Hi, my name is Erica and I'm a RunDisney addict

Yay!! See you in November.

Thanks for sharing your start-up story, Spook. You have no idea who might read it and be inspired to try something new themselves.

I never thought this was something I could accomplish either. I ran track in high school, but I was a "sprinter" (and I use that term loosely because I was a slowest sprinter in the history of the world, but the thought of running three miles per day with the distance runners was the most torturous thing I could imagine) and a jumper.

So I watched my friend Beth's running adventures via Facebook, wishing that I could do all of these fun events where you got to meet special characters and see random cool backstage stuff. And I made all kind of excuses why I couldn't do that--I'm older than Beth, my knees and back aren't the best, I'm carrying more extra weight than her, I have a hugely significant family history of heart problems, many fatal--and I decided that runDisney was just something that was out of reach for me.

Then Beth posted her start-up story about her struggles with asthma and how she never thought that a marathon was something she could realistically accomplish in her lifetime. And I started to think WOW! If Beth can run a marathon with asthma, I bet I can at least work up to a 5K. And so it began. The first 5K that I did was a few weeks later with our real estate company. I walked the entire thing and I could barely keep up with one of the 62-year-old agents in our office. I think my time was like 44 minutes and something. I resigned myself that next year, I would run as much of that 5K as I could and I would beat my time by at least 6 minutes. The following year, I ran it in 33 minutes, still not fast by any real standards and I still didn't come close to placing in the event, but I beat my goal by almost double.

Still, I wasn't going to Disney to run a 5K. I wanted more. And I wanted a night race because I knew I'd never survive running in the Florida sun. Enter the Tower of Terror 10-miler--a night race. When I entered that race, I could still only run about 1/4 mile at a shot, but I scheduled a running date for myself on a schedule recommended by runDisney and within a few months, I was strong enough to complete the entire distance--still walking at least half of it, but I could do it safely under the time constraint. The night of the race, I had my best run ever and I actually finished in the top half of runners in my age group.

You CAN do it. It takes time. It takes hard work. It takes days where you want to throw your sneakers away and quit. Set a goal and give it a try. And even if you never make that goal, always remember that Last Place beats Did Not Finish. And Did Not Finish beats Did Not Start.

Love that you shared your story with us Erica
runDisney is an amazing way for folks to get started, it's so friendly and welcoming to runners and walkers of all skill levels. Without them I would have never been able to complete a 5K, and I hope to get there again.

wow I love your start up story I would love to do one someday and maybe when there is a race on when I'm actually there I'll get up the courage to try!

I think I need to practice walking 5K before trying to run it!!!!

You go girl!

WOOOO HOOOO!! You got this!

That is a great inspiration , thanks for Sharing.

That's awesome!

You can do it, Amy! Check out the runDisney site--they are doing a series called "Virtual Running Shorts" again this summer. They are "on your honor" runs and when you complete them, runDisney mails you a medal. I don't know any reason why you couldn't participate in the UK. If it's an issue and you want to do it, you could use my address and I'll ship you the medals.