Let's Talk Costumes

Running costumes for the Wine and Dine half marathon that is. Yes, Halloween is coming, yes, I have 3 kids, and I'm sure they will be adorable, but this is my blog, not theirs.
Normally during training runs and non-Disney races, I don't get too fancy. Black Lululemon pace setter skirt and a tank top, or in the winter, black capris and a long sleeved tech shirt. I'm actually an introvert and I don't like drawing attention to myself, so the fun skirts and costumes sit at home during "normal" runs.
But Disney is not normal. It's perfectly acceptable to dress up while running Disney. Some people go all out, like DisBroads Amy, Patty, and Julie do, with full costumes.

But I discovered early in my training for my first half that I am a minimalist. I don't like all of these clothes on me when I'm running. Let's not confuse that with I don't like any clothes on me while running, because I've had 4 babies. I may look good for having 4 babies, but not good enough to ever run naked. But that doesn't mean I still can't have fun with my running outfit. I based my look on Minnie Mouse for the Princess Half Marathon this year.

A cute Sparkle Skirt, matching tank top, and some clip in Minnie ears. But even though those were light, my aversion to anything bothering me while I run won out, and the ears came off by mile two, as did the pigtails they were attached to. There I was, running towards the Magic Kingdom, yanking clip in ears out, stuffing them in a skirt pocket, taking out my pigtails and fixing my hair into one top knot. That was still one of my fastest miles during that race. And I still looked good when I finished.

For Wine and Dine, I thought of going for more of a costume, but ultimately I decided it would just end up irritating me during the race. Many of the girls I am doing this race with decided to go with a countries theme, since it is the Food and Wine Festival and since we will be finishing at Epcot. We've got Mexico and margaritas covered, Italy is there, the United States, Germany, lots of representations. I choose to do the UK, more specifically Scotland, for many reasons.

First, I have a heavy Scottish background. I spent a good part of last summer researching my ancestry and discovered that many of my family came over from England and Scotland. I'm even a descendant of the Blair clan, who are all related to John Blair. John Blair lived in Scotland over 700 years ago, and he was chaplain to William Wallace(think the movie Braveheart). I'm very proud of my heritage and it's something that fascinates me, so I figured what better way to pay homage than to represent Scotland during Wine and Dine, right? Second, my favorite Disney Princess, and also the newest Disney Princess, is Merida.

I love the movie Brave. Merida reminds me of me. Strong willed, stubborn, and independent. She's also Scottish. I decided to base my look around her. I started with the appropriately named Sparkle Skirt, called Destiny.

The Destiny skirt is a Sparkle tech skirt, with shorts underneath. The shorts have awesome pockets, pockets perfect for stuffing clip in mouse ears into when they start to annoy you. Or, you know, normal things, like Gu, a cell phone, or your camera for pictures along the course. It's a blue/teal color, matching Merida's dress perfectly. To go along with the Destiny skirt, I've got a top by Raw Threads Warrior shirt.

I have the tank top version and it matches almost perfectly with the Destiny skirt. I contemplated a red Merida wig, but seeing how annoyed I was with just Minnie ears, I knew that would never last. I'm still on the lookout for a matching Sweaty Band, but once I have it, I'll consider my outfit complete. Are you the type of person who likes to dress up during races?