Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Health and Fitness Expo

There are 2 important events to any runDisney race:  Packet Pick Up and the Health and Fitness
Expo.  And the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend will be no different!

Dates and Times
Thursday, September 22, 2016 – 3pm-8pm

Friday, September 23 & Saturday, September 24, 2016 

8am-8pm

Location: Disney Events Arena on site at Disneyland Paris Resort


You must pick up your own participant packet (which includes your event-issued bib number and timing device) during regularly scheduled hours. Individuals will no longer be able to pick up participant packets on behalf of others

You must have a valid ID in order to pick up your packet (driver’s license, passport, Military ID, Government issued ID):  packets will not be distributed without an ID.

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

DIsneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend Events

The Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend events will be true to all the runDisney classic races,
and something for the whole family!

Kids Races

The event will feature a 100m dash followed by the 200m, 400m course. For older kids, there’s even a 1k and 2k race! And every participant goes home a winner with their very own runDisney Kids Races Inaugural Event Finisher Medallion!  All children 12 and under can participate, and parents can run, too!

5K

Enlist the whole family in a magical 5K through Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park! You will pass the Sleeping Beauty's Castle, run through Hollywood Boulevard, and around the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

Half Marathon

The inaugural Disneyland Paris Half Marathon will not only take through Walt Disney Studios and Disneyland Park, but also through the countryside and villages surrounding the parks!  What an exciting way to earn your Finisher's Medal!

Castle to Chateau Medal

Be the first to earn a Castle to Chateau Medal!  Run a Half Marathon in Disneyland California or Walt Disney World Florida during 2016 and earn this special medal!

Dates and Times

Disneyland® Paris 5K

Saturday, September 24, 2016
7am

runDisney Kids Races

Saturday, September 24, 2016

10am

Disneyland® Paris Half Marathon
Sunday, September 25, 2016

7am

Pre-Race Parties
Pre-Race Parties, or Kick-Off Parties, will be held on Friday Evening and Saturday Evening in Walt Studios Park.  Saturday evening's party, will include an early performance of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show!  

**Detailed information, including pricing,  has not been released yet on any of these events.   Any updated information will be posted here.

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend Registration

Registration for the Disneyland Paris Half Marathon Weekend begins October 6, 2015.

You can register through selected travel partners or through charity groups.  No specific details are available but will be posted here as soon as information is available.

**  Running for a charity can be a rewarding experience; I've done it 3 times!

Open registration begins January 12, 2016 for anyone not booking with a travel partner or charity.

Pricing has not been announced yet, and neither has information on Annual Passholder early registration.

**Important French Law on Race Registration:

"No registration will be valid unless you provide a health certificate or a sporting license. If you are not entitled to FFA, FFTRI, FSGT athletics, FSFC athletics, UFOLEP athletics or any other federation, a valid health certificate delivered by your doctor is mandatory. It must have been delivered less than one year before the race day and must include "no contraindication to the practice of running in competition". License or health certificate will be asked during the distribution of the bibs.

This document will be available to download on October 6th, 2015"


Stay tuned for more information!

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

5 Training Tips!

Whether it's your first 5K or your next 10K or Half Marathon, its easy when your training plan is simple and sticks to these 5 basic principles:

1.  Plan It:  Have a plan for training and determine what your mile goals are for each week.  You can utilize a Couch to 5K, a personal trainer, or online template, as long as you know where you are going!

2.  Get Rest: Build in at least one (1) rest day each week; two if you need it.  Over training can lead to injures and keep you from your goals.

3.  Be Accountable: Share your goals with a friend who will help keep you on track and be the motivation you need when don't want to do it!

4.  Cross Train:  Schedule in Zumba, cycling, or weight training.  Cross Training helps prevent injuries and builds muscles that you need.

5.  Eat Nutritiously:  You can't run on empty! Simple things mean a lot when it comes to nutrition:    don't skip meals, add more protein and eat power snacks not sugary ones.  Fuel yourself for success!

 These 5 simple steps help me TRAIN.  What are tips for training?

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

One Week at a Time Fitness Plan - Week 2

Last week I identified my SMART goals and my 11 week plan to build and tone arms, core, legs; lose 5% body fat and complete at 10K in August.

