy that Christmas and Disney bring. For a full list of lyrics, check out my first post on the song. Merry Christmas from RunKarlaRun.com!

All photos courtesy of runDisney.

(Photo: runDisney)

The “12 Days of Christmas” was one of my favorite carols growing up.

In honor of the child that lives not-so-deep within me, I’ve crafted the “13.1 Days of Disney Running Christmas.” I love that Disney celebrates the child in all of us, and that Disney running does it while putting one foot in front of the other.

So here is my homage to Disney running and the Walt Disney World Marathon, which my true love and I will be tackling on January 13, 2013. I tried to incorporate as many elements and runDisney events as I could—including the brand new Dumbo Double Dare at the Disneyland Half Marathon and bonus verses in homage to half-marathons. If you prefer, I’ve created a very silly video version here. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry →

The start of the 2012 Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. (Photo: runDisney)

Nearly 14,000 runners stormed Walt Disney World Saturday night for the third annual Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. The half marathon is unique for it’s 10 p.m. start and a private after-party at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival that lasts until 4 a.m.

It’s also a race that holds a special place in my heart. It’s the one that started my tumble down the Disney running rabbit hole. Read the rest of this entry →

Rachel Booth wins the 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon. (Photo: runDisney)

The Disneyland Half Marathon on Sunday, Sept. 2 will put more than 17,000 runners to the test on the streets of Anaheim, Calif., as they charge through Angels Stadium, Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure theme park in an attempt to run Disney. Among those runners will be a mix of Disney fans, celebrities like Sean Astin, and former Olympians like Suzy Favor-Hamilton and Jeff Galloway.

But when it comes to winning Disney races, no one knows better than Rachel Booth. She won the 2010 and 2011 Disneyland Half Marathon and 2012 Disney Princess Half Marathon in February, becoming the first woman to win events at both Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Her fastest time on a runDisney half-marathon course? 1:15:19.

Like many Disney runners, Booth juggles raising two children, a part-time job and training. Read the rest of this entry →

Running as Prince Charming and Cinderella. (Photo: brightroom)

Disney’s Expedition Everest Challenge took place Saturday night May 5 in Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom theme park in Florida. Runners faced a 5K laden with obstacles and clues to a mystery they had to solve in order to finish. Some runners tackled the race in running costumes, dressed as their favorite Disney characters, like Minnie Mouse, and others ran as the fearsome Yeti of the Expedition Everest roller coaster.

As a veteran of three Disney races—the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon, Tinker Bell Half Marathon, and Disney’s Princess Half Marathon—I know the slide down that particular rabbit hole all too well. After running my first Disney race sans costume and my second Disney race in a store bought Tinker Bell costume, I decided to go all out for my third Disney race. I learned from Team Sparkle running costumer extraordinaire Kelly Lewis that when it comes to pulling off a successful Disney look that’s comfortable and easy to run in, the devil is in the details.

Armed with a few pieces of basic running gear and a creative outlook, my fiancé and I transformed into Cinderella and Prince Charming’s athletic alter egos for Disney’s Princess Half Marathon in February. Here’s how to make your own Cinderella and Prince Charming running costumes. Best of all, the only tools you need are a needle, thread, safety pins and tape. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo: runDisney

Forget three: 20 is the magic number. Especially when you’re talking about Disney magic.

Registration for the 20th anniversary edition of the Walt Disney World Marathon, the original Disney running event that started them all, opened last week. In honor of the race’s 20th anniversary, ‘20’ is the watchword for the weekend. The event will feature a special 20th anniversary Mickey Mouse medal, special entertainment at the 20-mile marker and a new post-race party at Downtown Disney. Race organizer runDisney expects the marathon to sell out with a field of—you guessed it—20,000 runners for their biggest race yet. Read the rest of this entry →

The NYC Half took runners on a tour of Manhattan from Central Park through Times Square. (Photo: NYRR)

The 2012 NYC Half Marathon on Sunday, March 18 featured a new course and the largest field in the race’s history with 15,336 finishers. I was among them, trying to accomplish a personal feat: tackle two half-marathons in three weeks and three half-marathons in three months without getting injured.

To accomplish this task, I turned to a new gadget to help me train: the new MOTOACTV GPS and MP3 all in one. I served as a MOTOACTV NYC Half Marathon Ambassador, training and running the race with the device.

The Course

The NYC Half Marathon gave runners a challenging, but scenic tour of Manhattan. Even as a New Yorker who knows the course well, I thoroughly enjoyed running from Central Park through Times Square and down to the historic South Street Seaport.

