But What Am I Going to Wear?

Anyone who is familiar with runDisney races knows they are full of people running in costume. When I first heard of this, I thought it was crazy. I mean, running for multiple hours starting before dawn is hard enough. Then you want to go and make it even more challenging by running in costume? These people were nuts, I thought. But then I ran my first runDisney race and saw how much fun people were having and how they weren't taking themselves seriously at all. Something about that appealed to me. I had spent plenty of years running when being the fastest was the most important thing, and a lot of times no matter how fast I ran, I wasn't having a lot of fun. So when I my friend suggested we run the Princess Half Marathon together, I agreed to run in a sparkly skirt and tiara. It was actually kind of fun. And I learned that my head was made for a tiara.

Now I find myself training for another runDisney race weekend and the the subject of what I will be wearing has already come up (Jennie - I'm looking at you!). So here's what I thought. The idea of running all the races that make up the Dopey Challenge is crazy enough. Why not make it even crazier by running one of them in a costume? Being a big Mickey fan, I thought a Mickey Mouse costume would be my style. Then Jennie happened. She decided that one race costume was not enough. So currently I find myself preparing 3 costumes. They are currently in various states of completion. 

Costume #1 is the aforementioned Mickey Mouse. This one is actually pretty simple to put together. I already have a black running shirt and tights. I also have a couple pairs of Mickey ears, because who doesn't? All I needed was something to pull it together. Enter Etsy. This is the piece I needed, in its almost-done state:

Costume #2 was going to be the hardest. My favorite Disney Princess is Jasmine from the movie Aladdin. When I saw the movie as a kid back in the 1990s I loved how independent she was. She refused to be married off just because she was the "right" age and she was determined to live her life her way. Even at a young age, that resonated with me. Unfortunately, Jasmine is not one of the more popular princesses and finding pieces to make this costume has proven to be a challenge. Thankfully I have Pinterest, Jennie and a mother who is a kickass seamstress. I have found a couple of headbands that will fit in with the costume and this weekend mom and I found material we think will make the perfect pair of Jasmine pants. I just hope they are not too uncomfortable to run in. So now I have about half of what I need for my Jasmine costume. Here's a sneak peek:

This was where I was going to stop, because A) this was getting expensive, and B) I'm not crazy*. But Jennie would have none of that. Luckily for her, costume #3 just kind of fell together. I happened to find a great Ariel t-shirt on clearance and a pair of mermaid-looking tights at TJ Maxx. Check another costume off the list. 

*This is apparently up for debate.

Now that I have ideas for 3 costumes (sorry Jennie - that's all I got), I just need to wait for mom to finish some sewing. Of course, then I'll have do do a test run in each of them to make sure there are no issues. So if you see me running on the Constitution Trail dressed as a princess, a mermaid or a beloved mouse, wave and say hi. I'm guessing I'll be hard to miss.