Week 1 was spent mainly getting on track and planning for the weeks ahead, which brings us to Week 2 and Challenge of the Week to work arms, core, and legs:

Break the Black Widow workout into days and complete as many reps as you can:

Monday: Exercises 1 and 2
Tuesday: Exercise 3
Wednesday: Exercise 4
Thursday: Exercise 5
Friday: Exercise 6
Saturday: Exercise 7
Sunday: Exercise 8

I like the idea of channeling the Avengers and getting in shape!
Ready to join me?

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

My Top 5 Disney Dads

In honor of Father's Day, I'd like to share my favorite Disney Dads!  They are different, unique but in the end, loved their children!

1. Marlin, Finding Nemo

To me, Marlin is the sweetest Dad!  He is the overprotective, worry-wart Dad who would do anything, go anywhere, face any situation to protect his son!  

2. King Fergus, Brave

I like King Fergus because he encouraged his daughter to be different, to do the things that she enjoyed and to express her true self! 

3. Professor Archimedes, Tarzan

Professor Archimedes shared his love of travel and adventure with his daughter and wanted her to live her dreams even in the depths of a jungle.

4.  Bob Parr, The Incredibles

Every Dad hides an inner Super Hero, and the ultimate Super Hero Dad, Mr. Incredible, encouraged all of his children to be the person they were meant to be!

5. Darth Vader, Return of the Jedi

Darth Vader, though misguided, wanted the love of his son, and showed it in the end by sacrificing himself to save Luke.  And Luke always saw the good in his Father, and wanted to be like him -"I'm a Jedi, like my father before me."

All of these Disney Dads have endearing qualities to me and bring a tear to my eye!  What about you?  What Disney Dads are on your list?

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

My Favorite Road Trip Snacks

Whether you are heading to the zoo, the park or to the campgrounds, there is nothing worse that mushed snacks at the bottom of your backpack.  Being a picky eater,  I understand when kids don't want to eat a mashed banana or squished bag of chips.  So, here are my 5 favorite backpack tested snacks that are sure to please !

1.  Justin's Nut Butter
Justin's Nut Butter comes in a variety of flavors.  These packs are not only full or protein but are supper convenient:  just open, squeeze and eat!  (These may be hard to find in the store, but are available on Amazon.)

2. Baby Carrots
I love baby carrots!  They provide crunchy goodness, are easy to pack and don't require refrigeration.   You can find single serve packs at your grocery or make your own with sealable plastic bags.

3.  Dried Fruit
My favorite dried fruits are apples or raisins.  These nutritious snacks are a great choice over sugary fruit chews.

4.  Single-Serve Cereal Cups
I like these Cereal Cups because they are already in an easy to carry, crush-proof container.  Cheerios are my favorite, and you can find these and more in bulk on Amazon.

5.  Nuts
Peanuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts - whatever your family would like, these always travel well!

There are just my ideas for lightweight, easy to carry and nutritious snack choices that will survive any backpack.

What would you suggest?

www.kesselrunner77@gmail.com

Being SMART About Fitness

We all talk about what we want to do:  lose weight, run faster, run farther.  But getting there can be ambiguous sometimes;  as it is for me.   So 6 months into the year, it's time to readjust, rethink, replan: to be SMART about my fitness.

In order to work through a SMART fitness plan, you have to start with 5 basic questions:

1. What are your specific goals?

2. How will you know that you've completed your goals? 

3. What is your plan to accomplish the goals?

4. Are your goals realistic considering everything you have going on? 

5. When do you want your goals completed?

So, after making myself sit down and answer these questions, my SMART plan comes down to this:

5 Reasons January 2016 will be the Ultimate Disneyland Experience!

 

Star Wars Half Marathon and Disneyland's Diamond Celebration

Make A Perfect Trip!

If you have ever thought about participating in a runDisney event or thought about taking your family to Disneyland, then this January will be the Ultimate Disneyland experience for you! The Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend falls right in the middle of Disneyland's Diamond Celebration:  this is the vacation you are looking for!  And here are 5 reasons why you should go!

1.  It's Disneyland!
Disneyland is completely unique and different than Walt Disney World:  it is where all the Magic began and boasts the history and awe of Walt Disney in every detail.  And this year Disneyland will be celebrating 60 years of Magic with exciting events such as

Disneyland Forever Fireworks:  A Street to Sky Extravaganza

Paint The Night Parade: A Parade of a Million Dazzling Lights

World of Color - Celebrate:  A Water, Laser, Light, Fire and Musical Pageant of Walt's Journey

Mini Challenge: Count the Sugar

I'll admit I have a sugar craving... I love desserts.  And in all honesty, I have no idea how much total sugar I eat in a day; and I would venture to say that most of you don't know either.  So, our challenge this week is to Count the Sugar!