The first six miles comprised one full loop of Central Park with its grueling rolling hills. Runners exited the park just after the 10K mark, racing down Seventh Avenue through the heart of Times Square before turning right onto 42nd Street for the next two miles. Miles 8 through 12 carried runners along the West Side Highway into New York’s Chelsea, West Village and Tribeca neighborhoods before rounding the southern tip of Manhattan into the Seaport for the finish. Read the rest of this entry →

Running two half-marathons in three weeks must be carefully planned to avoid injury. (Photo: Karla Bruning)

Back in November, I set out on a crazy quest to run at least a mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s with the Runner’s World Holiday Running Streak. Come Jan. 1, I’d accumulated 100 miles in 40 days and had a solid training base.

So I decided to merge the end of the streak with the beginning of half-marathon training. I earmarked Disney’s Tinker Bell Half Marathon on Jan. 29 as a training run for a personal record attempt at Disney’s Princess Half Marathon on Feb. 26. Somehow, everything went according to plan. I crossed the finish line at the Princess Half two minutes faster than my previous PR.

Now I’m looking to capitalize on all that training and fitness by squeezing out one more race—the NYC Half on March 18. New York Road Runners and Motorola invited me to be a MOTOACTV NYC Half Marathon Ambassador for the race and give the new MOTOACTV device a test run.

But with just three weeks between Disney’s Princess Half and the NYC Half, I knew I’d be treading the thin line between capitalizing on training and courting injury. How can a runner prepare to tackle two half-marathons in three weeks? Read the rest of this entry →

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon was a fairy tale race.

If you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true. Cinderella sang those words and I took them to heart. At Disney’s Princess Half Marathon in Walt Disney World in Florida, I channeled my inner Cinderella and believed that I could break my half-marathon personal record (PR). Disney races aren’t for PR’s many people say. Just have fun, they tell you. But on Sunday, Feb. 26, I learned that it’s possible to PR and have fun too.

Running in Costume: Cinderella and Prince Charming

For starters, I feel compelled to confess: I ran in costume. Not just that, I cajoled my fiancé, Phil, to run in costume with me—as Cinderella and Prince Charming. Cinderella has long been my favorite princess, ever since I saw clips of the film on my Fisher Price Movie Viewer Theater back in the early 1980s. I even named my dog Cinderella. What better character to summon for a half-marathon than a gal who knows how to put her head down and work hard?

I found that once you put on a costume and give in to the Disney spirit, it’s inevitable that you’re going to have a good time, no matter how painful the running itself may be. Read the rest of this entry →

2012 Disney Princess Start

Cinderella and Prince Charming are ready to run

The castle before dawn

Cinderella's Fairy Godmother

Runners leap at Cinderella Castle

Pausing for a castle pic

The real Cinderella and Prince Charming

Princess Minnie strikes a pose

Running through the castle

The cast of Sleeping Beauty

Inspiration from a gospel choir

Running Leap

To Epcot

Through Epcot

Charging past Spaceship Earth

Princess Minnie and Mickey

Rachel Booth wins

Daisy Duck waves runners in

Minnie high-fives runners

The finish is in sight

Last stop before the finish

Mickey waves me in

Victory

Earning a medal

Disney's Princess Half Marathon Medals

Runners show off their medals

Coast to Coast Race Challenge medals

We model our bling

My hero

And they lived happily ever after

Tangled Royal Family 5K Start

Rapunzel and Flynn

Disney girls

Runners pose with Belle and the Beast

We say hi to Pocahontas

Runners charge through Epcot

With Jasmine and Aladdin in Morocco

Tangled Royal Family 5K finish

Dressed to impress

Disney 5K's are stroller friendly

Tangled Royal Family 5K medals

Royal Family Kids' Races Medals

Royal Family Kids' Races Start

Kids love to run

My nephew admires his sister's medal

Royal Family Kids' Races Runners

Crossing the finish line

My nephew runs his heart out

And he won!

The pride of accomplishment

Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend was a fairy tale tour of Walt Disney World in Florida. Runners tackled the Tangled Royal Family 5K, Disney’s Royal Family Kids’ Races and Disney’s Princess Half Marathon. Races took runners through Epcot and Magic Kingdom, where Disney characters cheered them on to victory.

I ran the half-marathon with my fiance dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming. My sister and I ran the 5K, and my niece and nephew ran the kids’ races. Photos courtesy of runDisney.

Karla (left) and her sister with Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse at Disney’s Royal Family 5K. (Photo: Karla Bruning)

We came. We ran. We conquered. The Bruning family stormed Disney’s Princess Half Marathon Weekend from Feb. 24-26 at Walt Disney World with the aim of turning our annual family Disney vacation into a fitness fiesta.

My sister, brother-in-law, nephew, niece, fiancé and I participated in every event runDisney had to offer, from the Pasta in the Park party to the Tangled Royal Family 5K, the Royal Family Kids’ Races and Disney’s Princess Half Marathon. We did it all and then some—enjoying lunch at Cinderella’s Castle with a bevy of princesses and taking in a luau at the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. But the highlight had to be watching the Royal Family Kids’ Races. Seeing a whole new generation of runners embrace the sport was a heartening sight. Read the rest of this entry →