Here are the details:

Why Should I Care about Added Sugar?
Added sugar can lead to many health problems and might just be the culprit keeping you from loosing weight.  It also creates a full feeling which can keep you from eating healthier choices.

What are we counting?
Table sugar, fructose, and high fructose corn syrup are all examples of added sugar.  Ingredients are normally counted in grams:  1 teaspoon of sugar = 4 grams of sugar

How much is bad?
The American Heart Association recommends the following guidelines for added sugar:

Women: 100 calories per day or about 6 teaspoons
Men:   150 calories per day or about 9 teaspoons 

Where do we find it?
If you are adding sugar to your coffee, tea, etc., simply count the teaspoons.  Otherwise, you should be able to find sugar count on Nutrition Labels.  Manufacturers aren't required to list natural vs added sugar, but they are required to list ingredients in the order of amount.  So, if sugar or fructose shows up in the top 3, it is probably added sugar.

How Many Days To Count?
Wednesday will be our Count The Sugar Day, but you can count everyday if you would like!  I think our results will be surprising!

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

FanFamily's Gift Guide for Dad

We are all a big fan of Dad!  And on June 21st we will be celebrating fatherhood and making Dad the center of the universe for the entire family.  To treat him well and make him feel special, I have put together 6 gifts that include the things Dad would love to have: from outdoors to workouts to play - we can show Dad we care and stay within our budgets, too!

Gifts Under $10

1. My Dad Loves Me! by Marianne Richmond is a great book to share together!  Add a handprint or signature to the inside cover for a gift Dad will treasure for a lifetime!
(Amazon Prime)

1 Week Avengers Workout

Workout Warriors Assemble!  For the next seven days we are going to find the focus of Captain America, the skill of Ironman, the strength of Thor, the agility of BlackWidow and the power of The Hulk!

It's a very simple plan that I have pulled together from neilarey.com: a plan that anyone can achieve.   You can approach it at your own pace,  and no gym required!

Here's how it will work!.

- Each Day We will Focus on A Different Exercise in the Workout,  with our Goal to have done every exercise in the Workout by the end of the week.  2 Days we will have to double up since there are 9 Workouts in the series.

* Beginners, will strive to complete the exercise for the day.
** Intermediates, will strive to add another set; as many as they can get.
**Advanced, will strive to complete the goal set each day.

-Break it up:  Do half in the morning and half at night.  Find a time that is right for you.

-Remember We are not keeping score!  Just striving to be better, stronger and more powerful

The Avengers Workout:

Wouldn’t it be great to build a stronger, leaner and more muscled superhero body?   We can do this!

Who's in with me?

kesselrunner77@gmail.com

Star Wars Weekends 2015 Recap

May 2015

This Memorial Day Weekend started off the Coolest Summer Party at Walt Disney World!  

And what is the Coolest part of Summer?  Star Wars Weekends and the Feel The Force Deluxe Premium Package!

The Deluxe Premium Package was well worth it!

Reserved Viewing for the Motorcade gave you a first look at all the characters in the Legends of the Force Motorcade!

The Motorcade is always a favorite of mine and the 501st make it very special!

Feel the Force packages also gave you a special line into Darth's Mall to beat the wait!

I loved how things were split up this year.  

 It made for a less crowded shopping experience!

Unfortunately, things do sell out - so it's best to get it when you see it.  Don't Wait!  If you see something you like, get it!

A must do for SWW is the Special Star Wars Dining:  it is always on our agenda!  I love the Breakfast at Sci Fi Diner!

and Jedi Mickey's Dinner!

And something new on our Dining Stop this year was the Rebel Hangar.

 You could eat outside or inside!

And enjoy great appetizers ...

and Drinks!

And Of Course Star Wars Weekends is about capturing moments with your favorites...

And the coveted Jedi Training with Darth Vader...

SWW is about what surprises await you on Star Tours...

and it's about Meeting New Friends!

SWW goes from sun up to sun down! And A Day at SWW isn't over until you've had the Galactic Dance Party and Fireworks!

I truly love this special event at Hollywood Studios!

It was a fabulous weekend!  See you next year!

--

See more about Star Wars Weekends and Recaps from Years Past!

www.kesselrunner77@gmail.com